Pastor Taylor Shippy - Matthew 18:21-35

There is a tragic irony in this parable, a deeper mystery Jesus wants us to wrestle with. How could one who experienced such forgiveness not reciprocate that same caliber of forgiveness onto someone else, especially to someone far less in debt that they originally were?  I believe Jesus is saying… If you want to be the first servant at the beginning of the parable, and enjoy all the benefits of being liberated from your debt to the king, you have to also recognize the high chance you’ll become the first servant throughout the remainder of the parable as well! It’s a sobering realization, but Jesus is wanting us to grapple and wrestle with this tension this morning. A tension that exists in all of us. We’re more than willing to be forgiven by God, yet we struggle, even resist, forgiving like God with others and even with ourselves… How do we live lives that redeem that first servant? Forgiving as God has forgiven us (Col 3:12-13).