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The Resurrection Reading from Mark 16

For our New Testament reading, I ask you to turn with me to Mark 16 and follow along as I read. We are completing the readings of Mark's Gospel this morning. This is a precious conclusion to the earthly life of our Lord and Savior.

It's also precious to us as we are reminded of what he gave for us. When the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome brought spices so that they might go and anoint him.

And very early in the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb? And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back.

It was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white.

Robe.

And they were alarmed. And he said to them, do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified? He has risen. He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee.

There you will see him, just as he told you. And they went out and fled from the tomb. For trembling and astonishment had seized them. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. Now, when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, and from whom he had cast out seven demons.

And she went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. But when they heard that he was alive, and had been seen by her, they would not believe.

It.

After these things, he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. And they went back and told the rest. But they did not believe. Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves, as they were reclining at table.

And he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. And he said to them, go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. But whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe. In my name they will be cast out. They will cast out demons, and they will speak in new tongues.

They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison it will not hurt them. They will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover. So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

And they went out and preached everywhere while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs. Let's pray. Help us for our Father today to do what the Lord has commanded us.

To go out, go out into the streets, into our workplaces, even in our homes, Lord, and tell them about Jesus. So we're thankful for your word, and we're thankful, our heavenly Father, that we are your children.

And we're thankful for your faithful word, for your love, for your church. You are sovereign in all times, including the time your dear son spent on earth and his final moments and days. We might be reminded of our own sons and daughters and loved ones as we read these words.

This was all a part of your plan for him and for us. This is an intricate part of our salvation. We're thankful again for our pastor and Mary. Bless their time away. And we're thankful this morning for dear Jason and his family.

We pray for him as he preaches the word up to us this morning. We pray that the Holy Spirit will bless him and fill him. And may we be attentive to the preaching of the word. Perhaps there are those here this morning who have not called upon the Lord.

And may you, Lord, be merciful to each one. We pray in Christ's name. Amen.

Matthew 18 and the Call to Forgive One Another

Good morning again. This morning we're going to take a look at a passage in the book of Matthew. This is a passage that I taught on over the summer, just a small portion of it, in our Sunday school. Then I turned it into a sermon and preached it at Dave Bodanza's church a few months back.

So this is going to be a review for some of you. But our passage this morning is Matthew 18, verses 21 through 35. Matthew 18, verses 21 through 35. But let's go to the Lord briefly before we start. Our Heavenly Father, we again thank you for this morning.

We thank you for your grace, your mercy. We thank you for your scriptures. We thank you for this time together that we can gather and open up your word. We pray, Lord, that we would be diligent to heed what the passage says.

Help us, Lord, to apply it to our lives. Help us to see areas of our own lives where we're deficient. And we pray that we would line up under the authority of your word. Thank you, Lord, for this time.

In Jesus' name, amen. Well, Matthew 18, it's a single discourse or sermon by the Lord Jesus Christ. And the subject is the childlikeness of believers. In verses 1 through 4, the Lord Jesus Christ teaches that only those who humble themselves and become like children will enter the kingdom of God.

In verses 5 through 9, we're admonished to receive one another as little children and be careful not to be a stumbling block nor a temptation to sin. In verses 10 through 14, we're called not to despise the little ones.

We're to care for one another, just as we would seek and care for a lost sheep. And in verses 15 through 18, we're called to discipline one another as children that need to be lovingly disciplined. And in verses 21 through 35, which is our text this morning, we are called to forgive one another as the Lord God has forgiven His children.

Now for those of us who have children or are around children, you'll notice that when it comes to forgiveness, there's a great deal of grace, there's a great deal of tolerance that is afforded them. It's quite easy to be bitter and to hold grudges against an adult who has sinned against you, but it's much more difficult to be bitter and to hold a grudge against a child.

Most adults are quick to forgive because when it comes to children, especially our own children, we're quick to forgive because we understand their weaknesses. We understand their folly. We understand their foolishness.

We're quick to forgive because we love our children unconditionally. According to Matthew 18, as far as forgiveness is concerned, believers must extend the same kind of patient, gracious, and unconditional forgiveness that a parent extends to their child.

