The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

In Matthew 18, Jesus tells His disciples a parable about how to forgive others:

“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought before him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and everything he had be sold to repay the debt. The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The original text for “ten thousand bags of gold” is “ten thousand talents,” with “ten thousand” being the largest number in the Greek numerical system. A “talent” was the highest monetary unit of the time, with one talent of silver being equivalent to 6,000 denarii. Therefore, the total debt was 60 million denarii. A common laborer’s daily wage was one denarius, so this servant owed a colossal sum that he could never hope to repay. The king, filled with compassion, released the servant and canceled his debt.

“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. His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ The fellow servant’s plea to the unforgiving servant was exactly the same as the unforgiving servant’s plea to the master. But this wicked servant refused. Instead, he went and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. The original text for “a hundred silver coins” is one hundred denarii. The servant’s own debt to the master was 60 million denarii, which was 600,000 times this amount.

“When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed. They went and told their master everything that had happened. Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart” (see Matthew 18:23-35).

Unless the people of the kingdom experience the cross, they cannot truly understand God’s grace and authority. They will not see their own debt to God, only the debts of others to them. If we treat others according to the principle of justice, the Lord will also treat us according to the principle of justice until we have met His righteous demands. But we can never satisfy His righteous demands. Therefore, we should remember the parable of this wicked servant, repent quickly, and forgive others, no longer counting the past debts of our brothers and sisters. Otherwise, we can never be freed from God’s punishment.

(Edited and compiled based on the Chinese Union Version Bible and Comprehensive Biblical Interpretation)