This parable is set within the teaching of Christ to His dis­ciples about the church and church discipline. Christ’s will is that His church be a place where humility and service thrive. It should also be a place where there is joy when straying dis­ciples return. And if a brother sins against another brother, there should be reconciliation through truth and repentance.

At this point, Peter raises a practical question for the group of disciples: “Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?” It is reported that the rabbis specified that forgiveness should be issued as many as three times. In our society, we have the slogan, “Three strikes and you are out.” Peter’s suggestion of seven times seems generous. But Jesus responds to him by saying not seven times, but “seventy times seven.” Jesus uses this way of speaking in order to say that our forgiveness of a repenting brother or sister cannot by bounded, much like the forgiveness that God grants is unbounded. In other words, we should lose count forgiving others.

Scenery⤒🔗

This parable is often seen as divided into three scenes. The first scene (vv. 23-27) introduces us to two of the main char­acters. On the one hand, there is a king. He is a prominent figure in this parable and clearly a wealthy king. This king wanted to settle accounts with his servants. Whether his ser­vants were tax collectors, money handlers, or officials in his kingdom isn’t told us. But we can assume that at least one ser­vant dealt with a lot of the king’s money. The king summons one particular servant to him who is in great debt to the king.

Christ says the servant owes the king ten thousand talents, an exorbitant amount of money. Commentators say that this man owed anywhere from 150,000 to 200,000 years’ worth of wages to the king (equivalent to several billion dollars today). He clearly didn’t have the finances to afford this great debt and thus the king ordered the servant and his family to be sold into slavery.

In desperation, the man falls down before the king (v. 26) and begs him to have patience with him. He promises to pay everything he owes. In response, the king forgives him his large debt.

The second scene (vv. 28-31) introduces the third main character, a second servant. The first servant, who has just been forgiven his debt, finds this second servant, who owes him money, and demands that he pay. This second servant’s debt is substantially less than what the first man owed, but the first servant quickly resorts to physical violence, grabbing the man by the throat.

The second servant pleads with the first servant to have patience with him. He uses the exact same words as the first servant did when he begged for mercy from the king. We hear the parallelism, but apparently, the first servant does not. He orders the second servant to be taken away and put in prison until he can pay his debt.

The king’s other servants, knowing what had happened with the first servant, were so bothered they brought word back to the king.

The third scene is the climax of the parable (vv. 32-35). The king summons the first servant. Seeing what he has done, the king orders him to be taken away and tortured in prison until he has paid his entire debt. Jesus then concludes by showing that the king represents His Father, and the par­able is meant to warn the disciples of the consequences of not forgiving “from the heart ... every one his brother their trespasses” (v. 35).

Substance←⤒🔗

A number of things need to be stated for clarity. Christ is not saying that we are forgiven only because we forgive. Nor is He saying that it is possible for someone to lose his salva­tion once he has truly been forgiven. Such teachings would conflict with what Scripture says elsewhere about forgiveness. Christ is not speaking here about the way of salvation, but rather the result of salvation.

Moreover, within the larger context of Matthew 18, Jesus is relating to His disciples how to confront, discipline, and receive back offending brothers and sisters. This parable is a clear demonstration of what Jesus means. The huge debt the first servant owes the king is a debt of sin. This is illustrated for us by the use of Jesus’ words: the king “forgave” him his debt. We could compare this to the general proclamation of forgiveness that God gives to sinners who cry to God for mercy. The gospel issues a wide and general proclamation. This is part of the beauty of the gospel. However, the gen­eral proclamation of pardon should not be confused with the actual transaction of pardon. For that, there must be true faith that embraces such a benefit with a believing heart. Christ is the benefit, and we will not, indeed, cannot be unaffected by it. Though God’s pardon does not renew our nature, genu­ine justification is accompanied by a new nature as becomes evidenced in sanctification.

