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In the beginning God was "King" if by King one means sovereign. But "sovereignty" is never the real point of the Lord. In the beginning God was "Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth." The key word is "Father." Kings protect but they also demand and take. Yes, Father's also have rules but it is all qualitatively different. Kings rule by force. Fathers rule by Love. Adam and bride decided they weren't satisfied with their Father and mounted a palace coup against God the King. They wanted to play "power politics" with the Emperor of Eternity and they got what losers always get: death. When one wants to rely on one's own resources than one must take the consequences. If you play "Russian Roulette" with the Omnipotent One you have to be perfect and not just "sort of good," "sort of lucky" …some of the time; that's deadly.

Fallen man ended up owing God the King everything; perfect obedience with no way of paying the debt. Man owed the King Ten Thousand talents; an amount that could never be worked for or saved for or decided for.

That is why Jesus told the parable of the King and the unworthy servant. The servant was not unworthy because he owed the King an un-payable amount. The first servant was unworthy in that he didn't believe in his Master's love and forgiveness. Yes, yes he was greedy, mean, stingy, vicious and loathsome; so are we all. But when he refused to forgive the second servant, the one who owed him a measly, paltry hundred denarii, he showed more than he didn't appreciate what had been done for him by the King; he demonstrated he did not really believe in the King's full and free grace. His unwillingness to forgive a debt meant more than he was greedy it showed he was still going to rely on his own works to amass a "purse" so that he might be ready to pay his own way out of future problems.

Jesus is not just laying down for you more law; although that certainly is what it is. You are to forgive your brother: period; no preconditions, no stipulations, no pay-backs, no nothing except total remission of trespasses. But you can't do that. You don't do that; at least not perfectly; all the time. Jesus knows that. God knows that you can't keep the Law that's why He promised Eve and Adam that He would send Jesus.

If you refuse to forgive a brother or sister, or even an enemy, when they sincerely and desperately ask you, plead with you, need you, to forgive them, then you have sinned. Such a sin shows that you have yet to fully believe what God the Son has done for you at Calvary. Repent and believe. The Holy Spirit will give you God the Son both in preaching and in blood and water that you might be filled with Christ's forgiveness of you. Only Jesus in you enables you to forgive others.

Why does it appear that this Pericope (that is, the Gospel text appointed to be read every 22nd Sunday after Trinity) end with Law? Does the Gospel of Saint Matthew end with chapter 18 verse 35? No it does not, it ends with Jesus' actions on Good Friday and on Easter; it ends with the Lord dying, resurrecting and ascending. And though a Lutheran pastor and group of Parishioners might wish that this particular reading went on a few more verses so that Jesus might finish His discourse with more predictions of His upcoming death; we must content ourselves with His actions as recorded by Matthew in the remainder of this evangel. You only need fear that you are the first servant if you end up living your entire life refusing to forgive others, refusing to believe in Jesus' full remission of your sins, and then finally dying in denial of His Grace for you and "in you" for you and others.

Though the King in the Parable does not forgive the first servant (the second time), the one who shows no mercy to the second servant, God the Father does show mercy towards you over and over and over even when you fail to always forgive.

Your inestimable debt to God was marked "paid in full" when it was nailed to the Cross. God got "His pound of flesh," His "blood money" when Jesus gave His own flesh and blood at Calvary. The obligation has been met; the work accomplished, the bill taken care of. And even now, or later today, or this coming week, when you falter and fail in being perfectly forgiving and understanding; when you temporarily hold grudges and seek vengeance, Jesus goes right on interceding with His Father on your behalf. He forgives you in Holy Absolution. He will forgive you in a moment when He is one with you in His Supper. He became the wicked servant in your place when He was crucified. He was thrown in Hell's prison instead of you. Jesus felt all the eternal pain of the wrathful King as your substitute. Jesus while hanging on high looked down at the very men who had affixed Him to the wood; the very men who were jeering Him and laughing; at all the men and women in this room, and said: "Father, King, forgive them." He did. He does. He will.

In the Name + of Jesus