seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Matthew 18:21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 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.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Matthew was a tax collector. He knew the value of these loans. One talent, according to the notes, would take the man 20 years to work off. The first guy owed 10,000 talents. That's a huge mortgage!!!! The other guy only owed a hundred silver coins. Apparently, according to the same notes, the whole debt could be worked off in just 100 days. He couldn't pay his mortgage, it was forgiven, but he insisted on collecting his buddy's small debt. Maybe he needed it to buy the celebratory "paid of my mortgage" party! Ah ha ha.... not really....Jesus told this story. Matthew remembered it and put it in his Gospel. Remember, Matthew was a tax collector. Money talks to a tax collector, and debtor's prison was a real alternative to the tax collector and other debt collectors. Matthew understood what a big deal forgiving the debt was! Why in today's society, that debt would be penciled in as income by the tax collector, and if the first guy had forgiven the debt the other guy owed him, that would have been a loss.... decreasing the tax debt. I guess the first guy didn't figure that one out.
This was a parable, a story, to explain something deep in lighter terms so the point could be made.
You know, those people who call in for the information on Medicare.... they say they want "everything they deserve" in the commercials. It makes me say the same thing every single time I hear it. "Thank you, Lord, for not making me take everything I deserve."
If Capitalists bring back debtor's prison, will there be any people left in the regular work force?
