Welcome back to the podcast! Today, we’re wrapping up our “Generous” series—not with a lesson about money, but about something even more valuable: forgiveness.
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The average American household carries over $100,000 in debt, with over $6,000 in credit card balances alone. Debt is normal in our culture. But imagine this: someone walks up and says, “I just paid off your mortgage, your student loans, your credit cards, your car, and your kids’ college tuition.” You’d be speechless.
Now picture yourself turning around and blowing up at someone who still owes you ten bucks from last week’s lunch. That’s the exact contrast Jesus paints in Matthew 18. It’s extreme. It’s uncomfortable. And it’s meant to be.
Matthew 18:21-22
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”
“No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!”
Peter thought he was being generous. Jewish tradition taught you only needed to forgive someone three times. So Peter more than doubled that—and Jesus blew it all out of the water. “Seventy times seven” wasn’t a number—it was a mindset. Forgiveness isn’t a ritual; it’s a daily posture.
Matthew 18:23-24 (paraphrased)
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a king who called in his debts. One servant owed him 10,000 talents.”
In biblical terms, 10,000 talents is about 200,000 years’ worth of wages—roughly $18 billion today. Jesus was making a point: the debt was absurdly unpayable.
Why so much? The man was likely a tax farmer—someone who paid the empire upfront and then overcharged the people to make his profit. Corruption was baked into the job.
Matthew 18:25-27
“Since he couldn’t pay, the master ordered he and his family be sold. The man begged for mercy. The master had compassion and forgave the debt completely.”
The Greek word used here for compassion—splagchnistheis—refers to deep, gut-level mercy. This is the same word used for Jesus in Matthew 9:36 when he looked at the lost crowds and felt moved to act.
Matthew...