Which is a picture of the same patient, gracious, and unconditional forgiveness that God the Father has extended to us. So let's read the text together. Matthew 21, Matthew 18, verses 21 through 35. Then Peter came up and said to Him, Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?

As many as seven times. Jesus said to him, I do not say to you seventy times, but seventy times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with one of his servants.

When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. Since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold with his wife and his children and all that he had in payment to be made.

So the servant fell on his knees imploring him, have patience with me and I will pay you everything. And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when the same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii and seizing him, he began to choke him saying, pay what you owe.

So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, have patience with me and I will.

Pay you.

He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.

Then his master summoned him and said to him, you wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant as I had mercy on you?

And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you if you do not forgive your brother.

From your heart.

Now from this passage we're going to take a look at four things. Number one, a question is asked in verse 21. Verse 22, an answer is given. Then we're going to take a look at the biblical definition of forgiveness.

And lastly, we're going to take a look at verses 23 -35, the example that is given to.

Be followed.

So let's take a look at each one of these in detail. Matthew 18 -21, then Peter came up and said to him, Lord, how often will my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times. Now think back for a moment to the context in which Peter is asking this question.

In verses 15 -20, the disciples had just been taught how to deal with a brother that sins and the great lengths that one must go in order to win back that fallen brother. Look at verse 15. If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.

If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.

And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you a tax collector and a Gentile. As those who have been adopted into the family of God, the instruction of the Lord Jesus Christ is clear and simple when it comes to dealing with a brother or a sister that has been caught in sin.

If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private. And if he listens to you, praise the Lord, you have gained your brother. But if he doesn't repent, then go back to him with two or three witnesses.

If he listens to you and he repents, then praise the Lord, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen to you, nor repent, then go and tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, then he must be treated as an unbeliever.

Now, much more detail could be given to these verses. This is only a brief summary of the process of dealing with those who have fallen into sin, but I want you to note the stated goal in this process.

The goal of church discipline is to gain back a brother. The goal of church discipline is to win back and to restore a brother or a sister who has fallen into sin. Going after a fellow believer who is caught in a transgression is a very good thing.

Church discipline is a very good thing. It's one of the means by which the Lord Jesus Christ keeps sinning believers from straying.

Too far.

It's one of the means by which He preserves and protects His sheep. It's one of the means by which He keeps the church holy. As believers, we are commanded to come alongside our brothers and our sisters who have fallen.

In sin.

We are called to follow this process in love. Regardless of how small or how seemingly insignificant the sin may be, sin must not be ignored. Never are we to be content with a brother or a sister who is entrapped in the clutches.

Of sin.

We must never turn our backs on them. We must never wait and hope that time will solve the problem. To the church of Galatia, the Apostle Paul writes in Galatians 6 .1, Brothers, if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.

Keep watch on yourself lest you too be tempted. It is the responsibility of spiritual believers to pursue fallen brothers or sisters and seek to restore them. As brothers and sisters in Christ, God leaves it to you.

God leaves it to me. We are the ones whom God uses to help fallen believers get back on their feet. In Galatians 6 .1, the term transgression literally means a false step. It means a blunder. It refers to a mistake or an error.

Transgressions are not always intentional. They are not always premeditated. The word carries with it the idea of something that has caught you off guard. Something that has caught you unaware. Ken Sandy, the author of The Peacemaker, which is a book on how to resolve conflict biblically, he writes this about a brother who has fallen into sin.

He is like a fisherman who wasn't paying attention and got entangled in his net as it was going.

Overboard.

And now he is hanging desperately to the side of the boat in danger of being drowned. Both the fisherman and the man caught in sin have the same need. Their problems have become so serious that they may not be able to save themselves.

They need someone else to step in and sever the cords that entangle them. A struggling fisherman, caught unaware, desperately needs to be rescued. And so it is with the brother that has become caught in his transgression.

Sandy then goes on to say this. Just as you would not stand by and watch a fisherman drown while being tangled in his net, neither should you stand by and watch another Christian be destroyed by his sin.

