Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

Matthew 18:23-35

Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.

And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.

But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.

And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.

Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:

Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?

And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

Classification: Forgiveness and the Love of God

Narrative: This parable is in response to a question Peter asked, "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?
  Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, until seven times: but, until seventy times seven."

Wikipedia gave me a better understanding of the difference between the two debts. "The talent in this parable was worth about 6,000 denarii, so that one debt is 600,000 times as large as the other. More significantly, 10,000 (a myriad) was the highest Greek numeral, and a talent the largest unit of currency, so that 10,000 talents was the largest easily described debt. For comparison, the combined annual tribute of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea around this time was only 600 talents, and one denarius was a day's wages, so that 10,000 talents would be about 200,000 year's wages."

Interpretation: The debt the servant owed the king is the cost of sin one man owed to God. The fellowservant is our fellowman. The debt the fellowservant owed to the servant was something for which he needed to be forgiven. The servant asked God to be forgiven for a great sin and the forgiveness was granted. The fellowman then asked for forgiveness for some offense he committed against the servant and the servant would not grant it. In return, God then did not give the servant forgiveness for his sins.

Application: When one considers the huge debt the Savior paid for each one of our sins it seems silly to hold a grudge against someone who has hurt us, especially when forgiveness was asked for. It can be hard to forgive others for their trespasses but when we consider how much we owe to the Son it becomes a small debt to forgive.

Parable of the Wicked Servant 1620, Domenico Fetti

 "The Peaceable Things of the Kingdom" by Jeffrey R. Holland