The Family That Forgives - Matthew 18:10–34

📰 The Kingdom Newsletter – June 7th, 2025

Lesson Title: The Family That Forgives

Passage: Matthew 18:10–34

📺 Want to watch the full teaching? Click here to view the June 7th, 2025 Lesson.

Introduction to Today’s Lesson

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for pausing with us today to open the Word together.

Today we closed out Matthew 18 — a chapter that gives us one of the most beautiful and practical pictures of what life in the Kingdom family is meant to look like.

If the first half of this chapter called us to childlike humility and urgent purity, this final section calls us to the pursuit of the wandering and the practice of radical forgiveness.

Because here’s the reality:

In any real community — including this one — people will stumble, fail, offend, and sin against each other.

And Jesus makes it clear:

The greatness of the Kingdom isn’t shown in how “perfect” we stay — but in how we love, pursue, and forgive when things get messy.

This is where Kingdom talk becomes Kingdom life.

Let’s dig in.

Recap of Last Week’s Lesson (Matthew 18:7–9)

Last week, we reflected on Jesus’ warning:

“If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off… If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out…” (Matthew 18:8–9)

We explored three key truths:

• Temptation is unavoidable — but causing others to stumble is unacceptable.
  

• Urgency is required. Jesus doesn’t call us to casually manage sin — He calls us to remove it.
  

• Love means protecting others — especially the “little ones” — by living with spiritual integrity and humility.
  

This week, Jesus continues that same flow — now showing us how to pursue and restore those who wander, and how to extend the same radical forgiveness that we ourselves have received.

If you missed it or want to revisit it, you can read last week’s full Kingdom Newsletter here:
👉 The Battle Within: Removing What Trips Us — Matthew 18:7–9

📖 Scripture Reading – Matthew 18:10–34 (ESV)

10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

11 [Some manuscripts add: For the Son of Man came to save the lost.]

12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?

13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.

14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”

22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.

24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.

25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.

26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’

27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.

28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’

29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’

30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.

31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.

32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.

33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’

34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.

35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

🧭 Context & Background

Matthew 18 is one unified Community Discourse — Jesus’ teaching on what life inside the Kingdom should look like, especially among His disciples.

The setting is still Capernaum, likely in a house (see Matthew 17:24–25). Jesus is speaking not to the crowds — but to His inner circle.

The flow of the teaching is intentional:

• First, He calls them to childlike humility (vv. 1–6).
  

• Then He warns about the urgency of removing sin (vv. 7–9).
  

• Now in vv. 10–14, He reveals how precious the “little ones” are to the Father — and how we should reflect His heart.
  

• In vv. 15–20, He gives practical instruction for restoring one another when sin happens — because love doesn’t avoid confrontation, it moves toward it for the sake of healing.
  

• And in vv. 21–34, He shows that forgiveness isn’t optional — it’s required, because the debt we’ve been forgiven is infinitely greater than any debt owed to us.
  

In ancient Israel, rabbis taught forgiveness should be extended three times.

So when Peter asks, “Should I forgive seven times?”, he thinks he’s being generous.

But Jesus says: “Not seven… but seventy-seven times.” (v. 22)

He then tells the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant — a story about a man forgiven an unpayable debt, who refuses to forgive a small debt owed to him.

And the message is clear:

The Kingdom is not a ledger of offenses — it’s a family of grace.

And forgiven people must become forgiving people.

This entire teaching is building one truth:

In God’s family, we take responsibility for one another’s flourishing — through protection, pursuit, confrontation, and forgiveness.

✨ Key Lessons & Takeaways

1. The Father’s Eyes Are on the Little Ones — and So Should Ours Be

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.” (v. 10)

Jesus starts this section with a warning: don’t despise the little ones — the vulnerable, the fragile, the immature in faith.

Why? Because Heaven is watching them closely.

They matter to the Father so much that He has angels reporting to Him about their care.

And Jesus illustrates this with the parable of the lost sheep:

“It is not the will of my Father… that one of these little ones should perish.” (v. 14)

Which means:

• The Kingdom is not a place where the strong thrive and the weak are forgotten.
  