Beloved, the Lord God often accomplishes His will through secondary means. Which means that a brother or sister who has fallen into sin, their rescue, their restoration may very well come from your exhortation.

It may come from your admonishment or from your rebuke. The Lord God uses secondary means to accomplish His purposes. Therefore, Luke 17, verse 3, pay attention to yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him.

And if he repents, forgive him. No one likes to rebuke a brother in sin. And no brother in sin likes to be rebuked. But the Lord God has given us the responsibility to look out for one another. Beloved, you are your brother's keeper.

So pay attention to yourselves and be on guard. Let's look again at Matthew 18, verse 21. Peter's question about forgiveness. Then Peter came up and said to Him, Lord, how often will my brother sin against me and I forgive him?

As many as seven times. Now Peter here asks a very relevant and a very practical question. How often will my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times. Now, in a nutshell, Peter is asking, does forgiveness have limits?

At what point should I withhold forgiveness to a sinning brother? Now Peter's question, while very relevant, was also very flawed. Because counting how many times someone has wronged you typifies the mindset of the world.

It typified the mindset of the Pharisees. Peter probably thought that saying seven times was being extremely generous. Jewish tradition taught that to forgive someone three times was sufficient. So Peter took that accepted number and he doubles it, and then he adds one more to it just to be on the safe side.

You see, Peter is still thinking in terms of the law. Peter does not yet fully understand the value of winning a brother. He had limited his thinking to the measurable terms of the law rather than the immeasurable terms of God's grace.

Law keeps count, but grace does not. The Lord Jesus Christ then answers Peter's question. Verse 22, Jesus said to him, I do not say to you seven times, but seventy seven times. Or seven times seventy as most translations, as most versions translate this phrase.

So the Lord Jesus Christ took Peter's number, multiplied it by itself, and then by ten. And this was a figurative way of saying indefinitely. For all practical purposes, when it comes to forgiveness, seventy seven times is an infinite and limitless number.

Now this answer probably blew the disciples away. Again, at that time, a good and righteous Jew did not need to extend forgiveness beyond three times. But here, the Lord Jesus Christ is stating that forgiveness should always be extended, regardless of the frequency of offenses.

Now this same truth is found in the book of Luke. Luke 17 verse 4,. And if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, I repent, you must forgive him. In these passages, the Lord Jesus Christ is not setting a daily limit to forgiveness.

Rather, it's the exact opposite. We are to forgive as many times as necessary. The extent of our forgiveness is to be unending. It is to be immeasurable. It is to be limitless. Beloved, if your dad, your mom, your husband, your wife, your children, your siblings, your family, your friends, your co-workers, your neighbors, if anyone in your life sins against you multiple times every day for the rest of your life, then you are to forgive them for every offense every day for the rest of your life.

Free and unlimited forgiveness. Now I think the question naturally arises, what does this type of forgiveness actually look like in real life? How is free and unlimited forgiveness practically manifest?

What does it mean to truly and biblically forgive someone? Thomas Watson, one of the great non-conformist Puritans of the 17th century, in his commentary on the Lord's Prayer, wrote that free and unlimited forgiveness must include six components.

True gospel forgiveness includes striving against all thoughts of revenge, not doing our enemies mischief, but wishing them well, grieving at their calamities, praying for them, seeking reconciliation with them, and showing ourselves ready on all occasions to relieve them.

Now how do you think Thomas Watson came up with such a detailed description of true gospel forgiveness, the Scriptures? He found it all throughout the pages of God's authoritative and sufficient Word.

1 Thessalonians 5 .15,. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. True gospel forgiveness means that you will not seek out revenge after you've been wronged.

It means that you will not return evil for evil. This means that you will not pursue revenge, you will not desire revenge. It means that you will not even entertain the thoughts of revenge. Rather, you will entrust the entire situation into the very capable hands of your Heavenly Father.

Romans 12 .19 says, Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God. For it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. After you've been wronged, even if you've been repeatedly wronged, with the same offense again and again and again, rather than seeking revenge, rather than returning evil for evil, you will seek their good.

