Tis the Season

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold[b] was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. 29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ 30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

1. In this passage Peter asks Jesus the question, “How many times shall I forgive my brother or sister?” It’s an honest question and Peter believes he is taking the high road by answering the question right after he ask. “Seven times?” Jesus answers, “not seven but seventy times seven.” In other words, Jesus is saying your forgiveness towards someone continues forever. Why is it so difficult for us to live this out in our lives?
2. How does it make you feel knowing that Jesus has completely forgiven you of your debts?
3. In today’s message, Pastor Scotty gave us an illustration with the rocks which represent the various offenses that we tend to carry in our lives. When we’ve been offended, in some way, like with the rocks that weigh us down, our offenses too weigh us down which means that we tend to pay a higher price than our offender. What is the greatest offense that you carry? In other words, what is the largest rock you carry? Perhaps this is the season where the Lord is calling or challenging you to forgive that debt!