Guys, John here from Clearview. Today, before we jump in, quick shout out to today's sponsor, Mighty Muscadine. If you've been looking for a natural way to support your health, these guys are doing it right. From 100% muscadine grape juice to really high-quality supplements, everything they make is handcrafted. It's backed by science, and best of all, it's grown right here in our home state of North Carolina.
Visit mightymuscadine.com. Use promo code TODAY. That's T O D A Y at checkout, and you're going to get 10% off your order. and Every time you use that code, you are directly helping us here at the Clearview Today Show continue spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.
So, thank you for that. Thank you to Mighty Muscadine for sponsoring this episode. Let's jump in. Unless you understand how God has paid your debt of sin through His Son Jesus Christ, you will never fully understand how to forgive other people in your Christian life. Let's talk about why that matters and how it can impact our lives on today's episode of Clearview Today.
You're listening to Clearview today with Dr. Abbadan Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Ryan Hill. I'm John Galantis. Welcome to the Clearview Today show.
We're here in the studio with our host, Dr. Abbadan Shah. We want to hear from you. You can text us two five two four two nine six zero six nine. You can comment on the show.
You can ask a question. You can maybe have a suggested topic for Dr. Shah to cover on the show. But no matter what, we want to hear how God is working and moving in your life. That number again is two.
Two five two four two nine six zero six nine. Doctor Shaw, these episodes and the parables have been great conversations. Lots of fun to figure out how you know Jesus would share these stories in a way that would reveal truth to those who had ears to hear the truth and conceal truth for those who were. Already rejected, diametrically opposed to him, and and this whole concept of seeing yourself in the parable—I mean, it's really it's really changing the way people read scripture, the way they hear Jesus's words, and the way they apply it to their lives. And nothing's changed.
You may not get a parable from God, but that's exactly how God works. If you have a desire to know Him, to know His Word, to know the truth about Him, more will come to you. If you seek Me, you will find Me. If you seek Me with all your heart, that is still applicable today. And that is the principle on which Jesus was operating in his three and a half years of earthly ministry when he gave those parables.
The disciples who were eager—they didn't have all the the deep, you know, theological knowledge—but they were attuned to what Jesus was saying about himself, and they learned more. The Pharisees, the Scribes, the Sadducees—they had a lot of knowledge, but they were opposing Jesus. They they had this antagonistic spirit towards him.
So what they did have became more and more obscure, harder to understand. To the point when when Jesus stood before Pilate, they crucify they said crucify him, and Even said, "Let his blood be on our heads." I mean, that that is. That blows my mind. They're saying we're guilty of it. Yeah, you don't worry about that.
You simply put him to death. We'll take the blame for it. Yeah, it shows a complete understanding when people say, "Well, they just didn't know. They didn't realize what they were doing." That line says exactly that. They do realize.
Yeah, they they knew exactly what they were doing. They knew the implications of it, and still went through with it, willing to pay the price, willing to just go down with the ship. Right. And and this was not all the Jewish people. This is simply the religious elite who.
Despised Jesus because the crowds, the multitudes, were following him. They were listening to him. He was speaking to them as one with authority, and that really bothered them. You know, a lot of time when we think about our sin, we think about kind of stuff like that. It might be a struggle for us, or it might be something completely deliberate, right?
It might be some deliberate rebellion. But you know, the Bible also describes our sin as debt. And we never think about that. We don't think about our sin being something I owe. It's just something that I want to overcome.
I want to get rid of this thing, but it's really a deficit in some way, right? It's a debt that we owe to God.
So yeah, a lot of people make the mistake in studying this parable. They think that you know they jump over the word debt and they start talking about sin. Of course, this parable is about sin—our sin towards God and our sin towards others. But we cannot truly understand the force of this parable until we understand the significance of debt in society. To understand this, let's back up and.
Look at the context of this parable. For what is this parable all about?
Well, let's read the parable first, and then we can look at the context. In Matthew chapter eighteen, verses twenty-three through thirty-five. If one of you want to read for us, it's a parable of a king who wanted to settle his accounts with his servants.
So let's pick it up in verse twenty-three. Matthew eighteen twenty-three says, "Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'" Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and he laid his hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, "Pay me what you owe." So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, "Have patience with me, and I will pay you all." And he would not, but he went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.
So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then the master, after he had called him, said to him, "You wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?" And his master was angry and delivered him to the tortures until he should pay all that was due to him.
So my heavenly. Father also will do to each of you if you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.
So I think when we talk about parables being like mirrors, right? We can see sort of ourselves in this because I love being forgiven by God. I love when great, yeah, I love when someone else, or even forgiven by other people. Like if I am like, hey, I really didn't mean to do this, blah blah blah. Hey, it'll be okay.
