Hi, and welcome to "The
Book of the Book" series
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on "The Gospel of Matthew."
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We're here studying
scripture with Ranko Stefanovic,
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New Testament professor
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at Andrew's
University Theological Seminary.
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Ranko, it's a joy to study
God's word together, isn't it?
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Yes, Glenn, and I'm so
glad that we can see love,
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friendship here
during this series
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that is so much important.
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We--you are teaching
there at Andrew's University
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in the Department of Religion.
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We were in that
department for number of years,
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I think nine or ten years.
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And I know how great impact
you made on my own children
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while teaching
there at Andrew's Academy.
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Oh, I think it's mutual.
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My children loved
your teaching as well.
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You're a camp
meeting speaker and scholar,
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but a student of scripture.
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And that's what we want
to do there. That's what--
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We're just sitting here
with our Bibles together
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setting God's
word and we're so glad
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that each of you can join us.
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It's been an
exciting journey so far
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as we've been
going through Matthew.
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I think you really
enjoy, and learn and grow
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as God speaks to us
through His word today.
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Let's get into
the text after prayer.
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Ranko, would you
lead us in prayer
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that God will guide us
in our study? Yes. Yes.
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Our Heavenly Father,
thank you for giving us
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this beautiful
Gospel, Gospel of Matthew,
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as we are going now
trying to understand
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those different
texts in this Gospel.
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Please give us the
sermon and the Holy Spirit
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to guide us in understanding,
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when sometimes
difficult statements
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that we find in the text.
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Thank you for Your help,
thank you for being with us.
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And we pray all of this
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in the precious
name of our savior,
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Jesus Christ, amen. Amen.
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Well, we've been following
the path of Jesus' ministry.
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It's taken us from His
genealogy and His birth,
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His baptism, the temptations,
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His early ministry,
His ministry in Galilee.
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But now He is
moving geographically
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towards Jerusalem. Jerusalem.
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He is moving
towards the cross. Yes.
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And the shadow
of the cross leans
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over all these
pages, doesn't it?
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As we get into these Chapters.
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And Jesus knew
that after the cross,
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He will ascend there to heaven,
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He will leave His disciples.
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But evidently the
disciples were not ready.
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They were supposed to continue
to work with Jesus Christ.
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But evidently their
focus was not on the mission.
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Their focus was on themselves,
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who will get the most
benefit in the kingdom of heaven
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that Jesus would
establish. All right.
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Today we're going
to explore Matthew 19.
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But let's go back and catch
the flow just bit, little bit.
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In Chapter 18, we noticed that,
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"God wants us to love the least,
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those who are on the
fringes on the edges.
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Even those in the church
that may seem to be the lest,
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the less spiritual
or the least talented
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or the least capable."
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And part of that
loving is how we treat them
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when they slip,
when they stumble,
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when there's a
lost sheep, you know.
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And he ties in this
discussion of church disciple
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in Matthew Chapter 18,
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with a parable
about forgiveness.
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Tell us a little
bit about that parable.
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You know, Glenn, there
is one thing that amazes me.
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God said that through
Moses to the people of Israel,
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you'll always have
poor people and yourself.
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When you go to the New Testament
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evidently Jesus
does something more.
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We will always have people
who have spiritual progress.
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We will have in our midst.
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Sometimes they
write in the mirror,
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the ones we struggle.
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And the question is
how to relate in the church
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that is actually the
visible manifestation
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of the kingdom
of heaven on earth.
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Actually this is what
Matthew 18 is all about is,
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"if we have the people who
have the spiritual progress,
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people who fall even in sin."
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Jesus says, "You
who are spiritual,
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you're supposed to
go and find those people
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and restore them
into the fellowship
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of that kingdom of heaven."
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Realizing what
Jesus' calling into,
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Peter comes and ask question.
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And in the ancient world
as in much of the world today,
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revenge and honor and respect
are very high priorities.
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And he comes and he says,
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"Now how many times
should I ask a brother to--
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you know, how many
times can I forgive?"
