The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant Matthew 18:21-35

Introduction Mt 18:21-22 –Peter’s question –He is trying to apply what he has been taught Probably felt 7 times was a generous number –Jesus’ point is that forgiveness has no limits The parable’s main point will be to reinforce Jesus’ point

The parable Mt 18:23-27 –The king is owed a debt of 10,000 talents –A talent = 6,000 denarii (day’s wages) –10,000 talents = 60 million days’ wages –At $50 / day = $3 billion –The debt was beyond the servant’s ability Yet the servant only asked for patience –The king was willing to forgive it entirely

The parable Mt 18:28-30 –That servant refuses to even have patience with another servant’s debt 100 denarii = 100 days’ wages = $5,000 A large sum, but within a servant’s ability to pay given time –The first servant wanted immediate repayment He was within his rights Used the legal avenues open to him

The parable Mt 18:31-34 –The king scolds the first servant for not learning a lesson in forgiveness The servant’s forgiveness is cancelled The original punishment would have been slavery for entire family Now the punishment will be worse: “torturers”

The lesson of the parable Matt. 18:35 –Failure to forgive a brother will bring severe punishment God is the King We are his servants

Other lessons from the parable We are all debtors to God (Rom 3:23) We can never repay our debt to God –Christ bought us at the price of His life 1 Cor 6:19-20 Only by forgiving others are we certain to be forgiven (Mt 6:14-15) It should be easy to forgive others when considering what God did for us The unforgiving will be destined for eternal torment (James 2:13)

How to be forgiving Focus on God’s forgiveness of you (Col 3:13) Ask God’s help to “forgive and forget” –“Forget” – to disregard, to fail to mention, to leave behind, to be unable to remember –God can help us get to all those definitions Gen 41:51, 45:4-5, 50:15-21 Phil 3:13

Conclusion "If I say, 'Yes, I forgive, but I cannot forget,' as though the God, who twice a day washes all the sands on all shores of all the world, could not wash such memories from my mind, then I know nothing of Calvary love." Amy Carmichael