Okay, cool, we're all good, we're back at equilibrium. But let somebody try that with me. Oh no! It ain't gonna work. I like to receive forgiveness.
I don't like to extend forgiveness. Yeah, absolutely.
Well, when we talk about this parable on debt, to properly understand or accurately understand its true meaning, its application, context, we have to go to the context, and that actually begins in verse twenty-one. We read from verse twenty-three, two verses earlier. Listen to what happens. Then Peter came to him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him?" Up to seven times, Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times." Seven.
Okay, so it's four hundred ninety times. Four hundred ninety first. Keep a tally. He's out of here. No, no, no.
He was saying unlimited times. You have to forgive your brother, unlimited times. You know why did Jesus use the number seven and not say three or five or ten? Because seven in the Old Testament is the number of fulfillment. It's the number of Sabbath.
It is very significant when it comes to debt, because in Deuteronomy chapter fifteen it mentions this in verse one. At the end of every seven years, you shall grant a release of debts, and this is the form of the release. Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it. He shall not require it of his neighbor, or he shall count, or his brother, because it is called the Lord's release.
So that seven number was not randomly picked; it was. Very significant insight of the Old Testament, and it was something they would understand. They would recognize immediately. Of course, seven would resonate with them. Yeah, but even dead slaves were to be set free in Leviticus twenty-five verse eight.
And you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years.
Okay, you see that again. Seven times seven years, and the time of the seventh sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years. Then, then you shall cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, on the day of atonement. You see, all this is significant. If you simply launch into studying the parable and say, "Man, look at this king; he forgave the debt," and this this servant went and fussed at somebody else, and you know, yeah, you may be close to the truth, but you're going to miss the real intent of the parable.
That number seven is key, as we find it in Deuteronomy, and then again in Leviticus. And listen to Leviticus chapter twenty-five, verse ten. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. Therefore, you shall not oppress one another, but you shall fear your Lord, for I am the Lord your God.
Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and dwell there in safety.
So when Jesus said to Peter, not just seven times, but seventy times seven. His listeners, the people around them, they knew that he was hinting at the year of jubilee, and I think to us, you know, that's something that it really doesn't have an emotional impact at all. But for them, I'm sure it was nothing short of a revolution, a whole new way of thinking. And I want to dive into why exactly that is. I want to take a quick break, thank some of our sponsors, and then we're going to come back and figure that out.
Today's episode is sponsored by Mighty Muscadine. You know, most grapes they're just content. Sitting in a bowl on your kitchen table, right? They're just there to look good. They're going to get thrown away.
No big deal. But Mighty Muscadine had bigger plans. Our friends over at Mighty Muscadine offer 100% Muscadine grape juice and premium healthcare supplements featuring this southern favorite. You know they're North Carolina grown, and they are guaranteed to help you live a longer, healthier life. You can visit today right now at mightymuscadine.com and use our promo code today T O D A Y for 10% off of your order.
When you do that, you're also going to help support the Clearview Today show and our mission to share the gospel.
So we want to thank MightyMuscadine. dot com. Remember that's promo code today. T O D A Y. Thanks for listening.
Let's get back to the show, Doctor Shaw. Before the break, we were talking about Jesus saying not seventy times you should forgive somebody, but seventy times seven. How that points to not just not a number four hundred ninety, where we've talked about that, but it's pointing to the year of jubilee, which would have stood out in the minds of his listeners. Absolutely, we assume. That they were all ignorant people.
Yes, ancient peoples were not always literate. They were not always literate about their own religion, but not so with the Jewish people. Studying the Bible, reading the Torah, reading the Old Testament was very Tanakh was very critical. In their lives, that's why most Jewish people, or people of Israel, or the Hebrews, were more literate than the other cultures around them.
So they knew the Bible.
So when Jesus said those words, they got it.
Now, some of the Pharisees may be like, "Why are you throwing that number at me?" But the ones who desire to know more, they're like, "He's referring to the Old Testament. He's talking about Deuteronomy. He's talking about Leviticus." So, they knew that he was hinting at the year of jubilees, but something else. Listen to verse twenty-three: "The land shall not be sold permanently." I'm reading Leviticus twenty-five and verse twenty-three: "The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is mine." Not just talking about the land of Israel. All land, all land is all mine.
That's a good point. Exodus nineteen, verse five.
Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people, for all the earth, all the earth is mine. In other words, it doesn't matter who has the title; God owns it all. Amen. Amen. Now, to us, it seems like okay—that's not a big deal.
