The Unmerciful Servant Matthew 18:21-35

Tonight we are going to look at the parable of the Unmerciful Servant in Matthew 18. Included with this account is an exchange between Peter and Jesus about forgiving others.

This passage is a continuation of what comes before it. And what comes before it are what we call the steps of Church Discipline. This question that we will see from Peter is really a practical application question regarding what Jesus just taught. In other words, Peter is trying to apply what Jesus has said and is asking Jesus if his application is correct.

Jesus then answers his question and then tells a parable to further explain what living the Christian Life is to look like.

Forgiveness- Matthew 18:21-22

Let’s begin by reading this passage:

Matthew 18:21–35 ESV

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Peter seems to be saying, “Okay, I understand that we are to go to great lengths to restore someone who has sinned. But, what if they do it again? How often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him, seven times?”

It is a good question isn’t it? It is a question that every one of us has either asked or would ask if someone continued to sin against us. How often must I forgive them? Certainly there is a limit.

So, how many times did Peter think he should forgive someone?

Seven Times. Peter thought that was pretty good since 3 was the expectation of the Jewish people. He doubled the expectation and added another for good measure.

But Jesus answered with a much different number. Seventy times Seven, 490 times. Jesus said to forgive someone 490 times. Three was normal, Peter thought he was being generous by going up to 7 and Jesus takes that number all the way to 490 times.

Ask

So what is the point that Jesus is making?

But Jesus’ point is not that we count how many times someone does something wrong to us and how many times we forgive them. The point that Jesus is making is that we should always forgive people.

And to make his point, he tells a parable, a story about a King and an unmerciful Servant.

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant - Matthew 18:23-35

Matthew 18:23–34 ESV

“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.

Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to an earthly Kingdom

Ask:

Why did Jesus tell Parables?

Jesus told the parable, the story to teach about God and His Kingdom.

Ask:

So who were the people in the Parable that Jesus told?

The King

The servant who owed the King

The man who owed the servant

Ask:

What is the parable, the story about?

The whole story is about people who owe money that they can not pay back because they owe so much.

Ask:

As we think about the first part of this story, about the King and the Servant, what do we learn about God and His Kingdom?

In this Parable, the servant owed so much money that he could never actually pay it back.

Justice

So to get was was owed him, the King was going to punish the servant by selling him and his family into slavery.

Submission

But the servant begged the King for more time and promised that he would pay back the money.

But he owed more than he could ever pay back. And the King knew it, it was impossible for the servant to pay the King back.

Mercy / Compassion / Forgiveness

So the King forgave the man’s debt. He told the servant that he did not have to pay anything.

Matthew 18:27 ESV

And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.

What does this tell us about the King?

He was a merciful King. Compassionate. Forgiving

So this tells us that God is merciful.

Sinfulness of Man - Matthew 18:24-25

But the story also tells us something about ourselves.

Matthew 18:24–25 ESV

When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.

Ask:

What does the story tells us about us?

It tells us that we owe God a debt that we can not pay.

That debt is not money. We don’t owe God because he gave us money. We owe God because we all have sinned and deserve His punishment.

And that debt is more than we could ever pay becuase when we sin, we are disobeying the eternal God who is perfectly Holy. He could punish us for all eternity and it would not be enough to pay for our sin.

But like the King in our story, God is merciful.

Jesus came and lived a perfect life. He never sinned and then he went to the cross and died for our sins. When Jesus died on the cross, he was punished by God for our sins.

God in His mercy made a way for us to be saved, if we trust in Jesus and have faith in him.

The Unmerciful Servant - Matthew 18:28-30

But our parable did not stop with the King being merciful to the servant who owed a debt he could not pay.

Matthew 18:28–30 ESV

But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.

There was a second man who owed a debt he could not pay. But this man’s debt was small in comparison to the debt that the servant owed the King.

And this second man responded in the same way as the first, submitting and promising to pay the debt, begging for mercy.

The servant threw the man in prison.

The servant, who had been forgiven so much, was unwilling to forgive the man who owed him so little in comparison.

And when the King heard of this, what did he do? He punished the servant and made him pay the debt, likely selling the servant and his family into slavery.

Matthew 18:32–34 ESV

Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.

Repentance

Matthew 18:35 ESV

So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

What does this part of the story tells us about God and His Kingdom?

It tells us that when we trust in Jesus and our sins are forgiven, we are to forgive others. It takes us back to the beginning of our lesson where Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive someone.

Jesus said, 70 times 7, that we should be forgiving just as God has forgiven us.

It also tells us that those who do not forgive others are not actually forgiven by God and not part of his kingdom and will have to pay for their sins.

God in his mercy sent Jesus to die in our place and take the punishment that we deserve. When we trust in Jesus and have faith in Him, our lives will be different, we will be like God. We will be merciful and compassionate like God the Father and His Son Jesus.

Loose salvation or Never saved?

If you focus on the question about eternal security you have missed the point. It is a valid question to ask, does this teach that we can loose our salvation? But that is not the point of the teaching.

Jesus is speaking to the disciples about what it looks like to live in the Kingdom of God. It is different from life as a Jew in that day. Rather than forgiving only 3 times, Jesus told them they were to forgive 70x7. The parable’s point is about forgiveness, that one who has been forgiven so much should be forgiving as well. Those who are not forgiving will not be forgiven.

If you are a believer, this truth should cause you to question yourself if you have not forgiven someone