100 Denarii
January 1, 2012 4:30 AM -0600
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In the second installment of our Dive series, Pastor Jeremy examines what may be one of the hardest - and most essential - steps to spiritual growth. Discover how forgiving others is crucial to growing deeper in your faith and just what it takes to make it real.
Thesis: Real, complete forgiveness is essential to real spiritual depth and growth.
Objective: Challenge people to forgive others so they can develop a more intimate relationship with Jesus.
Matthew 18:21-35
Objective: Challenge people to forgive others so they can develop a more intimate relationship with Jesus.
Matthew 18:21-35
- Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how many times could my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” “I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus said to
- him,“but 70 times seven. For this reason, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his •slaves. When he began to settle accounts,
- one who owed 10,000 talentswas brought before him. Since he had no way to pay it back, his master commanded that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold
- to pay the debt. “At this, the slave fell facedown before him and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything!’ Then the master of that slave had compassion, released him,
- and forgave him the loan. “But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him 100 •denarii.He grabbed him, started choking him, and said, ‘Pay what you
- owe!’ “At this, his fellow slave fell downand began begging him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he wasn’t willing. On the contrary, he went and threw
- him into prison until he could pay what was owed. When the other slaves saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master
- everything that had happened. “Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Shouldn’t you also
- have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ And his master got angry and handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed.
- So My heavenly Father will also do to you if each of you does not forgive his brotherfrom hisheart.”
- We must forgive (21-22).
- Definition of forgiveness: “a decision to let go of resentment and thoughts of revenge” (The Mayo Clinic).
- We know we need to forgive (“Lord, how many times could my brother sin against me and I forgive him?” (21); Peter asked the question because he knew that forgiveness was a good thing. He had been taught by the rabbis that it was important to forgive someone as many as three times - that was adequate demonstration of a forgiving spirit - and he knew that it was true. We understand that we need to forgive. We hear sermons, motivational speakers, and even talk shows about it. The Mayo Clinic tells us that “forgiveness can lead to healthier relationships; greater spiritual and psychological well-being; less anxiety, stress and hostility; lower blood pressure; fewer symptoms of depression; [and a] lower risk of alcohol and substance abuse.” Conversely, if we hold a grudge, The Mayo Clinic tells us, “ you might pay the price repeatedly by bringing anger and bitterness into every relationship and new experience. Your life might become so wrapped up in the wrong that you can't enjoy the present. You might become depressed or anxious. You might feel that your life lacks meaning or purpose, or that you're at odds with your spiritual beliefs. You might lose valuable and enriching connectedness with others.” And we nod our heads in agreement. We know we need to forgive.).
- We qualify forgiveness (“As many as seven times?” (21); Peter had been taught that forgiving three times was the essential mark of a forgiving person. Peter wanted to go above and beyond that, to establish himself as the star disciple - remember the previous discussion was seeking who was the greatest - so he suggested seven times. In his mind, it was above and beyond the call of duty, but it was still limited. We know that we need to forgive people, but then we add conditions and limitations to that statement. …as long as they don’t... ...as long as they aren’t... ...as long as they haven’t... ILLUSTRATION: We offer forgiveness, but with all the fast talking, fine print at the end of TV commercials of seemingly great offers.).
- We must forgive (“I tell you, not as many as seven, but 70 times seven” (22); Jesus’ point was not that we should forgive up to 77 or 490 times, depending on your translation. Rather, it was hyperbole. I.e., by the time that you get to that limit, you’ll have lost track and stopped counting. Jesus didn’t want us to forgive unless or until anything. He just wanted us to forgive.).
- We must forgive because we’re forgiven (23-33).
- Our debt to God is immeasurable (“one who owed 10,000 talents” (24); The man owed 10,000 talents, equivalent to 60 million denarii. In today’s terms, that equates to 164,383.56 years worth of labor. Assuming an annual income of ,095 (median income for ZIP code 50310 in 1999), that’s nearly .6 billion. At the going price of gold (.14 as of 1/6/2012 9:45a), it’s more than .6 billion. In other words, despite the man’s words, there was no way he would ever have the resources to pay the king. And yet the king forgave him. Paul understood this. 1 Timothy 1:15: “This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’ - and I am the worst of them.” There is no way we could ever repay God the debt of our sin. It is that great.).
- Their debt to us pales (“who owed him 100 denarii” (28); The fellow slave owed 100 denarii. All by itself, this was a significant debt, equivalent to 100 days’ or 3 months’ wages. In our terms, assuming a 5-day work week at ,095 (median income for ZIP code 50310 in 1999), that’s ,438. But compared to the first slave’s debt, it was nothing! No matter what “they” have done to us, it absolutely pales in comparison to our own debt to God.).