Yeah, yeah. But to those people, it was nothing short of a revolution. Why? Because the Pharisees—get ready for this—had created a system called the prosbul.
Okay. According to the system, the debt collector would give could give someone's debt over to the court. This way, it was no longer an individual holding the debt, but a court, and did not have to be forgiven in the seventh year.
So they take it bikini bottom style. They take it and they move it somewhere else. What is the what is the purpose of doing that? I mean, is it the court now owns it?
So I guess you just have more time to pay it off because it's not yours anymore. No, is it's more time now. You are really indebted to the creditor. Yeah, it's not it's not forgiven because it's not you're you're not indebted to a person. You're indebted to an entity.
Let's take a quick break. Hey guys, John here with the Clearview Today show, and I want to just take a second and talk to you about today's sponsor, WatchSafe. If you're a parent, you know that your child going on YouTube unsupervised is a no-go. Even a few minutes of unchecked viewing can expose them to content that is inappropriate, confusing, harmful, downright evil. This is a very real danger in a digital world that moves too fast for us to control.
That's why we need apps like WatchSafe. It lets you create a personalized profile for every child in your household. You can approve only the channels you trust. You can set daily time limits, and you can monitor exactly what they're watching. It's going to give you control, and more importantly, it's going to give you peace of mind.
So, don't leave your child's screen time to chance. Take action today. Download WatchSafe, and right now, you can get thirty percent off your subscription with our promo code today. That's T O D A Y. Take a step today and protect what your children watch before it's too late.
Thanks for listening. Now, let's get into the show. Right, so so that there is no year of jubilee coming for you. Yikes! Oh, it's actually worse for the person.
Absolutely, much much worse.
Now the creditors could lend in the sixth year and know that their money would be safe, and the borrower could borrow money to do their work. On the surface, it seems like a win-win situation, but can you imagine what this this did to those in big debt? This is called generational debt slavery. Yeah, you and your children and your grandchildren they gonna always be in. Oh, you need some money?
Not a problem. You know, this come by the office, and I will sign it off to you. About the year, I mean, you want to talk about the year, or do you want to pay your, you know, farm off? Do you want to talk about the year, or buy some seeds, or buy that, that, that bowl, you know, that will help you thresh the grain? What do you want to do?
What do you want to do? Now decide. I don't have time all day to sit here. And if you want to haggle about all that, hey, look, I got other things to do. I am doing this as a favor to you.
Well, it is a sixth year, but okay. But yeah, we do need the money, you know. Can you imagine this farmer talking to his wife? But we do need the money. Was, honey, it's a sixth year.
If they do that and they give it to the court, you are pretty much stuck. We're stuck. Our children are stuck. It is what it is. Do you have another option?
Do you have another option? If you do, please tell me, because we don't have anything.
So, what would happen? The debt would keep mounting until it would be a foreclosure or slavery.
So it's framed as a win-win, but really it's just lose lose.
Well, it's it's really lose-win because they're going to win everything, right? And the person in debt is going to lose. You are done. You are sealing your fate.
So think about Jesus's parable for a moment. How much did the servant owe the king? Ten thousand talents. A talent was about sixty to ninety pounds, depending on the metal—gold, or silver, or copper.
So ten thousand talents would be about two hundred and twenty-five tons. He's in—he's in some serious big debt. Big big debt. You're gonna be paying that off the rest of your life. Yeah.
Who? I don't care if you're friends with the king. I don't care who you're friends with. That's—that's some bad debt. Yeah.
You're gonna be paying on that one for a while. Especially you owe the king that money. Oh, you're in trouble. Yeah. So let's say a talent of gold.
Gold would be about six thousand denari. How much would ten thousand talents be? Sixty million denarii. Ooh, an average laborer would make one denarius a day. Herod's annual salary was nine hundred talents.
It would take Herod. King Herod, ten years to pay back, as long as he didn't spend it all, and that's that's the king. Yeah, I think Dave Ramsey just passed out somewhere.
Somebody, somebody better go check on him. How long will it take the the servant to pay back sixty million denari? Yeah, I mean if he doesn't spend anything, sixty million years, but he or sixty million days, sixty million days, possible. But it's not possible. You can't do that.
You see, when Jesus came preaching the gospel of the kingdom. He talked in a way that the average person could could understand. You know, in the Lord's Prayer in Matthew six twelve, when Jesus said, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors," you know, we are like, so if I don't get forgive, then He doesn't forgive me. Wait, wait, wait. Remember the parable of the two debtors.
