The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
Mike Johnson
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant is recorded in Matthew 18:23-35. This parable was preceded by Peter asking the question, ” . . . how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?” Peter probably felt the number which he mentioned was very generous. Seven times would have been more than the Jews would have said was necessary. However, Christ indicated in verse 22 that the number of times to forgive another should be “seventy times seven” meaning an unlimited number of times. Christ then presented “The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant.”
Contrasted Attitudes
The parable speaks of a king considering individuals who owed him money. A man was brought in who owed him ten thousand talents. It has been said that this sum would equal to about 15 million dollars in our money today. To say the least, it would have been an amount impossible for most anyone to pay back. The servant did not have the money to pay, so the king said that he would sell him, his wife, and his children so payment could be made. The servant asked the king to have patience, and he said that he would pay. The NASB says that the man “prostrated” himself before the king. The king, showing much compassion, forgave the debt.
As the story continues, another person owed the forgiven man a debt of a very small sum. Verse 28 says that he owed him a hundred pence. This would equal to about 15 or 20 dollars in our money today and could have been paid back if enough time were given. Surprisingly, though, the man who had been forgiven of so much would not forgive the one who owed him this small amount, nor would he give him the time to pay the money back. Instead, he cast him into prison. When the king heard about this, he called this unmerciful servant back and said, “Oh thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desirest me: Should not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee?” The king then put the unmerciful servant in prison until he could pay.
Applications
The figures of this parable are obvious. The king represents God; the debt would be sin, and the servants represent man. The general lesson is stated by Jesus in verse 35. He says, “So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.” Thus, the clear lesson is that we, who have been forgiven of so much by God, must be willing to forgive others.
Ephesians 4:32 is just one of the passages in God’s Word which teaches about forgiveness. It says, “and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Christians have been forgiven by God, and we must be willing to forgive others. Most would consider the actions of the unmerciful servant in this parable as very difficult to understand. He had been forgiven of so much, and yet he would not forgive someone else who owed him such a small amount.
Another important passage is Matthew 6:14-15. It says, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will you Father forgive your trespasses.” From these verses, we can see that we must forgive others in order to be forgiven by God. It has been said that he who cannot forgive others breaks down the bridge over which he must pass himself.
Another consideration concerns the extent of our forgiveness. Some might say, “I can forgive, but I can never forget.” This kind of forgiveness would not really be forgiveness at all. We learn from Hebrews 10:17 that when God forgives, he remembers no more. Our forgiveness should be like God’s. It should be full and complete.
Christ has forgiven us of much, yet many Christians, will not forgive others. When we fail to forgive others, we are following the same course of action as the unmerciful servant. We ought to think about how much we have been forgiven by God when we find it difficult to forgive others.