The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant is a story that Jesus told to highlight the importance of forgiveness and mercy. It is found in Matthew 18:21-35.
The parable begins with Peter asking Jesus how many times he should forgive someone who sins against him. Peter suggests forgiving up to seven times. But Jesus responds, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:22). This established that forgiveness should be abundant.
To illustrate His point, Jesus then tells the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant:
“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.” (Matthew 18:23-34)
This parable contains several key truths about forgiveness that Jesus wanted to convey to His disciples and to us today.
1. We have all been forgiven a great debt by God
In the parable, the first servant owed the king 10,000 talents. A talent was the largest monetary unit at the time, so this was an astronomical debt – more money than the servant could ever hope to repay. This represents the great moral debt each of us owes to God because of our sin.
Psalm 49:7-9 says “Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice.” Our sin deserves death and eternal separation from God (Romans 6:23). We are utterly incapable of paying this debt we owe.
Yet out of His great compassion and mercy, God has forgiven us. Through Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross, He paid our debt in full. He took the punishment we deserved and offered us complete forgiveness and reconciliation with God. The king in the parable symbolizes the generosity of God in forgiving our enormous debt.
2. We are called to extend forgiveness to others
After being released from his massive debt, the servant in the parable confronted a fellow servant who owed him a much smaller amount – only 100 denarii. Despite having just been shown incredible mercy, he responds with cruelty and rage. He chokes the man and has him thrown in prison.
Jesus makes it clear that we are called to instead extend the immense grace we have received from God to those who have wronged us. Ephesians 4:32 tells us to “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Forgiving others demonstrates that we comprehend the magnitude of our own forgiveness.
The servant was wrong to withhold the mercy he had freely received from the gracious king. When we grasp how much God has forgiven us, it should move us to freely forgive the comparatively small offenses of others against us. Withholding forgiveness after receiving it ourselves is utterly unjust.
3. Failing to forgive others has serious consequences
When the king hears how the servant responded to his fellow servant, he becomes angry and hands him over to be tortured until he can pay his whole debt. Jesus warns that God will deal harshly with those who refuse to forgive others after they have been forgiven.
In Matthew 6:15, Jesus taught that “if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” And in the Lord’s Prayer, we are reminded that we ask God to “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). Our willingness to forgive is linked to the forgiveness we receive.
The parable illustrates that the mercy we have been given is meant to change our hearts and enable us to show that same mercy. Failing to do so after receiving such enormous grace is wicked and deserving of punishment.
4. True forgiveness comes from a heart changed by God’s grace
The parable shows that even though the wicked servant knew he should forgive, he still chose not to. His heart remained unchanged even after the king’s gracious pardon of his debt. He still viewed his fellow servant with contempt rather than mercy.
This demonstrates that simply knowing we should forgive is not enough. Our hearts must be transformed by the incredible grace shown to us by God. We forgive in response to what God has done in our lives. As 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.”
True biblical forgiveness flows out of a life that has been radically altered by the mercy of God. It is not merely an obligation, but a joyful reaction to the grace we have been shown. With a transformed heart, we begin to view those who have wronged us through eyes of compassion as God does.
5. Forgiveness requires absorbing the cost and pain yourself
To release the indebted servant from his impossible debt, the king had to absorb the cost himself. The debt was not simply erased – the king paid it fully at great personal cost. So it is with God’s forgiveness of us. It was achieved through the agonizing sacrifice of Jesus, who paid our moral debt in full on the cross (1 Peter 2:24).
In the same way, extending forgiveness to others requires deliberately absorbing pain and releasing the right to resentment. We accept the cost ourselves rather than demanding payment from the offender. Following the king’s example, we pay their debt by choosing to bear the burden of their offense. True forgiveness is grounded in suffering love.
As Colossians 3:13 says, “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Forgiveness means carrying the grief or consequences of wrongdoing in order to release others from guilt. This reflects the very nature of God’s gracious forgiveness of us.
6. Forgiveness brings joy and freedom
After forgiving the servant’s massive debt, the king was likely filled with the profound joy and pleasure that comes from showing mercy. The servant’s forgiveness and liberation brought the king much greater joy than collecting the debt ever could have.
In the same way, extending forgiveness to others frees our souls from resentment and anger. Releasing hurt and bitterness brings joy and wholeness. It allows broken relationships to be reconciled and healed. Freely offering forgiveness to others, as God has offered it to us, results in freedom and gladness for both parties.
7. Forgiveness requires acknowledging wrongdoing and seeking repentance
An important condition in the parable was that the servant acknowledged his debt and humbled himself before the king, pleading for patience. The king did not offer forgiveness to someone who denied owing anything. Forgiveness requires honesty about real wrongdoing.
