Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how
many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven
times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven
times.
"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king
who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
As he began the settlement, a man who owed him
ten thousand talents was brought to him. 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.
"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be
patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.'
The servant's master took pity on him, canceled
the debt and let him go.
"But when that servant went out, he found one of
his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and
began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.
"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged
him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the
man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.
When the other servants saw what had happened,
they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything
that had happened.
"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked
servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged
me to.
Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant
just as I had on you?'
In anger his master turned him over to the jailers
to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each
of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
(NIV) Matt 18:21-35 |