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It says in Matthew
Chapter 18 verse 21.
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Peter came up and said to Him,
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"Lord, how often shall
my brother sin against me,
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and I forgive him?"
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So it's about a
brother, not someone else.
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But it's--when a
brother sins against me
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and Peter gives a suggestion.
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Okay, Glenn, let's keep in mind
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that this is reference
to verse 15. That's right.
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You see, if you go to verse 15,
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"if your brother
sins," actually in Greek says,
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"against you go and
try to save the brother."
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So now Peter says,
"so how many times?"
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If the person slips
away, if the person sins,
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how many times am
I supposed to do it?
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And among the Jewish
people in the first century
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there was a teaching
believe according to the Rabbis,
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you're supposed to
forgive three times.
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And that was generous
compared to the Pagans
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which was "eye for an eye." Yes.
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Law of revenge. So
they're doing better.
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But Peter, I wanted to be
very generous, not three times.
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He said, seven times hoping that
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Jesus will tap on
his shoulder and He say,
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"oh, Peter, you
are so generous."
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But you know,
what was the answer
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that Jesus gave to Peter?
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Well, Jesus responses,
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"I don't say to you seven
times but seventy times so."
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I don't know, I have--
something very interesting
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that I discovered
because the warning
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that we find here in verse 22
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is really the
reflection of Daniel Chapter 9.
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When God used
seventy times seven
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as a metaphoric saying
of the great forgiveness,
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of course, this is the prophecy
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a day for year, there, there.
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But the very saying,
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the very concept
seventy times seven
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refers to the great forgiveness
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that God wanted
to show to His people
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and this is exactly
what Jesus get his--
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So when we're tempted to say,
"How long should I forgive?"
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Jesus is saying,
"Well, look at how long
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God has forgiven you."
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It's a great-
It's a God standard.
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It's a great forgiveness.
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And now to illustrate
Peter was confused completely.
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I mean can you
imagine seven generous?
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Now Jesus is great forgiveness
and now we have the parable.
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What is Glenn,
parable all about?
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"Therefore the kingdom of heaven
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may be compared to a king
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who wished to settle
accounts with his servants.
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When he began the reckoning,
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one was brought to him who
owed him ten thousand talents
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and he could not pay.
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His Lord ordered him to be sold
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with his wife and
children all that he had
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and payment to be made.
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So the servant fell on his knees
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and pouring him,
Lord have patience with me
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and I will pay you everything.
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And out of pity for him,
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the Lord of that
servant released him
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and forgave the debt."
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Boy, if only the
story stop there,
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it'd be such a beautiful
story. Yeah, fantastic.
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But unfortunately it continues.
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But that same
servant, "As he went out,
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came across one of
his fellow servants
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who owed him a hundred denarii,
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and seized him by the throat,
and said, 'Pay what you owe.'
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So his fellow servant
fell down and besought him,
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'Have patience with
me, and I will pay you.'
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But he refused.
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And he went and
put him in prison
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until he should pay his debt.
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When his fellow servants
saw what had taken place,
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they were greatly distressed,
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and they went and
reported to their Lord
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all that had taken place.
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Then his Lord
summoned him and said to him,
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'You wicked servant!
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I forgave you all that
debt because you besought me
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and you should not have
mercy on your fellow servant
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as I had mercy on you?'
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And in anger his Lord
delivered him to the jailers
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until he should
pay all his debt.
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So also my heavenly Father
will do to every one of you,
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if you do not forgive
your brother from the heart."
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Now we need to
remember that parables
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not every detail is an allegory.
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Actually-- God
has not liked this.
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Actually verse 35
tell us the purpose.
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What will happen to us
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if we do not
forgive our brothers?
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Keep in mind that
Peter asked Jesus,
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"how many times should
I forgive to my brother?"
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And Jesus moves from the number
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to the practical application.
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By the way, how
much did the person,
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the servant owed to his master.
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He says, "ten thousand talents."