One owed five hundred, the other owed only fifty. Both were forgiven, and Jesus asked, "Which one would love more?" Okay, you can imagine how this must have impacted the people. The person has been holding the lien on my property for the past two hundred years. I wonder what he will do now.
So, here is a reminder.
Okay, this is very important to understand. As You are you generous towards those who are less fortunate. Again, I believe in capitalism, but generous capitalism, and. We have to be generous towards those who are less fortunate.
Well, I really love that you brought up the Lord's prayer there because you said earlier that a lot of times people confuse sin with debt and they merge them when maybe they don't necessarily need to be merged in this context. And in the Lord's prayer there, that's what I always grew up hearing was "forgive us our trespasses," means our sins, but really the word is debt, right? "Forgive us our debt." So for us to forgive people their sins and for us to be helping the less fortunate, both two good things. But also very different things, yeah. And as Christians, we should be asking that question: Which one did Jesus really mean?
What did He mean there? Yeah. Well, the the debt gives it a gravity that I think trespasses doesn't. Yeah. Because a trespass, I mean, can be a momentary infraction, and you and I can work through that.
But a debt is something that exists until it's paid. Yeah. Well, forgiving someone if someone wrongs me and I forgive them, I mean, ultimately, like, okay, we're just back to normal. Going out of my way to help, actively help someone who is less fortunate than me, forgive. Them their debt is a is a much more active process.
Yeah, that's right. Yeah, you know, repeatedly in the Bible, sin is described with different metaphors.
Sometimes it is described as a burden, like you're bearing, bearing, carrying your iniquities. Leviticus twenty twenty, Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden. Sin is a burden.
Sometimes it is a stain." Though your sin be like scarlet, they shall be washed white as snow. That's Leviticus. I'm sorry, Isaiah one eighteen, and the sin has to be washed. Ephesians five twenty six. You've been washed.
It's a stain. Yeah, you know, if you ever had stain on a nice shirt, spaghetti stain. I mean, you're stuck with it. Oh yeah, it's there. Everyone can see it.
Yeah, everyone cannot just say, oh, I'm just gonna use some.
Some water from my glass and wipe it off, and it'll come off. No, it's there. Yes, there. Everyone can see. It's going to make it even worse.
Yeah, looks like. Yeah. Sometimes it is slavery. Egypt was known as the house of bondage, and you are to be set free, as Romans six eighteen says that.
So, there are many metaphors, but also debt. Sin is described as a debt. Yeah, in Leviticus five one, if a person sins in hearing the utterance of an oath, and is a witness, whether he has seen or known of the matter, if he does not tell it, he bears guilt. The idea behind it is assuming a debt. Yeah.
So, this idea became very prominent after the children of Israel went into the Babylonian exile, Babylonian captivity. They had lost their lands.
Now, don't misunderstand. They didn't lose it to the Babylonians, but they lost it to God. That's right. God told them that this land is mine. Yeah, you know.
And I think I think that we forgot that, and just like us, we forget that a lot of times. Yeah, I think that's how we get ourselves into such terrible debt, sin, speaking with sin, and I think in real life. Yeah. Well, the exile. You know, there were enemy nations against Israel, but God is the one who allowed and orchestrated everything because of Israel's sin.
Yeah, because of Israel's debt to God, they. Lost it. I mean, that's a that's a great reminder for us is that we we didn't lose it to enemies. We lost it to God. You know, there are several passages in the Bible in the Old Testament that bring that truth out.
In Jeremiah thirty-one verse eleven, for the Lord has redeemed Jacob. That's a debt analogy. For the Lord has redeemed Jacob and ransomed him from the hand of one stronger than he. Zechariah nine twelve, return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope. Even today, I declare that I will restore double to you.
You know, I like the idea of a debt. Yeah, and I like this idea of of debt in the sense that it it makes a lot more sense why Jesus came for us. Like I think about that parable that he gave about that. Servant who owed sixty million denari, you know what I mean, like just an impossible debt. And we said that about ourselves that he paid the debt I couldn't pay, right?
And I, and you've said that from the pulpit before. Is like I can't die for your sins, even if I was willing to, which I'm not. Right? I can't do it. You know what I'm saying?
Only Jesus could do it. Only Christ has the power to forgive sins and and the authority to do so.
Well, and I, I think too about like what what should the debtor's response have been? I mean, we see in the parable that he doesn't. That same compassion and same forgiveness to another person, but if somebody forgave me a debt that large, you better believe I'm telling everybody I know. Yeah, you'll never believe what happened to me. The same should be true about what God has forgiven us.
