(15–20 minutes, easy set-up)
Learners will study Matthew 18:21-35 to analyze God’s forgiveness.
Provide a copy of the Learner Worksheet and a pen for each learner.
Ask: What are some of the ways that people hurt or offend us? As learners respond, point out that the offenses might be small (like failing to say hello or appreciate an act of kindness) or huge (like betraying a confidence or siding with an adversary against us). Say: While we may easily forgive the occasional small slight, we find it more difficult to forgive repeated small offenses or even a single huge offense. Explain that, in this lesson, learners will study Jesus’ response to Peter’s question: “How many times must I forgive someone?” Distribute copies of the Learner Worksheet and pens to learners.
1. Believers are expected to generously forgive people who sin against them (Matthew 18:21-22).
Read Matthew 18:21-22. Explain that Peter had just heard Jesus describe the process of reconciling with a person who had offended him (vv. 15–17) and wanted to know how many times he must forgive the offender. Observe that Peter might have considered his own offer generous because it was more than twice the number of times that rabbinic law required a person to forgive another. Say: But Jesus gave the disciples a whole new standard of forgiveness.
Call on volunteers to share how Jesus’ requirement of forgiveness is recorded in different Bible translations. (Answers: ESV and NIV—77 times; other translations—70 times seven, or 490 times.) Ask: What would be involved in actually keeping a record of forgiving an offender, whether it was 77 or 490 times? After responses, explain that Jesus was not requiring us to keep track of how many times we forgive an offender; rather, He was telling us to place no limits on our forgiveness. Say: Because People are God's Treasure, God expects His children to treat others as He treats us, offering forgiveness to those who sin against them. Encourage learners to write forgive in the first blank on their worksheets.
2. Believers have received extravagant and unmerited forgiveness from God (Matthew 18:23-27).
Read Matthew 18:23-27. State that Jesus used a parable to illustrate the completeness of God’s forgiveness compared to the way we forgive others. Explain that the debt of 10,000 talents represented a sum so large that the servant had no hope of repaying it. Note the servant’s request for more time to repay this debt, and then ask: Could this servant ever work long enough or hard enough to repay such a large debt? (obviously not) Ask: Why might the king have shown mercy to the servant when he owed so much? Emphasize the king’s extravagant and unmerited grace shown by forgiving the servant such a monstrous debt. Discuss: Suppose that you were suddenly forgiven of every debt you owe: mortgage, credit cards, student loans, car payments, taxes— everything! Is that imaginary elation the same as how you feel about your certain salvation? Why or why not? Encourage learners to write extravagant and unmerited in the second blank on their worksheets.
3. Believers who refuse to forgive others will not receive God’s forgiveness (Matthew 18:28-35).
Read Matthew 18:28-35. Point out that the forgiven servant “went out” and “found” someone who owed him a debt. Ask: What does the forgiven servant’s actions reveal about the true condition of his heart? Lead learners to compare the miniscule debt that the second servant owed to what the first servant owed. Ask: How does this parallel God’s willingness to forgive our sins compared to our willingness to forgive those who offend us? Explain that Jesus calls His followers, who have experienced God’s incredible forgiveness, to show that same level of forgiveness to other people because People are God's Treasure. Ask: How does a person’s willingness or refusal to forgive others affect people’s receptivity to God’s love? Remind learners that Jesus stressed that those who refuse to forgive others will face severe consequences. Encourage learners to write refuse in the third blank on their worksheets. Ask: What consequences do we face when we refuse to forgive? In this life, whom do you really hurt if you refuse to forgive others?