28 “But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.” (Matthew 18:28–35 (ESV)
“With great power there must also come great responsibility.” – Stan Lee
“With great power there must also come great responsibility” is a proverb popularized by Spider-Man in Marvel comics, films, and related media. Introduced by Stan Lee, it originally appeared as a closing narration in the 1962 Amazing Fantasy #15, and was later attributed to Uncle Ben as advice to his young nephew, Peter Parker (aka. Spider-Man).
A similar proverb is, “With great grace received comes great graciousness given.” When an individual receives God’s amazing and gracious forgiveness for sin, the same individual should be willing, ready and able to forgive others of their sin.
Matthew 6:14–15 (ESV) says, “14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Ephesians 4:31–32 (ESV) says, “31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
The servant who received forgiveness of his unpayable debt to his master (Matt. 18:23-27), was unwilling to forgive a comparatively smaller debt a fellow servant owed him. One hundred denarii was not an insubstantial sum. However, the debt owed by the second servant was nothing compared to the debt owed by the first servant.
“One hundred denarii represented one hundred days of a common worker’s wages, which would be a small sum for his fellow tax farmer, after he had finished his accounting with the king (18:23). It was also a ridiculously minuscule sum compared to what the first servant had owed the king. But apparently the forgiven slave, instead of internalizing the principle of grace, had decided to become ruthlessly efficient in his exacting of debts henceforth. Such extreme actions as choking are reported of angry creditors elsewhere in antiquity as well,” explains commentator Craig Keener.
The first servant displayed his calloused heart by his physical and verbal abuse of his fellow servant. When the second servant pleaded for patience to pay the debt, the first servant would not hear of it. The text says, “He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.”
This action was not only hard-hearted, but also ridiculous because how could the imprisoned servant pay off his debt while in jail? “Someone in prison could not pay back what he owed (v. 34), unless friends came to his aid with the requisite funds,” says Keener.
“Because of the smallness of the debt he was not legally permitted to sell his fellow servant into slavery, but was legally permitted to have him sentenced to prison and forced labor, to work off his debt,” explains R. William Hendriksen.
“The foundation for a forgiving spirit is the experience of divine grace. It is by grace that we are saved. It is by grace that we live. It is by grace that we have been forgiven. Therefore, the why of forgiving is to manifest our own gratitude for the grace that we have received,” explains Dr. R. C. Sproul.
Are you grateful for how much God has forgiven you? Are you willing to forgive others because of God’s forgiveness? Remember, with great grace received comes great graciousness given.
Soli deo Gloria!
His Word Today 