Who Owes Who What? Matthew 18:21-35

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

When Peter asks this question he thinks he is being generous by agreeing to forgive his brother seven times. 

"The Rabbis discussed this question, and recommended not more than three times…Peter’s seven times is therefore generous, but Jesus’ reply does away with all limits and calculations.” (France)

22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

The term "seventy-seven times" is generally understood to mean (70x7=490). When Jesus responds he is not being literal.  He is NOT saying that on the 491st time someone sins against you that you should withhold forgiveness.

"Jesus answered unexpectedly, saying we are to forgive the repentant an unlimited number of times. Unlimited is surely the idea behind up to seventy times seven." (Guzik)

23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 

Whenever Jesus says "the kingdom of heaven is like", he is teaching them how God's will.  In heaven God's will shall be done at all times, with all people.  The king had employed his servants expecting them to be honorable and faithful in the way they had conducted his accounts.  

24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 

Ten thousand bags of gold equals ten thousand talents.  A talent was a 100 denarii.  A denari represented one day of work, so as you can see the thousand talents represents a tremendous amount of wealth in the millions of dollars.  The bottom line is that it represents an "unpayable" debt.  

25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

"His master commanded that he be sold: Of course, the man was not able to pay. Therefore the master commanded to sell the debtor, his family, and all he had. This would not satisfy the debt; slaves at their top price were sold at a talent each (and usually sold for much less). Yet it would bring some measure of justice." (Guzik)

26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 

The servant's request is obviously ridiculous, as he would never be able to pay back that amount of money.  

"The promise of the servant made no sense. He spoke as if all he needed were patience; that if he were given enough time he could actually pay this massive debt. The disciples listening to Jesus would think this was humorous." (Guzik)

27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

The inability of the servant to ever realistically pay the master back shows the great amount of mercy and compassion the master shows him.  It is pure grace.  The master could have squeezed out every last dollar out of the servant, but he completely and willingly cancels the huge debt the servant owed. 

28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

Given what happened above it is inconceivable that this servant would now go back and ring one of his fellow servant's neck for an incredibly small debt. 

"The debt was real. 100 denarii was roughly equal to 100 days’ wages. This was not an insignificant amount, but it was almost nothing compared to the debt forgiven by his master. It was actually 1/600,000 of the debt owed to the master by the first servant." (Guzik)

Not only did he demand payment, but he did it violently with no mercy toward the servant.  The equivalent translation of what he did is our modern phrase, "he throttled him." 

29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

The fellow servant says the exact same thing to the servant, as he had said to his master.  But, the servant must have completely forgotten about the merciful treatment he received from a person with much more authority that he had.  

30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 

To the contrary he had the man thrown in prison.   

"But the course which he takes is, it may be noted, as unwise as it is ungenerous. He, as a slave, cannot command his fellow-slave to be sold. He can cast him into prison; but in so doing he cuts the debtor off from all opportunities of gaining the money by which he might pay his debt. His vindictiveness is so far suicidal." (Ellicott)

31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

The other servants must have been privvy to the mercy the master gave to the servant, who then returned no mercy or compassion to his fellow servant.  When they saw the injustice of it all, they were understandably perturbed. Natuarlly they went and told the master what had happened.  

32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 

The master is understandably angry.  He had compassion on the servant because of his sincere plea.  Remember the servant had even begged to pay him back gradually, but the master forgave ALL of his debt.

33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 

As you consider the incredible difference in the amount owed and also the power differential in the relationship (master vs. servant, servant vs. servant) it teaches us about God's forgiveness of us and what it might mean for us to forgive a fellow human being. 

34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

The servant received mercy, but when he had no mercy on his fellow servant, he received the same penalty he assigned to his fellow servant. He was judged by the same standards he used unmercifully.  

35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

The main point of the parable is that as we have been forgiven an enormous debt by our master (God), how can we possibly hold a fellow brother or sister accountable for the small debt they owe us.  

It is not until we understand the enormity of the grace and mercy God has given us that we understand the true nature of forgiveness.  If we understand how much mercy we have received from God, we should have little to no problem forgiving our brother or sister of their sin.  

Unforgiveness is a huge issue in the church and in the world.  The only explanation is that people don't understand the great debt they owed God, and the great sacrifice Jesus paid to cancel our debt.  "Jesus paid a debt he didn't owe, for we who owed a debt we couldn't pay."

Do you have trouble forgiving others?  Do you think this might mean that you need to understand in a deeper way the forgiveness God has given you?  Who do you need to forgive today?  As you think about what Jesus did for you on the cross may that motivate you to cancel the small debt your brother or sister in Christ owes you.