Luke 17:1-10

(Luke 17:1-10) Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!  It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

 

Brother means brother in Christ. By the way, that brother should not stumble. The regenerated brother has a body, so there may be times when he is weak and makes mistakes, but he must forgive and live his life as a born again in the will of the Lord. So the brothers must become one. In Matthew's Gospel, Peter asks a question to Jesus, and he asked, "I have sinned against me. How many times should I forgive me? Should I forgive me seven times?" Jesus replied, "I must forgive me seventy times seven times." It means to forgive indefinitely.

 

It is Matthew 18:23-35 that explains whether forgiveness should be given indefinitely, because all human beings are owed 10,000 talents, and brothers are owed 100 denarius. This means that 10,000 talents and 100 denarions are incomparable. Ten thousand talents are worth about $1 billion in today's terms, and 100 denarius is equivalent to three months' salary (thousands of dollars) of workers. It's a comparison between billions and thousands of dollars. Therefore, it means that people must be forgiven unconditionally. When I think about it through these words, I am already saying, "I am a man who has been forgiven a huge debt from God." So my sin problem has been solved.

 

Now, after receiving the indemnity, the problem of 100 denarions, that is, the problem of forgiving others, remains. If a person who has been forgiven of 10,000 talents does not forgive the person owed to him, the cancellation of the debt of 10,000 talents will be cancelled. God forgives sins, and it means that forgiveness is “invalidate”, but if you forgive others afterwards, you will restore them to the original position where God forgiven them in the past.

 

Brother means brother in Christ. Jesus said to love your brother with a new commandment. The spirit died and then came alive, but we must not let it go into death again. The representative story of forgiveness is Joseph's story.

Through the story of Jesus forgiving the debt of ten thousand talents as an illustration of sin, we must realize that even for us who are forgiven of sins from God, the Lord gives us people we should forgive.

 

(Luke 17:7-10) But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.  So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

 

Jesus told his disciples about forgiveness, and they asked them to increase their faith in Jesus. They have faith, but they intend to do more. But Jesus is saying that you don't have the same faith as mustard seeds. At the same time, he is speaking in a parable about the useless slave. There are two species in the Bible. It is the slave of sin and of righteousness. The useless servant here means the slave of sin.

 

In John 8:34-35, Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. 』The slave of sin refers to the slave under the law. Those who have the law are those who sin. In Romans 6:15-16, "What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 』

 

Jesus told his disciples about the servant of righteousness. In John 15:14-15, "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. The Bible says that under the law, you are a slave to sin, and under grace, you are a friend of Jesus. That is why you become the son of God. In Galatians 4:4-5, 『But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption. of sons. 』The reason God gave the saints the cause of sonship is to enable them to dwell forever in the kingdom of God.

 

Jesus listens to the parable of the servant of sin and speaks. Although the slave of sin did everything he commanded, it was useless. No matter how hard you work, a servant is just a servant. 』
In other words, ``Like this'' means everything that the servant did for his master, and after you (those who are trying to keep the law) have done all the command (keeping the law), they say, ``We are useless slaves. He said he had to confess he was still a sinner.

 

If they confess that way, they can find Christ. Regarding these words, the people of the church say that slaves should be obedient and humble. The law is one's own observance of the law to achieve righteousness. The reason why God gave the law to Israel (humans) is that you are all beings who have left God, through the law.

 

When they realize this and confess that they are only useless servants, they will find Christ and have faith. Jesus spoke about this, about faith the size of a mustard seed. God is waiting for all who have left God to return. Trying to fulfill the law, realizing that it cannot be done, discovering Christ, and returning. What Jesus is saying through the parable of the servant is not to be humble, but to realize that you are a departure from God.