When David received mercy from God, he in turn looked for someone to whom he could show the “mercy of God” (2 Sam. 9:3). On the other hand, if we continue to hold our brother’s sin against him and find no place for mercy, we are acting like the hypocritical servant. We are standing over our brother in judgment, a position that belongs ultimately only to God.

This shows why Jesus ends His chapter on the life of the church with this parable about forgiveness. Our life among the people of God should show whether we belong to the peo­ple of God. All of us are prone to sin and be sinned against. But if we have sought and received unbounded divine forgive­ness, can we not through the power of divine grace also show forgiveness to others that is unbounded?

Savior←⤒🔗

Where can we see the Savior in this parable? Mind you, Matthew does not go into an in-depth discussion of soteri­ology at this point. He does not mention imputation, righ­teousness, or faith, as the Apostle Paul will in Romans 3-5. Nevertheless, we need to remember that Christ is on His way to the cross, and there can be forgiveness only on the basis of His work on the cross. Let me elaborate in three ways:

1. Christ is a meticulous Savior. The massive debt the first servant owed the king is explicitly stated as ten thousand talents. There doesn’t appear to be much rounding; Matthew doesn’t simply say that the man “owed a lot of silver to the king.” Rather, there is an accurate number placed on this debt and this number is equal to billions of dollars. Jesus is not an imprecise Savior. He knows the records of wrongs that we do. Even when we fail to take account of our own sins, God keeps a close tally. And Christ meticulously brings all of our sins to Calvary. Jesus’ death for our sins wasn’t an imprecise death. Rather, His death covered every little sin His people have ever committed. He knew what sins and how many sins He was dying for when He laid down His life for His sheep.
    
2. Christ is a gracious Savior. It is good news that is pro­claimed in the gospel, namely, that “there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared” (Ps. 130:4). Not everyone who thinks he is forgiven is actually forgiven, but that is not because of a shortage of forgiveness with Christ. We find it very difficult to forgive the same person three times, much less seven, but in His mercy Jesus casts all the sins of His people “into the depths of the sea” (Mic. 7:19).
    
3. King Jesus is also a judging Savior. Those who abuse His gospel in order to continue in sin and hardness of heart will meet the wrath of the slighted Lamb. This is clearly seen in the king’s final treatment of the first servant. The king’s declaration is removed from the servant and he is handed over to be imprisoned and tortured until his unpayable debt is paid. Psalm 2:12 says, “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little.”

Searchlight←⤒🔗

The parables are given not only to relate positive and affirm­ing messages to us, but more often to reveal the vileness of our hearts. This parable is poignant in revealing to us the following:

1. Our insurmountable debt of sin. The demands of the law are strict obedience. Every jot and tittle must be fulfilled. By nature, we break God’s law constantly, consistently, and eas­ily. To use the language of our parable, our debt runs into the billions and is unpayable. By the work of the Holy Spirit, we need to feel the sting of our helpless and dire state. This par­able serves to remind us how truly great our debt is to God. The only hope we have is to be truly forgiven.
    
2. Our double standard with respect to others, and ourselves. How often have not we metaphorically stood with our hands around an offending brother or sister’s “neck” while our own debt to God is infinitely worse? In order to forgive others more easily and quickly, we should think of our great debt before God. That should loosen our grip on our brother’s throat.
    
3. Our need of Christ. In order to forgive others, we need Christ. We need not only His forgiving grace, but also His enabling grace to forgive in an unbounded way.

Questions←⤒🔗

1. What is the difference between “seven” times and “seventy times seven,” both mathematically and spiritually?
    
2. The king’s other servants were bothered (v. 31). Does this have any connection with the church discipline spoken of in verse 17?
    
3. Must we forgive a brother or sister who is not repentant?
    
4. Can the Lord revoke His forgiveness? How then do you explain verse 34?
    
5. Is it a contradiction that Christ is both a merciful Savior as well as a judging Savior?
    
6. What do you say to a person who says that unbounded forgiveness is not really possible?