• The Kingdom is where those at risk are pursued, protected, and celebrated when restored.
  

Takeaway:

If we are truly children of this Father, our love should mirror His:

We should have eyes that look for the lost, hearts that move toward the broken, and joy when the “little ones” are brought back in.

2. Real Love Confronts — Because Restoration Is the Goal

Jesus moves from the parable of the lost sheep straight into practical family dynamics:

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault…” (v. 15)

Why?

Because if the Father rejoices when the lost are found, then we should too — and we should be willing to do the hard work of helping them come back.

This is not about being offended.

It’s about loving someone enough to say:

“You’re not living aligned with who you are in this family — and I care enough to help you see it.”

And the progression Jesus gives (alone → with 2–3 → before the church) is designed not to shame, but to preserve dignity at every stage.

Notice the heart behind this:

• We don’t confront to punish — we confront to heal.
  

• We don’t escalate quickly — we start privately.
  

• We don’t aim to “win” — we aim to restore.
  

Takeaway:

If you love someone in the Kingdom, you will fight for their restoration — not their exclusion.

And if you hate someone or despise them, you won’t bother pursuing them — which is exactly what Jesus is warning against.

Love makes us our brother’s keeper.

3. Forgiveness Is Not Optional — It’s the Family Culture of the Kingdom

Peter asks:

“Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” (v. 21)

Jesus replies:

“I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (v. 22)

In other words — stop counting.

Because in this family, forgiveness is not limited — it’s our ongoing posture.

Then Jesus tells the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant:

• A servant is forgiven a debt he could never repay.
  

• But when a fellow servant owes him a tiny sum, he refuses to show mercy.
  

• The king is furious — because someone who has received radical grace must extend radical grace.
  

And here is the sobering truth:

“So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” (v. 35)

Which means:

• Forgiveness is not optional in the Kingdom.
  

• It is not merely verbal — it must be from the heart.
  

• And it is not based on what someone deserves — it is based on what we have received.
  

Takeaway:

If you truly see how much you’ve been forgiven, you will become a forgiving person.

And if you refuse to forgive, you reveal that you have not yet let the forgiveness of God shape your own heart.

🔥 Challenge for the Week

Here are three questions to carry into the week — and to prayerfully sit with before the Father:

1. Who around me is vulnerable — a “little one” — and am I reflecting the Father’s heart toward them?
   
   Am I pursuing their good, protecting their dignity, or subtly despising and overlooking them?
   

2. Is there a brother or sister I’ve been avoiding — when love is calling me to pursue restoration?
   
   Have I allowed comfort or offense to keep me from having a hard conversation that love would initiate?
   

3. Is there anyone I am withholding forgiveness from — even though I myself stand forgiven of a debt I could never repay?
   
   Am I keeping a record of wrongs that the Father has long since canceled toward me?
   

Final Word

At the center of Matthew 18 is this unshakable truth:

No one in the Father’s family is disposable.

Not the “little one” who stumbles.

Not the brother who sins against you.

Not the person who’s wounded you — or the one you’ve wounded.

And this is what makes life in the Kingdom so radically different from life in the world.

The world cancels. The world divides. The world walks away.

But in the Father’s house:

• We fight for the one.
  

• We confront for the sake of restoration.
  

• We forgive — not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
  

And why? Because we know the story we stand in:

We were the ones pursued.

We were the ones restored.

We were the ones forgiven an unpayable debt.

The Kingdom is not built by the strongest winning — it is built by the forgiven forgiving.

By the pursued becoming pursuers.

By the loved becoming lovers of those the world would leave behind.

So this week — take stock of your heart:

• Are there “little ones” you’ve overlooked?
  

• Are there brothers and sisters you’ve given up on?
  

• Are there debts you’ve been carrying, that it’s time to release?
  

And remember:

If the Father watches over them… so should we.

If the Shepherd rejoices over their return… so should we.

If the King has forgiven us beyond all measure… how can we not forgive from the heart?

In the Kingdom, greatness is not about standing above others.

It’s about taking responsibility for the flourishing of the whole family.

May we be that kind of people.

This week — and every week.

Grace, courage, and love to you,

— Michael