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Please, so many times
when we read the Bible,
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we--it's not clear to
ask what meaning of that,
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ten thousand talents.
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In the time of
Jesus, Galilee, Judea
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and another
territory known as Idumea,
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altogether, okay,
their taxes were 600 talents.
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Here we're talking about
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ten thousand talents how many?
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How many years of taxes
just from that territory?
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It's something that the person,
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one individual cannot
pay. It's an impossible pay.
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It's an
impossible pay. All right.
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But you see, another
person owe to this servant
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whom it was
forgiven, 100 denarii,
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denarius
actually was a daily wage.
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One hundred, we're talking
about three months of salary.
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For one person compare to
the taxes of a whole region.
00:10:02.61\00:10:05.16
For one person is.
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So Jesus tried
something to tell us here is
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the person was forgiven,
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something that he
could not repay at all.
00:10:11.38\00:10:15.33
It was forgiven to him.
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On another side he could
not forgive to the person
00:10:17.87\00:10:20.02
something that was
really not too much.
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It was too much. It was series.
00:10:22.61\00:10:24.48
Jesus never diminishes.
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And you know, put less
than significance of that.
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It is that.
00:10:30.19\00:10:31.55
But in comparison,
what God has done for me.
00:10:31.56\00:10:35.83
And what I'm supposed
to forgive to my brother,
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keep in mind, expression
is my brother or my sister is,
00:10:39.40\00:10:42.71
it cannot be compared
with what heart did to me.
00:10:42.72\00:10:45.19
So let's make sure
we catch the picture
00:10:45.20\00:10:46.86
and that is
that our debt to God,
00:10:46.87\00:10:50.66
is so immense we
can never repay it.
00:10:50.67\00:10:53.42
Glenn, you know--But
sometimes the little offenses
00:10:53.43\00:10:55.86
that someone does
to us, in comparison--
00:10:55.87\00:10:59.53
You see, we're talking
about the little offences.
00:10:59.54\00:11:01.88
There is no offence,
00:11:01.89\00:11:04.35
that my brother
can do to me so great.
00:11:04.36\00:11:08.69
In comparison, you see, Glenn,
00:11:08.70\00:11:10.78
I can owe to you $1,000.
00:11:10.79\00:11:12.66
Boy, $1,000 is big,
huh? It's your wish--
00:11:12.67\00:11:14.80
It's one cheque,
it's one cheque that--
00:11:14.81\00:11:16.74
that we receive in
salary and it's big.
00:11:16.75\00:11:19.73
But can you
imagine, and understand
00:11:19.74\00:11:20.84
that somebody gave
me one million dollars
00:11:20.85\00:11:25.35
then $1,000 really it's
not the big deal at all.
00:11:25.36\00:11:29.76
See when we focus on
ourselves in the church
00:11:29.77\00:11:32.42
on the issues what
people to do to me,
00:11:32.43\00:11:34.48
it's a big deal.
00:11:34.49\00:11:35.53
But when I focus on
God, when I focus on Christ,
00:11:35.54\00:11:38.67
what Christ did to
me, how much I'm forgiven?
00:11:38.68\00:11:42.30
Then all those
offences, they really become
00:11:42.31\00:11:45.37
almost insignificant in
the light what God did for me.
00:11:45.38\00:11:48.80
We need to move on,
but let's hold the thought
00:11:48.81\00:11:51.66
that also remember this is tidy
00:11:51.67\00:11:54.43
and with how we
treat those in the church
00:11:54.44\00:11:56.33
in terms of discipline,
those who have slipped,
00:11:56.34\00:11:58.46
those who have not
followed faithfully.
00:11:58.47\00:12:02.46
Let's have that
forgiving spirit.
00:12:02.47\00:12:03.94
Okay, Ranko, we've got--
If everybody in the church
00:12:03.95\00:12:05.72
thinks how much I am forgiven,
00:12:05.73\00:12:07.61
we would not
have too many problems
00:12:07.62\00:12:10.15
among the members of the
community of believers. Yes.
