How great a debt Jesus paid

By Dean Collins

I had dinner with a group of sinners recently. One guy saw me. He had earlier hugged me and knew I would be eating with sinners while in town. He didn’t judge me. He thanked me. No one at the table gave any details about their sin that night, but we all knew. Everyone at the table was eating with sinners. In fact, I suspect that if you asked each individual, they could share a story about one time when their behavior suggested that they had wandered away from the flock but now felt nothing but gratitude that someone cared enough to come find them and encourage them to return to the community where they belonged.

If there was a phone app that worked as a sin meter, some of the folks at the table might have been pushing the upper limits of the sin meter, especially if the app was based on sins that raise eyebrows. You know those sins: infidelity, lying, misappropriating funds, murder. Basically, the big sins. But others at the table had smaller, less obvious sins, like being stingy, lust, envy, and selfishness. The stuff you can get away with and no one sees. Yet everyone at the table knew that their sins created a debt that was bigger than they could pay.

Follow your shepherd

I don’t know what causes sheep to wander off from the flock. I am not a veterinarian or a sheep therapist. But my hunch is they often don’t think. They make easy mistakes, like believing the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. Maybe it was greener. Or maybe they just keep grazing without looking where they are going and end up falling off a grassy knoll somewhere. 

I did read a couple articles that say sheep are pretty smart, ranking right behind pigs in animal intelligence. And one article I read confirmed that Jesus was right about sheep recognizing the shepherd’s voice. But I suppose if a sheep wanders off from the flock, they might be out of hearing range, which would lead to lots of danger.

In Luke 15 there is an incident where the Pharisees and scribes were grumbling about Jesus eating with sinners. Jesus chose that moment to tell a story about lost sheep. Actually, it was just one lost sheep that had wandered off. The shepherd took some risk and left the other 99 sheep in an open field and went and found the one lost sheep, which he promptly tossed over his shoulder and carried back to the flock. Jesus ended his story by sharing that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance.

Jesus paid it all

I suppose by now you’ve figured out that there isn’t any dinner table that doesn’t include sinners. Paul said it well: All have sinned and fallen short. And thank God for our current season of the year, where we consider the great price Jesus paid on the cross so that every sinner can have their sins forgiven.

Lately I have been thinking about how great a debt Jesus paid, but for some reason we who have been forgiven often struggle to forgive others when they hurt us. When Matthew shares the same story that Luke shared, he follows a few verses later with a question from Peter: “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”

I think Peter asked the question the way we might ask the question. We want a number. We want to know when enough is enough. Maybe Peter suggested the number seven because it represents the time it took for God to create the world, rest, and call it all good. But maybe Peter suggested seven because it was a number he could live with. He had experienced Rome, its taxes and control. Maybe he thought if he could forgive his enemies or oppressors seven times, then God would be okay and let him strike back or hold back taxes. But Jesus told him it was 70 times seven, which is a much bigger number, and one that Peter couldn’t keep up with. 

Matthew then recorded another parable from Jesus right after Peter’s question. It is the story of the man who owed ten thousand talents. The king in this story was going to demand that the man sell everything he owned including his wife and children to cover his debt. Based on what he owed, that still wouldn’t have covered the debt, so he begged the king to give him more time. The king then did the unexpected and unthinkable: he chose to forgive the man his debts.

Jesus continued the story by saying this same man who had been forgiven so much went and found a servant who owed him some money. It was real money, but nothing compared to the amount the man had been forgiven earlier, yet he demanded payment from the servant. The servant begged and pleaded that he be given time, but his request fell on deaf ears. The man had him thrown in jail.

There were some that saw this scene and got quite upset because they knew the first part of the story, so they went and found the master and told him about the unforgiving man. The master then said: ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ The master proceeded to throw the main in jail. Jesus closed his story saying: “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

The crowd I ate dinner with have all been forgiven by Jesus. I suppose some had bigger sin meter ratings than others, yet all of us knew what Jesus required of us going forward. We all knew we would have a chance to put forgiveness into practice, maybe later that evening or the next day. Turns out we got together again the next day and found out that our opportunity to practice forgiveness came soon. We ate together again and talked about it.

One thing I decided that day: if I see you eating with a group of sinners, I won’t judge you. I will just give you a nod or wave hello. I will assume you will do the same for me when you see me eating with sinners. If all of us start truly forgiving one another and stop judging as we might have in the past, it just might be that the world will see Jesus in a new way and be drawn to him. 

Father, forgive us when we judge others harshly. Forgive us for the times we have been unforgiving to others when you have shown us so much grace and mercy. Today we repent and choose to practice forgiveness when we are hurt or wronged. We ask that your Holy Spirit bring to our mind the people we need to forgive so that we can be right with you and with them. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Your Time with God’s Word
Luke 15:1-7; Matthew 18:12-14, 18:21-22, 18:23-35 ESV

Photo by Tara Winstead: https://www.pexels.com/photo/an-open-bible-with-flowers-and-a-notepad-8383647/
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