Additionally, true biblical forgiveness goes hand-in-hand with repentance. The offending person is called to confess their sin and turn from it. Luke 17:3-4 tells us “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
Forgiveness does not mean ignoring or denying sin. Instead, it openly acknowledges the wrong behavior and calls for a changed heart and conduct going forward. Biblical forgiveness requires truth, repentance and transformation in relationships.
8. Justice and mercy must both be satisfied
A key aspect of the parable is that the king still required payment for the debt, even after forgiving it. Forgiveness did not eliminate the need for justice. But the king willingly took the burden of the debt upon himself rather than demanding repayment.
God’s forgiveness is similar – He absorbs the cost of our debt Himself rather than simply cancelling it. Justice and mercy are both perfectly satisfied through Christ’s atoning death on the cross. As Hebrews 9:22 declares, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” Justice was served, but mercy triumphed.
Likewise, when we forgive others we shoulder the burden of their wrongdoing ourselves. This upholds justice while also showing mercy. By bearing the cost of their sin without demanding payment, we reflect the heart of God’s amazing grace.
9. Genuine forgiveness comes at a personal cost
This parable shows that forgiving debts and offenses comes at a real personal cost which must be willingly absorbed. The king took a massive loss by forgiving such an enormous debt. He sacrificed greatly to extend mercy.
In the same way, Christ paid dearly to offer us forgiveness. It cost Him the agony of the cross. And genuine forgiveness will cost us as well. We do not overlook or deny the wrong, but choose to suffer loss – absorbing the pain and releasing payment owed to us. There is often a high price to authentic biblical forgiveness.
As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “When God calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Forgiveness requires dying to self and personal rights for the sake of mercy. Like the king in the parable, we absorb the debt oneself in order to free the guilty party. Biblical forgiveness always comes at a sacrifice.
10. Forgiveness brings reconciliation and restoration
The purpose of forgiveness in the Bible is reconciliation and restored relationships. By absorbing the debt, the king’s act opened the door for genuine restoration between him and the servant. No longer defined by obligation, their relationship could grow in free grace.
Similarly, God’s forgiveness of us through Christ reconciles us to a right relationship with Him. We are reunited with God as adopted children, not condemned prisoners. And our forgiveness of others should aim at recovering and rebuilding broken relationships. Forgiveness brings healing.
Luke 17:3 expresses this, “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.” Forgiveness is meant to overcome estrangement caused by sin and open the way for new bonding at the deepest levels. The full purpose of biblical forgiveness is reconciliation.
11. We must cultivate a forgiving spirit as a way of life
Jesus ends the parable by declaring that God’s heavenly kingdom operates according to principles of abundant forgiveness and mercy. We are called to reflect God’s forgiveness not only in specific moments, but as an ongoing lifestyle and atmosphere for all relationships.
Colossians 3:13 tells believers to “forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” As those who have been lavishly forgiven by God, we are to develop a forgiving reflex towards all people at all times. It should become part of the fabric of our transformed hearts and lives.
The parable reminds us that reflecting God’s character means defaulting always towards grace. We extend mercy continuously, not only when specific wrongdoings call for it. Living out the gospel means cultivating a spirit of forgiveness.
12. Forgiveness is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit
This parable makes it clear that forgiveness does not come naturally to the human heart. The servant was unable to offer forgiveness even though he had just been forgiven. We cannot manufacture true biblical forgiveness on our own.
Only through the transforming work of the Holy Spirit are we able to respond to others with the mercy that has been shown to us. It is through the Spirit’s enabling that our hearts are changed to reflect God’s grace. The ability to truly forgive flows from Him.
That is why Paul declares in Ephesians 4:32 that we are to be “kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” The kindness and mercy of God enables us to forgive. Biblical forgiveness is miraculously made possible by the Spirit’s work in us.
13. This parable reveals the shocking mercy of God towards us
Ultimately, this parable is meant to leave us astonished at the mercy expressed to us in Christ. We stand alongside the wicked servant, undeservingly forgiven of an enormous moral debt. Though our hearts remain unchanged, God’s passionate grace persists.
In Romans 5:8, Paul expresses this shocking truth: “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” The parable vividly demonstrates the lavish mercy of God extended freely even to sinners hostile towards Him. It highlights the beauty of the gospel.
Our response can only be profound gratitude that softens our hearts, making them like God’s. As Jesus taught, those who have been forgiven much love much (Luke 7:47). May this parable move us to forgive others in the same measure that God has forgiven us in Christ.
