EXPLORE THE TEXT
We are to forgive one another in the way God has forgiven us.
28 “That servant went out and found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a hundred denarii.
He grabbed him, started choking him, and said,
‘Pay what you owe!’
29 At this, his fellow servant fell down and began begging him,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
30 But he wasn’t willing.
Instead, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed.
31 When the other servants saw what had taken place,
they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened.
32 Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him,
‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.
33 Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant,
as I had mercy on you?’
34 And because he was angry, his master
handed him over to the jailers to be tortured
until he could pay everything that was owed.
35 So also my heavenly Father will do to you
unless every one of you forgives his brother or sister from your heart.”
Summarize this content from page 50 of the PSG to provide more insight into the debt the second man owed:
“Jesus introduced another servant
who owed the forgiven servant a paltry amount-a hundred denarii- the equivalent of 100 days’ wages.
This was a debt that could reasonably be paid off over time. .One would have thought that the similarity between the two petitions
would have stirred the unforgiving servant to also be forgiving.
After all, he had been forgiven an impossible sum of debt. .‘But he wasn’t willing’
points to the fact that this forgiven servant made the deliberate choice
to close his heart to mercy.”
Lead a brief discussion related to the master’s response.
Note that a believer who refuses to forgive cannot lose their salvation,
but it will damage their fellowship with God and others.
Matthew 18:33
This is this week’s memory verse and poses a great question to ponder throughout this week.
Review these points from Apply the Text on page 53 of the Personal Study Guide:
Challenge adults to consider which statement resonates most deeply with their own struggle to forgive.
Enlist a volunteer to read aloud the first set of questions on page 53 of the PSG. Be ready to share your own reasons for not forgiving another person. Stress that forgiveness is required and that relationships suffer when mercy and compassion are missing from the equation.
Play “O Come to the Altar” from the Engage option (p. 57) to close the session. Encourage adults to shape the song’s message into a silent prayer to God.
Encourage adults to read and respond silently to the second set of questions on page 53 of the PSG. Challenge them pray for the people they have listed and for the relationships that are suffering from a lack of forgiveness. Close in prayer.
Send an email or text to the group this week encouraging them to continue praying about relationships that need forgiveness. If the Lord leads you to forgive someone this week, share that with the group as appropriate. Encourage adults to continue using Pack Item 9 (Handout: Praying Scripture in Matthew’s Gospel) to continue reflecting on Matthew 18:22 and other verses in this week’s passage as God leads.
Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. (See Romans 5:6; Ephesians 2:8-10.)
Compare passages to gain insight into a biblical teaching.
Compare Matthew 18:27 with verses 34-35. In verse 27 the king released and forgave his servant’s huge debt. In verse 34 the king revoked his forgiveness and cast the unforgiving servant into a place of torture. Verse 35 states this is what God will do to “every one of you” unless you forgive other believers “from your heart.” Reflect on the following questions: What is the danger of basing a doctrine on a parable? What other passages can you cite to indicate that a believer does not lose his or her salvation? Summarize the main point of Jesus’s parable and how His warning in verse 35 should be understood.