“As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him.” (Matt. 18:24)
Expanded Passage: Matthew 18:23-25
I grew up in the midwestern United States, where the winters can be harsh. It is a helpless feeling when your car gets stuck in a snow drift or a snowbank. In normal driving conditions, you simply need to press the accelerator to get moving, but the accelerator doesn’t help much in the snow and ice. In fact, spinning your tires usually makes it worse.
The man in this story was a tax farmer who placed a bid on collecting taxes for the king, hoping to turn a profit on the work. Once per year, the king settled accounts, and the amount promised to the king was due. We are not told why the man was so far in debt, but it is clear that this servant was stuck. There was no way for the man to get unstuck without the king’s help.
Have you ever found yourself stuck? Scripture says we are all spiritually stuck—that because of sin, we owe a debt to God that we cannot repay no matter how hard we try. We need help. When your car is stuck in the snow, you need the help of a tow truck, but when it comes to the debt we owe to God, we need a different kind of help. We need God’s help, and it turns out help is on the way!
Consider what it means to have insurmountable debt because of sin.
Branden Petersen is the cofounder/pastor of Resurrection Life NYC in Manhattan with his wife, Jenn. He is also the founder and director of the urban church planting network, Global Cities Network.
© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