You will seek their spiritual best. You will not rejoice when your enemy falls. You will not let your heart be glad when he stumbles. But rather, Luke 6 .27, You will love your enemies. You will do good to those who hate you.

You will bless those who curse you. And you will pray for those who abuse you. If possible, Romans 12 .18, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Now all of these things, striving against thoughts of revenge, not doing our enemies mischief, wishing them well, grieving at their calamities, praying for them, seeking reconciliation, and showing ourselves ready on all occasions to relieve them, encompass true gospel forgiveness.

However, the greatest and the most accurate definition of gospel forgiveness is found in the life and death of Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ exemplified gospel forgiveness. He was despised. He was rejected by man.

He was pierced. He was crushed.

He was wounded.

He was reviled.

And yet He pitied them.

He prayed for them. Father, forgive them. The Lord Jesus Christ shed genuine tears for those who shed His blood. And this, beloved, is the example and the pattern that we are to follow. Colossians 3 .13 -14 says, Bearing with one another, and if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other.

As the Lord has forgiven you, so also you must forgive. And above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. The greatest model, the greatest pattern, the greatest definition of forgiveness is captured in this verse by the phrase, as the Lord has forgiven you.

As children of God, we are to bear with one another and forgive one another just as the Lord forgave you. And how has the Lord forgiven you? Psalm 103 .8, The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.

He will not always chide, nor will He keep His anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him.

As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him. For He knows our frame.

He remembers that we are but dust. God is slow to anger. God is abounding in steadfast love. God does not deal with us according to our sins, but is merciful and gracious. And He has removed our sins as far as the east is from the west.

God is compassionate and understanding. He knows our frame. And He is patient with our weakness. He's patient with our frailty. To grant forgiveness as God has granted forgiveness is to release the guilty from liability to suffer punishment.

To forgive literally means to release or to remit. So to grant forgiveness as God has granted forgiveness is to release the guilty from the punishment and the penalty of being separated from you because of their sin committed against you.

To grant forgiveness as the Lord has granted forgiveness is to make a conscious decision to make four promises to that person. Four promises. First, you're promising that you will not dwell on this incident.

You will not dwell on the wrong that was done to you. In other words, you're not gonna stew on it. You're not gonna brood over what has happened. You're gonna move on from it and you're gonna think good thoughts about that person.

In the book of Philippians chapter four, Paul asked the church to help out two women who were involved in interpersonal conflict. And right smack dab in the middle of his execution, he writes the following.

Verse eight,. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Saying I forgive you is a promise not to dwell on the wrong that has been committed, but to dwell on that which is true, that which is honorable and just and pure and lovely and the things that are commendable, the things that are excellent and the things that are worthy of praise.

Forgiveness begins as an attitude of the heart. As hard as it may be, we must strive to have this attitude of forgiveness all throughout the process of restoration. Secondly, saying I forgive you means that you are promising that you will not bring up the incident again nor use it against them in the future.

In the midst of conflict and heated arguments, there's often a tendency to get historical, to remind your wife of her previous sins against you, to remind your husband of all the ways that he's hurt you and failed you in the past.

You use the sins of the past to manipulate and to bend the current situation in your favor. Beloved, this is the exact opposite of forgiveness. 1 Corinthians 13, 5, love does not act unbecomingly. It does not seek its own.

It is not provoked. It does not take into account a wrong suffered. In other words, love keeps no record of wrongs. It doesn't take into account a wrong suffered. Number three, thirdly, it's a promise that you will not talk to others about the incident.

Now, if you're like most people, after you've been wronged or sinned against, you want to tell other people. You want to tell your co-workers or your friends or your family. You want them to feel sorry for you.

You want them to side with you instead of siding with the person who mistreated you. Beloved, once you say I forgive you, once you release that person from liability to suffer punishment, don't tell anyone else about it.

Because talking about it does nothing but cause division. It causes nothing but undue hurt. Talking about it with others will not edify anyone. It will only cause more problems. Proverbs 26, 20, for lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, contention quiets down.

Quarreling ceases. Gossip is not the answer to a wrong. Gossip is not the answer to your hurt. Let me tell you, the best surefire way to keep contention and conflict going strong in relationships, at home and in the church, is to gossip about them with other people.

