Father, forgive them.

“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 seven times, but seventy-seven times’” (Matthew 18:21-22).

Peter was wrestling with forgiveness. Peter was wrestling with forgiveness from the perspective of a person who had been somehow victimized. There was some hurt, some torment that Peter was bearing - maybe one of the disciples had injured his reputation and mocked his impulsive nature. Maybe it was Peter’s mother-in-law scoffing at him for the neglect her daughter might be suffering after days and weeks away with Jesus on the road. 

Somehow Peter had been received an injury and he is asking for a term limit on forgiveness. “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” (Matthew 18:21).

Peter was asking a secondary question - a follow up to the most important question. Peter might better begun this discourse with Jesus by asking about himself and the injustice he daily, hourly inflicted on God. But Peter’s own need for forgiveness was not easily seen in the daily trappings of his adventures with Jesus. 

So Peter drones out the question and is met by an illustration that communicates the bigger concern (Matthew 18:23-35). In this particular illustration, the King is God, the servants are humanity, and the talents are the debt. Scripture, states, “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that 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.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 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. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart” (Matthew 18:23-35).

The Jewish term for “talent” amounted to a weight in gold or silver, often a circular-shaped loaf of the precious metal. Ten thousand talents could amount to . . . well, that is challenging. But we know that it is the largest measure used. Some make this calculation of the talent to be as much as twenty years of wages for the average Joe blue collar worker. Other scholars estimate more conservatively, valuing the New Testament talent somewhere between $1,000 to $30,000 dollars today (Ancient Talent Weight/Library of Congress. Public Domain).

We’ll take a well rounded approach to this; the measure of ten thousand talents could be rather sizable. For example, if the measure is about 100 pounds of gold, then ONE talent equals $3,200,000.  That would be 32 billion dollars for the ten thousand talents. This is not a sum that the average person could ever pay back. And that’s the point!

When Jesus, from the cross says, “Father forgive them,” He is saying that there is absolutely no way they could even think of paying this astronomical debt. They are so spiritually bankrupt that eternity in hell’s prison would be the only outcome.

This is sobering to each of us if it is true. This would explain so much about the harshness of the law in pointing out all our failures and the universal nature of fallenness. We are all broken and bankrupt! There is no human solution to our debt to God. This would also explain the horrible nature of payment for sin: the cross. If our debt causes pain to God’s holiness and is something that we owe Him, then the cross measures up the immensity of our debt.

Peter was more aware of the infractions and injustices committed against him but Peter had no cognitive acceptance of the grand plummet into debt which daily took him deeper. We don’t either unless we read Jesus’ words in Luke and in Matthew 18 as truth.

My casual disregard for someone else’s well-being is one of many debts I owe God; and Jesus is asking His Father to release me from that debt. When we gather the offenses of others, and hold tightly to our victimization, we are overlooking an ever growing debt that God must settle. When we demand that others meet their just rewards but ignore, dismiss or are simply unaware of our crimes against God, then our insurmountable debt continues to stagnate, multiply and fester.

What Jesus’ words actually mean: “Father, their debt is so astronomical and would forever cause them to be in hell‘s prison, tormented with shame and guilt and remorse and separation from you forever. Father, let’s change their destiny and give them a reason to live. Let’s give them hope and a new identity. Father, this will hurt me and torment your fatherly heart, but this is the only way.”

We can’t pay the debt. We have no finances to deal lay at God’s feet. We can’t even accomplish a down payment. We have no resources that would cover this. So Jesus asks the Father, “take my life and make me a sacrifice, make me the payment for their debt.”

The hymn, Jesus in Thy dying woes . . . 

1 Jesus, in your dying woes,

even while your lifeblood flows,

craving pardon for your foes:

hear us, holy Jesus!

5 Jesus, in your thirst and pain,

while your wounds the lifeblood drain,

thus fulfilling Scripture's plan:

hear us, holy Jesus!

This was not a random passing thought from our loving Savior. This was God’s plan, forged even before the world’s foundations were laid. God knew the wayward bent of His own creatures, of humanity. And He knew the price He would have to pay to cancel our debt. And He still created us, stepping into our humanity and living a common man’s life, but dying a criminal death to set us free forever.

Luke 23:34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Jesus’ first words from the cross match God’s plan. And the Father willingly did forgive us all our debt. Thank you, holy Jesus!