Measure of Forgiveness
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had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And
his Lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should
pay all that was due unto him.”
This parable presents details which are needed for the filling out of
the picture but which have no counterpart in its spiritual significance.
The attention should not be diverted to them. Certain great truths are
illustrated, and to these our thought should be given.
The pardon granted by this king represents a divine forgiveness of
all sin. Christ is represented by the king, who, moved with compassion,
forgave the debt of his servant. Man was under the condemnation of
the broken law. He could not save himself, and for this reason Christ
came to this world, clothed His divinity with humanity, and gave His
life, the just for the unjust. He gave Himself for our sins, and to every
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soul He freely offers the blood-bought pardon. “With the Lord there is
mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption.”
Psalm 130:7
.
Here is the ground upon which we should exercise compassion
toward our fellow sinners. “If God so loved us, we ought also to love
one another.”
1 John 4:11
. “Freely ye have received,” Christ says,
“freely give.”
Matthew 10:8
.
In the parable, when the debtor pleaded for delay, with the promise,
“Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all,” the sentence was
revoked. The whole debt was canceled. And he was soon given an
opportunity to follow the example of the master who had forgiven
him. Going out, he met a fellow servant who owed him a small sum.
He had been forgiven ten thousand talents; the debtor owed him a
hundred pence. But he who had been so mercifully treated, dealt with
his fellow laborer in an altogether different manner. His debtor made
an appeal similar to that which he himself had made to the king, but
without a similar result. He who had so recently been forgiven was not
tenderhearted and pitiful. The mercy shown him he did not exercise in
dealing with his fellowservant. He heeded not the request to be patient.
The small sum owed to him was all that the ungrateful servant would
keep in mind. He demanded all that he thought his due, and carried
into effect a sentence similar to that which had been so graciously
revoked for him.
How many are today manifesting the same spirit. When the debtor
pleaded with his Lord for mercy, he had no true sense of the greatness
of his debt. He did not realize his helplessness. He hoped to deliver