If the people whom you're talking with are not part of the problem, nor are they part of the solution, then it's gossip. Don't fool yourself for a second in thinking that talking about the situation is going to help the situation.

It won't.

It will only fan the fires of gossip.

Fourthly,.

Saying I forgive you is a promise that you will not let this incident stand between you and the other person. Nor will you let it hinder your personal relationship with them in any way. After you say I forgive you, you need to treat that person with love and respect.

You need to treat that person with kindness and courtesy. You're going to treat that person as you yourself would want to be treated. Even though they may have caused you tremendous hurt and pain and anguish, by saying I forgive you, you will not allow any of those things to interfere in your relationship moving forward.

So saying I forgive you is really a mouthful. It's a promise that you will not let the incident stand between you, nor let it hinder your personal relationship in any way. It's a promise that you will not talk to others about it.

It's a promise that you will not bring up the incident again and use it against them in the future. And it's a promise that you will not dwell on the incident yourself. Saying I forgive you says a lot.

Corlette Sandy, who is the wife of Ken Sandy and the author of The Young Peacemaker, which is a workbook for children, teaching them how to respond biblically to conflict, she summarizes these four promises of forgiveness in a short poem.

Good thought, hurt you not, gossip never, friends forever. It's pretty helpful in remembering those four promises. Good thought, hurt you not, gossip never, friends forever. Now, in light of this definition of forgiveness, you may be asking yourself, how can I possibly forgive this way?

How can I possibly keep these four promises and forgive my spouse after they've committed adultery? Or after they've gambled away our life savings? After they physically hurt me or one of our children?

How can I keep these four promises and forgive when I have been hurt so deeply and repeatedly? Well, those are fair questions. Let's take a look at Matthew 18 verses 23 through 35.

For the answers.

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

And here in these verses, to help his disciples better understand forgiveness, the Lord Jesus Christ shares with them a parable. Now, what's a parable? Well, the Greek word for parable literally means something alongside something else, so that a comparison can be made.

The Lord Jesus Christ often spoke in parables. He would take a very difficult truth, spiritual truth, and then he would lay it aside a physical story that's easy to understand. And this would give spiritual insight into the difficult spiritual truth.

So let me summarize this parable for you. Verse 23 through 35. A king wished to settle accounts with his servants. And as he was settling the accounts, one servant was brought to him who owed him 10 ,000 talents.

Now, 10 ,000 talents was an enormous amount of money. To give you an idea, one talent equaled about 20 years worth of wages for the common laborer. And this servant owed 10 ,000 talents. This is actually the largest numerical term.

In the Greek language.

It was often used to describe a figurative uncountable number, much like the Lord Jesus Christ using the term 77 times, or when children today use the term gazillion. So the picture here is of a servant who owes an innumerable and an immeasurable debt.

And how did he acquire this much debt? Well, the text doesn't say except that he had a wife. To be fair, he also had children. So this servant doesn't have the means to repay the king. So the king commands him to be sold along with his wife and his children and all that he had for repayment to be made.

Now, this may seem harsh to you and I, but in that day, it was a very common punishment to pay back a debt. But even this punishment of being sold alongside his wife, his children, and all of his things wouldn't have even put a dent in the debt that was owed.

Upon hearing his punishment, crushed and broken and in humility, he falls to the ground, he prostrates himself before the king, saying, have patience with me and I will repay you everything. And the Lord of the servant felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.

Now imagine that for just a moment.

Imagine that.

What a load would have been lifted from his shoulders. He owed an immeasurable debt, a debt that he could never pay back. He had a wife, he had children, and they would have been sold into slavery. They would have been split up and separated and they probably never would have seen each other again.

But the king was compassionate and the king released the servant from liability to suffer punishment. The servant was granted forgiveness of the tremendous debt that he owed. Think of the joy, think of the gratitude that this servant must have felt.

He got a second chance at his life. His family got a second chance at life. His debt was completely erased, it was wiped clean. Now after such marvelous mercy and grace, you would think that this servant would be the most gracious and the most thankful servant in all the kingdom.