- We should “pay it forward” (“Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?” (33); Because we have been forgiven of so much, without condition or limitation, we should be quick to forgive others, also without qualification.).
- We must forgive, or else (34-35).
- We will forfeit forgiveness (“And his master got angry and handed him over to the jailers to be tortured” (34); Just as the king threw the unforgiving servant in jail to be tortured, so God will throw His unforgiving servant in Hell to be tortured.).
- We’ll never escape (“until he could pay everything that was owed” (34); Just as there was no way the unforgiving servant would ever pay off his debt, there is no way we can ever pay off our debt of sin to God. I.e., we will spend eternity in Hell if we don’t forgive.).
- We must forgive sincerely (“if each of you does not forgive his brother from his heart” (35); According to the ESV Study Bible, the heart here represented “the very center of one’s being, including one’s reason, emotions, and will.” Translated into today’s terms, we need to forgive with our head, our heart, and our hands. It should impact what we think about the person, what we feel about the person, and what we do to the person.).
- Conclusion
- The Mayo Clinic says “forgiveness is a commitment to a process of change” and offers these steps to forgiving someone:
- Consider the value of forgiveness and its importance in your life at a given time
- Reflect on the facts of the situation, how you've reacted, and how this combination has affected your life, health and well-being
- When you're ready, actively choose to forgive the person who's offended you
- Move away from your role as victim and release the control and power the offending person and situation have had in your life
- Mayo also says, “As you let go of grudges, you'll no longer define your life by how you've been hurt. You might even find compassion and understanding.”
- 1 Peter 3:8-9: “Now finally, all of you should be... not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this.”
- Break the cycle of hurt. I.e., I stop hurting “them.”
- Offer an apology if appropriate.
- Aim to bless “them.”
Ryrie
Reflecting God
Archaeological
ESV Study Bible
HCSB Study Bible
Glo
Other
- (21) “The rabbis said to forgive three times, so Peter thought he was being exceptionally worthy by suggesting seven times.”
- (22) 70 x 7 = 490. But the point was really, “Forgive an uncounted number of times.”
- (24) “A talent was a measure of weight varying in size from about 75 lbs. It was used to weigh precious metals.”
- (28) 100 denarii = “A hundred days’ wages, a trifling sum in comparison” to the 10K talents the first servant owed.
Reflecting God
- (35) The main teaching of the parable is this: forgive.
Archaeological
- (21) “The standard teaching within Judaism (based on Job 33:29-30; Am 1:3; 2:6) was that three instances of forgiveness reflected a forgiving spirit. Peter’s offer to more than double the number was generous, probably reflecting his desire for the completeness the number seven usually represented. Jesus response - in essence that Peter was to forgive countless times - was astonishing.”
ESV Study Bible
- (21-22) “Within Judaism, three times was sufficient to show a forgiving spirit (based on Job 33:29, 30; Amos 1:3; 2:6), thus Peter (seven) believes he has shown generosity. But true disciples of Jesus are to forgive without keeping count (seventy-seven times). This may echo and reverse Lamech’s boast of vengeance in Gen. 4:24.”
- (24) “In OT times, a talent was a unit of weight equaling about 75 pounds (34 kg). In NT times, it was a unit of monetary reckoning (though not an actual coin), valued at about 6,000 drachmas, the equivalent of about 20 years’ wages for a laborer. (A common laborer earned about one denarius per day.) In approximate modern equivalents, if a laborer earns per hour, at 2,000 hours per year he would earn ,000 per year, and a talent would equal ,000 (USD). Hence, “ten thousand talents” hyperbolically represents an incalculable debt—in today’s terms, about billion.”
- (25) Selling someone into slavery was “common in the ancient world (cf. Ex. 21:2–11; Deut. 15:12–18; 2 Kings 4:1; Neh. 5:4–8), often as punishment for those whose debts could not possibly be repaid.”
- (27) “The forgiveness of such a massive debt (equivalent to billion; see note on v. 24) is a dramatic illustration of (1) the massive debt that people owe, because of their sins, to the holy, righteous God; (2) their complete inability ever to pay such a debt (“For the wages of sin is death … ,” Rom. 6:23a); (3) God’s great mercy and patience (Matt. 18:26, 29) in withholding his immediate righteous judgment that all people deserve for their sins; and (4) God’s gracious provision of Christ’s death and resurrection to pay the debt for sins and to break the power of sin (“but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,” Rom. 6:23b).”
