THE UNMERCIFUL SERVANT (MATTHEW 18:23-35)

Biblical Context

Matthew 5:7; 6:12,14-15 are directly related to this parable. On the necessity of forgiving others, see Matthew 5:7 and James 2:13.

Snodgrass suggests that Jesus was in fact announcing the end-time Jubilee with its forgiveness of unpayable debts, as he does in Luke 4:18-21.

Allen (Joel, p. 178) sees similarities to the story of Jonah.

Immediate Context

Verses 21-22: The Greek may be read as 77 or 7x70. There are two basic ways to understand these verses:

    A. The context is given in Matthew 18:23-24, which is a complete reversal of Genesis 4:21. Both use the number 7 in a symbolic way to refer to completeness or completely (i.e., complete vengeance or forgiveness).

Complete reconciliation is to be aimed at, not a magic number that Peter thinks is rather generous of him to offer. Jesus takes two perfect numbers and multiplies them = 7x7x10. The prelude teaches to “Be kind to your brother...always.” (Hendricksen)

    B. The point of the high number is its extravagance. It should not be used to set any limit on forgiveness. (Collins)

See Ephesians 4:32 on the number of times to forgive. Therefore this prelude means forgiveness for each occasion no matter how many. This is in contrast to a rabbinical decision that 3-4 times (different occasions) was enough. (Hill)

Blomberg: Look at the introduction and conclusion to this parable. “Brother” is in both to show it applies to our dealings with fellow believers.

Verse-by-verse

Verse 23 Several commentators suggest that the “servant” was actually a tax farmer. Josephus writes about one tax-farmer who promised to collect 16,000 talents.

Hendricksen calls him a provincial governor. However:

Verse 24 In Matthew's version of the Lord's Prayer the terms “debt” and “debtor” stand for “sin” and “sinner.” This was a common usage in Judaism. (F. F. Bruce).  The word for sin and debt is the same in Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke.

In Esther 3:9, Haman promises to pay 10,000 talents into the treasury, and Josephus notes that this same amount of money was required by Pompey after his conquest of the Jews. It is estimated that this would take an ordinary worker 200,000 to 250,000 years to pay off the debt.

Blomberg: The debt has been estimated anywhere from several million dollars to 1 trillion dollars. 10,000 was the highest number having a Greek name (myrias – our myriad).

10,000 talents = $10 million according to another commentator.

“Surely those exegetes who want to cut down the figures...have locked their imaginations in their filing cabinets. (G. R. Beasely-Murray). Quoted in France

We are probably not talking about an official since v. 27 says it is a “loan.” “This is the language of hyperbole, not of calculation (on vv. 21-22).

Since 10,000 is the largest Greek numeral, it is equivalent to our “zillions.”

Verse 25 Selling insolvent debtors into slavery was a common practice at the time. This punishment shows that the first servant was no mere slave or the punishment would have been no punishment at all.

Verse 27 If this parable is based on Psalm 103 (“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits – who forgives all your iniquity. vv. 2-3a), as has been proposed, then the character of the king certainly points to God. (Snodgrass)

Verse 28 The second servant's debt amounted to 100 days' wage for a laborer.

Verse 29 has the virtually identical wording with v. 26, which makes the contrast stand out even more. (Snodgrass)

Verse 30 translates as “was and remained unwilling,” indicating repeated refusal to forgive his fellow servant.

This second debt was too small to warrant slavery. In jail, he would be subjected to forced labor to pay off the debt.

Verse 34 The torturers were used to extract information about any hidden assets.

Verse 35 On the end of the parable: “Sometimes the elements of a parable are there...to shock the hearer into the truth...” There is a similar ending in Matthew 5:25-26.

Main Point(s)

Snodgrass: There are multiple points of teaching (not at all the same thing as allegorizing the details).

    1. the enormous debt of human sin

    2. the compassion and forgiveness of God made available through Christ's ministry

    3. the fact that we must mirror God's forgiveness

    4. a warning of judgment on those who don't.

Blomberg – Three themes: God's boundless grace, the absurdity of spurning that grace, and the frightful fate awaiting the unforgiving. The law of end-stress highlights the last one.

Hendricksen sees one main lesson: Out of gratitude to God, a forgiven sinner should forgive those who have trespassed against them. But he also sees subsidiary lessons (This also differs from allegorizing):

    1. We are all God's debtors.

    2. None of us can pay his debt.

    3. But the debt must be paid.

    4. Christ paid the debt for all who believe in him.

    5. We can only be certain our debts are canceled if we cancel the debts of others.

    6. It shouldn't be difficult to do this in light of the relative size of the debts involved.

    7. An unforgiving person is doomed to eternal punishment.

    8. Both parties should try to take the first step toward reconciliation.

Problem Issues

“Anyone who uses this parable to justify or tolerate oppression really does not understand anything.” (Snodgrass in response to some radical feminist interpretations)

The major theological question in relation to this parable is whether judgment can negate grace. Both John Calvin and Martin Luther agreed that one could lose forgiveness in this way. (Snodgrass) F. F. Bruce says there is no denying the implication that one who has received grace can lose it. “The meaning is unambiguous [and in Matthew 6:14-15], and it is unwise to try to avoid its uncomfortable challenge.”

Blomberg: We can't theologize the details to say that one can lose their salvation; inability to forgive others may be a sign that we never received God's forgiveness to start with.

Here are some pertinent quotations on the subject from various commentators:

    “Mercy is not effectively received unless it is shown, for God's mercy transforms....Forgiveness not shown is forgiveness not known.” “Human forgiveness is not an achievement but a duty that will be punished if ignored.”

     Mercy is not effectively received unless it is shown, for God's mercy transforms....Forgiveness not shown is forgiveness not known.” “Human forgiveness is not an achievement but a duty that will be punished if ignored.”

    “Human forgiveness is not the basis of divine forgiveness, but it is evidence of a life lived on the principle of divine grace.”

    “Forgiveness from God is a gift of God's grace, but we must take the gift seriously and make the right ethical response if we are to appropriate the gift and incorporate it into the structure of our lives.”

    “He was teaching the impossibility of the unforgiving being forgiven; he was not drawing any parallel between God and us in relation to the basis of forgiveness.”

    “Human forgiveness is neither a pre-condition for God's forgiveness, nor can it make any claim to it; rather, it is an echo and a command of the forgiveness received.”

    “It is not a business transaction: God does not keep office ledgers.”

    “A forgiving spirit is made easier for Christians when they consider how much God has already forgiven.”