Pearls from the Parables: Forgiveness

The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 13, 2026
Matthew 18:21-35

“Pearls from the Parables: Forgiveness”

More than 300 years ago in the year 1711, the English poet, Alexander Pope, wrote a poem entitled, “An Essay on Criticism, Part II.” Contained in this poem is the following verse:

Ah ne’er so dire a Thirst of Glory boast,
Nor in the Critick let the Man be lost!
Good-Nature and Good-Sense must ever join;
To err is Humane; to Forgive, Divine.

(To Err Is Human; To Forgive, Divine - Meaning & Origin Of The Phrase)

That last line is, of course, well-known and often quoted: “To err is human; to forgive, divine.” Alexander Pope’s point is that while anyone can make a mistake, we are to do as God does, showing mercy and forgiveness. With a new year of learning and growing in our Christian faith begins today, and this theme is a good way to start this new year. Today we begin a 3-part sermon series based on Jesus’ parables, all from Matthew’s Gospel. Based on Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving servant in today’s Gospel lesson, the sermon is entitled “Forgiveness.” May the Lord’s rich and abundant blessing rest upon the preaching, the hearing, and the living of his Word for Jesus’ sake.

If anyone were entitled to bear a grudge, it would be Joseph, whom we hear about in today’s Old Testament lesson (Genesis 50:15-21). Sold into slavery by his older brothers and taken away to Egypt, those brothers covered their tracks by telling dear old dad, Jacob, that a wild animal had killed Joseph. They took Joseph’s clothes, dipped them in goat’s blood, and made it look like that’s what really happened. Jacob was inconsolable over the loss of his son, not knowing that his son was actually alive. Joseph’s story in Genesis (chapters 37-50) tells of all that he endured, including slavery and imprisonment, because of what his brothers did to him. It would have been very easy for him to nurse a deep and lasting grudge against his brothers; plotting how he would get even with them one day. But the hand of the Lord was with Joseph, and after he had been elevated to the second highest office in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself, Joseph was unexpectedly reunited with his brothers when they came to Egypt, looking to buy food in the midst of a great famine. They did not recognize him, but he recognized them. To be sure, Joseph did mess with them some – really to test them – but he did not exact the vengeance that he very easily could have done. Instead of destroying them in a fit of righteous anger, what did Joseph do? He forgave them. And now, in today’s Old Testament lesson, their father, Jacob, has died, and the brothers are afraid that Joseph is going to settle the score now. Amazingly, Joseph does no such thing. Instead, he tells his brothers this: “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear, I will provide for you and your little ones” (Genesis 50:19-21a). Joseph’s action set the course for the future. The power to forgive came from outside Joseph; it came from God himself.

In our own lives, the power to forgive also comes from outside us. For us, as with Joseph, the power to forgive comes from God. When we are wronged, insulted, and mistreated, our human nature can quickly go to a dark place. We want that pound of flesh. We want to settle the score and get even. To forgive and let go is counter-intuitive to our human nature. But without this, where do we end up in life? The cycle of retaliation and revenge can go on for a very long time. Several years ago, a devotion from Lutheran Hour Ministries put it like this: “A major change like a death in a family causes everyone to re-evaluate their relationships. Old sins and guilts may come back to the surface and destroy the peace of everyone involved. What can we do about these things? The same thing we do when sin and guilt are fresh: run to Jesus. Seek His help to deal with the matter. Ask for His wisdom, His courage, and His mercy. Then, if possible, talk with other people involved. In many cases, it is wise to involve a pastor or counselor, especially if the sin is major, or if you fear that the people involved might react in painful or harmful ways. The Lord doesn’t expect you to put yourself in danger by confronting an abuser. What if it’s impossible to talk with the others involved – because they’re dead, absent, or suffer from dementia? Take it up with Jesus, who can and will help you heal in these situations as well. He who lay down His life for you is able to bring you out of the shadows of old grief and sin, into His own everlasting light and life” (“Long Shadows,” e-devotion for 9/12/23 by Dr. Kari Vo).

Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving servant in today’s Gospel lesson shows what holding onto old grudges and grievances looks like. It begins with Peter, who was looking for some kind of cut-off point, some kind of limitation, when it comes to forgiveness, and we do as well. Whether we translate Jesus’ words as “seventy times” or “seventy times seven,” the point is, we are to forgive others as we ourselves have been forgiven. That figure of 10,000 talents is so astronomically high as to be almost beyond description. A talent was not currency, but a weight of silver. In today’s money, 10,000 talents would be anywhere from hundreds of millions to several billion dollars. In other words, this is a debt so enormous that it’s impossible to repay. As our King has graciously forgiven us the enormous debt of our sins, day in and day out, time and again, over and over, we are called to do the same with one another. Is that easy? No, it can be the hardest thing in the world to do. But our model for forgiveness comes from outside us. It comes from the Lord Jesus, who when he was being crucified, prayed for those who were nailing him to the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). In the death of Jesus on the cross, the crushing burden of our debt of sin has been fully paid. Through that sacrifice, God is now reconciled to us (2 Corinthians 5:18), and we have been set free. That’s what forgiveness does: it sets us free. And now, the question becomes: what will we do with that freedom? Will we, like the servant in Jesus’ parable who had been forgiven so much, now go out and chase down others, screaming: “Pay what you owe!” (Matthew 18:28b)? Or, will we do something different; something that looks more like what Jesus would do? Will we forgive others as we ourselves have been forgiven? The blood of Jesus, God’s Son, that cleanses us from all our sin (1 John 1:7b), does indeed set us free – a freedom from as well as a freedom for. We have been set free from fear, guilt, shame; set free from the condemnation of the Law that says we haven’t done enough or been good enough for God to love us. Jesus has taken care of it all for us, a gift that we now receive through faith in him. And now this freedom from leads to freedom for; freedom for extending this gift of forgiveness and new life to others. As we have been forgiven by God, so we are led by the power of the Holy Spirit to forgive others.

As we begin this fall season, as we enter into this new year of learning and growing in the faith we share, may God help us to forgive as we have been forgiven, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.