00:12:10.16\00:12:13.82
Now Jesus moves from
Galilee and enters into Judea.
00:12:13.83\00:12:17.82
So we're in Chapter 19? Yes.
00:12:17.83\00:12:19.71
And the Pharisees come.
00:12:19.72\00:12:22.48
We're gonna come to
the question in a moment,
00:12:22.49\00:12:24.48
but give us a little background.
00:12:24.49\00:12:25.69
They come with a
question of Jesus about divorce.
00:12:25.70\00:12:29.73
What's the background
that we should know about it?
00:12:29.74\00:12:31.75
Yeah, Chapter 19 begins,
00:12:31.76\00:12:33.55
"when Jesus had
finished these words,"
00:12:33.56\00:12:35.69
do you remember that?
00:12:35.70\00:12:36.70
It marks the fourth
block of the Gospel of Matthew.
00:12:36.71\00:12:41.43
You know, in the
first century among Jews--
00:12:41.44\00:12:45.79
you know, the Jewish
people always have the rabbis,
00:12:45.80\00:12:48.64
the rabbi, that rabbi dies
00:12:48.65\00:12:51.34
the most
prominent people of him,
00:12:51.35\00:12:54.56
he would succeed him
00:12:54.57\00:12:56.09
and he would be the
next rabbi et cetera.
00:12:56.10\00:12:57.90
However in the first century
00:12:57.91\00:12:59.06
there was
something very interesting
00:12:59.07\00:13:01.04
and with the Jewish people,
00:13:01.05\00:13:02.90
they had pair of rabbis
for certain period of time.
00:13:02.91\00:13:08.67
And when Jesus was born,
and when Jesus was child,
00:13:08.68\00:13:14.11
there was--there two
rabbis, pair of rabbis,
00:13:14.12\00:13:16.97
one was Shammai and
another one was Hillel.
00:13:16.98\00:13:21.48
They were very
prominence, especially Hillel.
00:13:21.49\00:13:23.50
Hillel was liberal.
Shammai was very conservative.
00:13:23.51\00:13:27.89
This is what the Torah
says, and let's hold it.
00:13:27.90\00:13:32.03
And people were coming
to Hillel and asking him,
00:13:32.04\00:13:36.15
"Can I divorce my wife?"
00:13:36.16\00:13:37.33
He said, you know,
"you can divorce your wife,
00:13:37.34\00:13:39.67
even if you are displeased
00:13:39.68\00:13:41.86
because of the lunch
that should prepared to you."
00:13:41.87\00:13:44.08
And the reason,
you're free to do it.
00:13:44.09\00:13:47.40
Shammai, he said, "No.
00:13:47.41\00:13:51.27
It can only be very
serious reason, the adultery.
00:13:51.28\00:13:54.92
You can go and
divorce your wife."
00:13:54.93\00:13:58.40
So you're talking
about the disciples,
00:13:58.41\00:14:00.99
the pupils, they were
debating among themselves.
00:14:01.00\00:14:04.51
So now the question
that Jesus was asked
00:14:04.52\00:14:08.81
was actually attempting Jesus
in which side He will side,
00:14:08.82\00:14:13.22
we have to
understand this context
00:14:13.23\00:14:14.73
and we'll see more
and more in few minutes--
00:14:14.74\00:14:16.37
So the
Pharisees come to find out
00:14:16.38\00:14:18.44
which school of
thought do you agree with
00:14:18.45\00:14:20.06
and it's a trap.
00:14:20.07\00:14:21.13
Because either way his answer
would go, they would get him.
00:14:21.14\00:14:23.37
And they could--they
could argue with Jesus. Yes.
00:14:23.38\00:14:26.88
So let's find out
more about how that trap,
00:14:26.89\00:14:28.83
that question works
and Jesus intriguing answer
00:14:28.84\00:14:31.95
when we come back
right after our break.
00:14:31.96\00:14:33.55
We'll be right back.
00:14:33.56\00:14:35.50