And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”
— Luke 7:40-43
The principle reason for this parable is to illustrate the good result of forgiveness, as a function of mercy. That result, of course, is love for God, who forgives the sins of believers in Christ. The very memory of this grand act resonates with the receiver of His mercy for the rest of their life. To Jesus’ point in the parable, the one who is forgiven much loves much. This same love is amplified all the more when that same person confesses that there’s simply no way to pay the just penalty incurred by their transgression.
The only hope we ever have for salvation/deliverance is mercy. While executing judgment would be justified, God has chosen to rain mercy upon us.
Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!
— Psalm 25:6-7
This mercy (motivated by God’s grace and love) is antithetical to human thinking. Humans prefer to exact payment down to the last unit of currency (e.g. to the last penny in financial situations). In fact, we are naturally unmerciful, always expecting something in return, some form of payment from our debtors. In this sense, we reveal ourselves as mightily unmerciful. Natural man likes to keep score and will remain unsatisfied until an agreeable amount of payment has been made. Man seeks retribution whenever he is wronged.
Imagine if God was like this.
Thank God He is not.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!
O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
O Israel, hope in the LORD!
For with the LORD there is steadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption.
And he will redeem Israel
from all his iniquities.
— Psalm 130
The psalmist looked to God, not man, for mercy for God is the wellspring of mercy (though He has every right to judge - and condemn - instead). This kind of mercy is truly foreign to the natural man, which is why David, when he transgressed, desired God’s judgment over man’s. ”Then David said to Gad, ‘I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.’” (2 Samuel 24:14). Even though God is omnipotent, David preferred His judgment over his fellow man’s. Why? Because David knew the heart of man, that he is naturally unmerciful, vindictive, punishing. David understood what James wrote about so many years later, “Mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13b).
Since we aren’t born with a desire to show mercy (indeed, we may feign it, but our old sin nature will never truly let a debt go - we may fool some, but God knows better), we must be given a new nature with the faculty for it and learn how to apply it, experientially. For humans, godly mercy is a grace gift given to believers, who, in turn, must be encouraged to share it. “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36).
The natural mindset must be jettisoned in order to make way for godly mercy. A person still abiding in the sphere of unbelief is incapable of exercising such mercy, so their judgment will always trump their mercy (the opposite of God - ala James 2:13b).
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
— Titus 3:3-7
I concur with David. My preference is to willfully submit to God’s judgment, knowing how merciful He truly is. I don’t want to leave my fate in the hands of man, for he is ruthless, even though I may naively presume otherwise (wishful thinking?).
Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!
— Psalm 25:6-7
The best we can ever hope for is that our judgment come directly from God, or indirectly through instruments of righteousness, functioning on His behalf. I shudder at the thought of being unmercifully judged by man left to his own devices. I cringe at the fact that I must count myself among such judgers, a person whose flesh has gotten the best of him from time to time. I’ve forgiven those who have wronged me in this way and I pray for the forgiveness of those I’ve wronged. I confess that I’m striving for goodness here because the sphere of ungodliness is such a messy, terrible, miserable place to be.
Let us seek mercy. Let us be like God, who, “According to his great mercy, [has] caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). Let us be like the debtor in Jesus’ parable and love abundantly because we know how much we’ve been forgiven. Let us abide in this blessed sphere, the sphere of God, and let us spread this joy by showing mercy where judgment might otherwise be rightly imposed; for this is the godly, blessed thing to do.
Love in Christ,
Ed Collins
