Matthew 18:23-35

      “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 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. 26 “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
      28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. 29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ 30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.
      31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that 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. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
      35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.

This is some of Jesus' most powerful teaching on forgiveness.

A talent is a sum of money that only the very rich or governmental bodies could have. Despite what exchange rates people might give today, 10,000 talents was an astronomical sum of money.

This parable is mistakenly interpreted because we often discount the amount of 100 denarii -- this is a third of years wage for an upper middle class person in Jesus' day. This is a sizeable debt, made small only by the huge debt forgiven the man owed this 100 denarii! The point is not that the debt owed us is small, but quite large. It's only in comparison to the debt we owed that it becomes small!

Compare ths to verse 26 -- the words of pleading, the cries of desperation are the same, the only difference is the reaction of the one owed the debt!

Compare what Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount: "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matt. 6:14-15)

The key point of this parable is to remind of the huge debt we owed that has been cancelled, so how can we not cancel (forgive) those who have significantly wronged us!?


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HEARTLIGHT(sm) Magazine is a ministry of loving Christians and the Westover Hills church of Christ. Edited by Phil Ware and Paul Lee. Commentary copyright © 1997, Phil Ware. May be reprinted and reused for non-commercial purposes only if copyright credits are appropriately displayed. HEARTLIGHT and the flared heart design are service marks of Heartlight, Inc.