Author: Gary Witcher

Parables Seven

At the beginning of Matthew chapter 18 the disciples ask Jesus,  "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
Although the question may be a natural one, it is also inappropriate in light of the nature of the kingdom.  So the Lord replies by calling to Himself a group of children and referring to them as He teaches that the kingdom He has come to establish involves striving for humility and not personal greatness.
Romans 3:23 informs us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  Romans 6:23 establishes that the wages of sin is death. Because of this, our salvation is a gift from God through His grace and mercy.
It is not hard to see, then, that humility is a key attitude for someone who expects to be saved.  As long as we don't acknowledge that we are lost we will not seek to be saved.  And until we recognize that we are powerless to save ourselves we will never turn to God for help.   We can never be anything until we are ready to admit that we are nothing.
It is in the context of this discussion that the Master presents a parable about a lost sheep.
"What do you think?" Jesus asks. "If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying?  And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray."
One of the greatest obstacles that Jesus encounters in dealing with the Jews is that they are not willing to admit that they are lost.   As we noted last time the Jewish leaders insist that they are not spiritually blind.
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!" the master laments in Matthew 23:37,38.   "How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.  Behold, your house is being left to you desolate."
In Matthew 9:10-15 the Pharisees complain to Jesus because He is associating with sinners.
"It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick," Jesus points out in verses 12,13.  "But go and learn what this means, 'I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Are there any people who do not need spiritual healing from the Great Physician?  Of course not.  Are there any people who Jesus did not come to call?  Of course not.  Are there any people for whom the call of Jesus does no good?  Of course there are.  Those who do not recognize that they are sick do not seek a doctor.  Those who think they are righteous do not seek the Master.  So Jesus came to call sinners, not the righteous.
Romans 3:10 tells us what we already know, that no one is righteous. Verse 22 states that true righteousness comes through faith in Jesus for those who believe.
What is the message, then, of this parable?  Jesus is saying that He and His Father are interested in seeking out lost sheep.
When one lost sheep is found there is more rejoicing than there is over the ninety-nine who have not gone astray.   Or should we say the ninety-nine who do not recognize that they, too, have gone astray?
"Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep,” Jesus states in John 10:7-15, "All who came before Me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not hear them.
	"I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.  The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.
"I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.  He who is a hireling, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, beholds the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees, and the wolf snatches them, and scatters them.
"He flees because he is a hireling, and is not concerned about the sheep.  I am the good shepherd; and I know My own, and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep."
"For the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost," Jesus says in Luke 19:10.
"The Lord is my shepherd," David writes in the 23rd Psalm,  "I shall not want."
"Surely our griefs He Himself bore," Isaiah 53:4-6 prophesies,  "and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
"But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we were healed.
"All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him."

In Matthew 18:15-17 Jesus outlines the steps to be followed in removing from the fellowship of the church a member who refuses to repent of sins he commits.
As we notice from verses 18-20, the procedure given here is not designed to decide what to do with the unruly member.   That has already been established in heaven.  These steps are given to help determine whether or not a person is guilty and, if so, encourage that person to repent.
The first step is taken by a member who is aware of the sin.   Verse 21 implies that this person might even be the one who has been sinned against.  Notice that this person has the first obligation to try to help the one who has sinned against him.  An attitude of revenge has no place in the church.
If the person who sinned will not listen to the single member, then one or two others are taken on a second visit.   If the person still refuses to repent, the matter is reported to the church as a whole.  If he still refuses to change, he is to be separated from the church.
The Lord is quick to follow this information, however, with instructions about being eager to accept those who repent of their sins. Peter is proud in verse 21 to offer forgiveness seven times.   For a Jew seven is a complete number.  But Jesus takes this complete number and multiplies it by itself.  Then He multiplies this by ten.   These two multiplications mean that forgiveness has no limits.
The rest of the chapter contains a parable about forgiveness.
In the story, a king decides to settle accounts with his slaves. There is one slave who owes the king ten thousand talents.
A denarius was a day's wage, and it took 6,000 of these to equal a talent.  So we are looking at the equivalent of 60 million days' labor.
It seems like an understatement when verse 25 notes that the slave does not have the means to repay the debt.   This slave begs for compassion, and the king forgives the debt.
This slave then goes and finds another slave who owes him 100 denarii.  This second slave begs the first one for patience, but the first slave refuses.  He throws his fellow-slave in prison until the debt is re-paid.
	Some other slaves see what happens and report the incident to the king.  The ruler calls the first slave back and informs him that, since he has had no mercy on his fellow-slave, the king would have no mercy on him. The unforgiving slave is turned over to the torturers until the debt is paid.  We have to wonder how long it would take to pay back a debt of this size.
In the final verse of the chapter Jesus makes the application of the parable.
"So shall My heavenly Father also do to you,” Jesus explains,  "if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart."
Is it very difficult to get the message?  How much has God forgiven us?
"For while we were still helpless," Romans 5:6 points out,  "at the right time Christ died for the ungodly."
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us," verse 8 adds,  "in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
"For the wages of sin is death," we learn in Romans 6:23,  "but the free gift of God is eternal life."
Our debt to God is greater than that of the first slave to the king. There is no way that we could ever measure God's forgiveness.  What, then, should our attitude be toward others who do something to us?
"Do not judge lest you be judged yourselves," Matthew 7:1,2 informs us.  "For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it shall be measured to you."
"So speak and so act," James 2:12,13 advises, "as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.  For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment."
God offers His mercy and forgiveness.  And he expects us to treat others the way He treats us.  But what about those who refuse to obey God and receive this mercy?  How will God deal with them?  There is no indication that our forgiveness of others depends upon their willingness to repent.  There is no room for revenge among us.   But we know from passages such as Romans 12:19 and 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9 that God will take revenge on those who do not obey Him.
Hebrews 10:26-31 is one of many Scriptures that tell how God feels about those who reject His mercy.
"How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God,” verse 29 asks, "and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?"
Jesus promises in John 12:48 that His words will judge us in the last day.  It is up to us to reject this word and suffer the penalty, or obey the truth and be set free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."