In brief
The unforgiving servant is the character of a parable of Jesus told in Matthew 18:23-35. He is a teaching figure, not a historical person. Jesus tells this story after Peter asks how many times he must forgive. A king forgives his servant an enormous debt of ten thousand talents, but this servant has a fellow servant thrown into prison for owing him a hundred denarii. The parable teaches that whoever has been forgiven must forgive from the heart.
What does the name The Unforgiving Servant mean?
The servant has no name in the parable. His lord calls him a wicked servant (Matthew 18:32), and tradition has nicknamed him the unforgiving servant, because he refused to have mercy on his fellow servant even though his lord had had mercy on him (Matthew 18:33).
The story of The Unforgiving Servant
How many times must I forgive?
Matthew 18:21-22Peter comes to Jesus and asks how often his brother may sin against him and be forgiven, up to seven times. Jesus answers: “I don’t tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven.” In other words, forgiveness is not to be counted. The parable that follows explains why.
An impossible debt
Matthew 18:23-25The Kingdom of Heaven is like a king who wanted to reconcile accounts with his servants. One is brought to him who owes ten thousand talents, a colossal sum he cannot pay. His lord commands that he be sold, with his wife, his children and all that he has, so that payment may be made.
Total grace
Matthew 18:26-27The servant falls down and kneels before him, begging: “Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you all!” He promises the impossible. Moved with compassion, the lord does far more than wait: he releases him and forgives him the whole debt. The servant leaves free, owing nothing.
One hundred denarii
Matthew 18:28-30As soon as he goes out, this servant finds a fellow servant who owes him one hundred denarii, a tiny sum next to his own debt. He grabs him, takes him by the throat and demands payment. The fellow servant begs him with almost the same words he had used himself, but he refuses and has him thrown into prison until he pays.
The lord's rebuke
Matthew 18:31-33The other servants, deeply grieved, tell their lord everything that happened. The lord calls the servant in and says: “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt, because you begged me. Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?”
Forgiving from the heart
Matthew 18:34-35Angry, the lord delivers the servant to the tormentors until he has paid all that was due. Jesus concludes: “So my heavenly Father will also do to you, if you don’t each forgive your brother from your hearts for his misdeeds.” The forgiveness received from God must become forgiveness given to others.
Test your knowledge
What The Unforgiving Servant teaches us
- Our debt to God infinitely exceeds anything others can owe us.
- The forgiveness received from God must be passed on to those who have offended us.
- Christian forgiveness is not counted: it does not stop at seven times.
- Refusing to forgive reveals a heart that has not understood the grace it received.
- To forgive from the heart is to give up demanding repayment for the offense.
Key verses
Peter's question opens the parable. The answer of Jesus, seventy times seven, shows that forgiveness must be neither limited nor kept in a ledger.
The heart of the parable lies in the lord's rebuke: the one who received mercy should in turn have had mercy on his fellow servant.
Jesus applies the parable to his listeners with seriousness: the heavenly Father expects from each a sincere forgiveness, given from the heart to his brother.
Paul follows the same logic as the parable: forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you. The forgiveness received becomes the model of the forgiveness given.
Bible verses to meditate on
Sermons about The Unforgiving Servant
- Matthew 6: Daily Bread and Daily ForgivenessThe preacher sheds light on the request for forgiveness in the Lord's Prayer through this parable and sees in the servant's unmerciful heart the proof that he had never been transformed by the mercy he received.
- Forgiving to Be FreeThe sermon builds on the parable to explain why we forgive so little: we must first measure the immensity of the debt God has forgiven us.
- John 20: The Power to Forgive and the Grace of Being ForgivenThe message presents the unforgiving servant as an illustration of the trap that closes on whoever withholds forgiveness, in connection with Matthew 6:14-15.
- Matthew 18: Humility, Reconciliation and Forgiveness in the ChurchThe preacher stresses that our own debt, forgiven by Jesus, far exceeds anything anyone could owe us: Jesus forgave first, and he asks us to do the same.
Frequently asked questions
What do the ten thousand talents represent?
The talent was a very large unit of value, and ten thousand talents represent a debt the servant could never repay. The hundred denarii are a far more modest sum, since a denarius was a day's wage (Matthew 20:2). The contrast shows the immensity of God's forgiveness compared with the offenses we suffer.
Did the unforgiving servant exist?
No, he is a character in a parable. Jesus introduces the story by saying that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a king who wanted to reconcile accounts with his servants (Matthew 18:23). The servant is a teaching figure meant to show how serious it is to refuse to forgive.
Where is the parable of the unforgiving servant found in the Bible?
It is found only in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 18, verses 21 to 35. The whole chapter deals with life among brothers: humility, care for the little ones, approaching the one who sins. Also read Matthew 6:12-15, where Jesus links the forgiveness received from God to the forgiveness given to others.