- (27) “The two central points of the parable are: first, that the gift of salvation is immeasurably great (“how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” Heb. 2:3); and, second, that unless a person is comparably merciful to others, (a) God’s mercy has not had a saving effect upon him (Matt. 18:32–33), and (b) he will be liable to pay the consequences himself (vv. 34–35).”
- (28-32) “This was still a large amount (equivalent to about 20 weeks of common labor, or about ,000 in today’s terms), but compared to the debt that the wicked servant himself owed ( billion), it was a relatively small amount. The servant’s unwillingness to forgive even this amount, though having been forgiven his own insurmountable debt, revealed the servant’s true wicked character (v. 32) and that he had not in fact been transformed by the forgiveness that his master had extended to him.”
- (34) The jailers here are “a metaphorical allusion to eternal punishment that the wicked servant justly deserves (cf. 8:12; 10:28; 13:42, 49–50; 22:13; 24:51).”
- (35) “A transformed heart must result in a changed life that offers the same mercy and forgiveness as has been received from God (cf. Isa. 40:2). Someone who does not grant forgiveness to others shows that his own heart has not experienced God’s forgiveness.”
- (35) “Throughout Scripture, the heart refers to the center of one’s being, including one’s reason, emotions, and will.”
HCSB Study Bible
- (21-22) “Although forgiving someone only seven times seems stingy, this standard was generous considering the fact that some rabbis required their students to forgive offenders only three times.”
- (21-22) “Interpreters dispute whether Jesus demanded forgiving one's brother 77 times or 490 times (70 times 7), but Jesus' point was that forgiveness should be unlimited when true repentance is present.”
- (23-27) “In Jewish parables, a king symbolizes God and to settle accounts symbolizes divine judgment.”
- (23-27) “The 10,000 talents was equivalent to a billion day's worth of peasant wages. This was more money than was circulating in all of Palestine.”
- (23-27) “The talent was the largest unit of currency (equivalent to approximately 6,000 days' worth of wages) and 10,000 is the highest single number that can be expressed in Greek. Thus we see that in this allegory the sum represents the sinner's hopeless debt to God. Selling the debtor, his family, and possessions would hardly begin to recoup this debt. Forgiving such a loan is an astounding act of grace.”
- (27) “Aphiemi exhibits a broad range of nuances in the NT. It can mean to send away/dismiss (Mt 13:36) and in a legal sense to leave/divorce (1Co 7:11-13). It may also mean to leave/depart (Mk 1:20,31) or to tolerate (Rev 2:20). Another important meaning is to pardon/forgive. In this sense, aphiemi may describe the cancellation of a loan or debt (Mt 18:27,32), but it more commonly means to forgive sins (Mt 6:12,14-15; Mk 2:5,7,9-10; 3:28; Lk 7:47-49; Jn 20:23; Rm 4:7). The related noun aphesis almost always refers to God's forgiveness of human sins. The resurrected Lord told the disciples that this forgiveness would be preached in His name, and the apostles were the first to do exactly that (Ac 2:38; 5:31; 10:43; 13:38; 26:18). Paul employed aphiemi and aphesis to describe the cancellation of sin's infinite debt to God (Rm 4:7; Eph 1:7; Col 1:14).”
- (28-31) “One hundred denarii was equivalent to three months of wages. This was negligible compared to the first slave's debt to the king. The contrast between the 10,000 talents and the 100 denarii shows that the sins of others against us are trivial in comparison to the enormity of our own sins against God.”
- (28-31) “The drudge begged the slave to be patient just as the slave had begged before the king, but the drudge was more honest in his pleas and promises since his debt was actually manageable.”
- (32-35) “Since God has shown believers such great mercy by pardoning their sins, they should in turn forgive the sins of others from their heart.”
- (32-35) “The word jailers literally means "torturers." The debtor's torture would continue until the debt was paid in full. Since the debt could not possibly be repaid, the torture symbolizes eternal punishment.”
Glo
- (35) “God is very forgiving, but he also judges those who refuse to forgive.”
Other
- Value of 10K talents
- 1 talent = 6,000 denarii, 10K talents = 60 million denarii. 1 denarii = 1 days’ wages. That was equivalent to 164,383.56 years of labor.
- 1 talent = 75 lbs of gold. 10K talents = 750,000 lbs = 10,937,500 troy ounces x .14 (gold price as of 9:45a Friday) = 17,632,781,250
- 164,383.56 years of labor x ,095 (median household income for 50310 in 1999) = ,577,260,198.20
- Value of 100 denarii
- 1 denarii = 1 days’ wages. 100 denarii = 100 days’ wages = just over 3 months’ wages.
- Assuming 5-day work week, that’s ,438