6 | Kingdom Stories (Parables): The nature of forgiveness | Matthew 18:21-35 | 13/08/23

This parable appears straightforward while its message of forgiveness is pastorally difficult. There are three scenes to this parable based on three interactions, with v23 serving as an intro and v35 serving as an interpretation of the parable. In this parable we see a forgiven man refuse to forgive another. Through that disjunction, we side with the Master's response in the third scene. v35 turns the parable to us to have us think about how we would respond as the servant and how we ought to respond. On its own, our refusal to forgive a debt can feel right. But because God has forgiven us, it is right, necessary, and possible to forgive each other.