That should be the ones first in line to tell people. You won't believe what God has done for me. Yeah, and that's why Jesus came in Matthew twenty twenty eight. It says, "Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a a ransom." Ransom—that's a a debt terminology. That's right.
That's right. And I think about how Jesus goes around in his ministry, and he offers forgiveness and of sins to all these people who who come to him. Right? He is. He is going about doing good, and that's something that you've said a lot, Doctor Shaw, is that he goes about doing good.
Doesn't mean just helping people, doesn't mean just feeding people, but it means actually speaking the truth to them and forgiving their sins. And I remember a lot of the Pharisees and other people who were against him were like, "You can't do that." Oh yeah, problem with that. Yeah, they didn't like that forgiving of sins thing. Yeah, well, you start walking around saying your sins are forgiven, you. I mean, that's you.
You can't be an average person and say that. You can't be just a man. And say that well, and that well, exactly. And it's like a lot of people here would hear that and be like, "Well, that's right," because they thought only God could forgive. Did they think it was because it was their position to forgive sins?
Did they think that was something they did? They knew that the Messiah would forgive sins. They knew all those things. It's just that this man—how could he be the one? Yeah.
Yes, he is checking every single box of prophecy and promise regarding the coming of God's Son, the second person of the Godhead. Everything is lining up, but Him from Galilee. He's going to forgive my sins, and look at—he is hanging around these prostitutes and tax collectors, and he is eating with them, and and and he's allowing them to touch his feet and all that. I don't know. Yeah, I'm just not comfortable with it.
He's checking all the boxes, meeting all the criteria because it's for for the Messiah, but also he's very different than the picture that they had in their minds of what the Messiah would be, who the Messiah would be like, and they don't like that. Absolutely. Yeah, that didn't go well for them. But in the end, I want you to hear what Paul said about our salvation in Colossians chapter two and verse thirteen. Very famous passage, and you.
Being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he has made alive together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of the requirements that was against us. That's a debt. Analogy, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us, he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. That's right, Doctor Michelle. I want to end on that note because I know there's a person listening to this right now.
Maybe they're not listening today. Maybe they're going to come along months from now and hear this episode. But they're saying to themselves, "I'm pretty convinced that if I were to die right now, I wouldn't go to heaven. I don't even know." If there's a God up there, but on the off chance that I'm wrong, I don't know that I can pay this debt myself. I want to reach out right now in sincerity and say, God, if you're there, if you can really forgive my debt, I want to give this a shot.
What would you say to that?
Well, I mean, just like the song, the old song, I owed a debt I could not pay. He paid a debt I I owed. I think I'm messing up the lines there. I needed someone to wash my sins away. That's what Jesus came to do.
He paid a debt he did not owe. I owed a debt I could not pay. That's how it's supposed to go. And Jesus paid your sin debt. All you can do is pray and ask Him to be your Savior, to be the one who pays your sin debt, and who is He paying you to?
Not Satan, not to the world. He's paying it to God Himself. Here's the debt paid in full by my own death. The blood has been shed. The blood has been spilled.
Now it's done. That's right. Now he, he, he is your Savior.
So, if you've never asked him to come into your life, do it right now. Very simple prayer that says, "Jesus, I believe you are God's Son. You came and died on the cross, and you paid my sin debt. And I am trusting in you and you alone to be able to stand before a holy and a righteous God. Save me, forgive me, come into my life, help me to follow you from this day on." Amen.
And that's it. What a powerful truth for us that God didn't just forgive our debt; He Himself orchestrated the means of paying it for us because He knew it was a debt we couldn't pay. And that can apply to you today. If you believe what Doctor Shah just told you, if you prayed that prayer, just know that when you stand before God, and it might be sooner than you think. I don't say that to scare you; just it may be the case.
When you stand before Him, you're going to be able to say, "God, I could never have paid that debt, but thank you that the debt is paid." And you're going to be before Him. That's right. Here is how you can help other people connect with the truth of today's episode by becoming a financial sponsor of the Clear Reads Today Show. You can head on over to albedanshad dot com and albedanshad dot com forward slash give and become a financial sponsor of the show. Every gift that you give goes to getting the message of the gospel out across the airwaves and partnering with us to reach hearts and minds with the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
You can also follow along anywhere podcasting content can be found.
So you can share these episodes with the people in your life who need to hear. That's right. We want to say a big thank you to all of our sponsors. And if you want to sponsor the show, if you want to advertise your business and help us get the message of Jesus Christ out into the airwaves and keep it there as long as possible, text us two five two four two nine six zero six nine, or you can always email us info at clearviewbc dot org. That's right.
We love you guys. We'll see you tomorrow on Clearview Today.
