Matthew 18:23

The Parable Of The Forgiven Servant Who Could Not Himself Forgive

This subject of repentance and forgiveness was of such importance under the Kingly Rule of Heaven that Jesus now tells a parable about it. The parable again stresses the present nature of the Kingly Rule of Heaven, for the first servant finds forgiveness and then goes out and behaves unforgivingly towards another. The process is ongoing.

The basic meaning of the parable is simple yet profound. It first indicates the greatness of the level of God's forgiveness. It is for the ‘billions of sins' which each of us has committed. It is total forgiveness for a huge debt on the basis of repentance. In this regard we should recognise that we all sin every day continually. It is not just a question of what we do, but of what we do not do. We sin because we fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We sin because we fail to do all the things that we should be doing to bring men to God and to make the world a better place. ‘He who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin' (James 4:17). We sin because we often do not even recognise the good that we ought to do. It is not that we necessarily deliberately disobey God. It is because we are so sinful that we do not really realise in what ways we come short. Thus we all need forgiveness every day for being what we are.

The parable then stresses the small nature (in contrast with the size of God's forgiveness) of any forgiveness that we are called on to offer. But its prime point is that God's forgiveness has not genuinely been accepted by one who is then unable to forgive others. In the parable the king's forgiveness is rescinded. But that can never be so with God's forgiveness. Thus parables can never be applied too strictly. On the other hand it is a warning to us not to assume too readily God's forgiveness, for Jesus warns that if we do not forgive those who sin against us and repent, so neither will God forgive us. This is not because forgiveness is conditional. It is because truly being forgiven will make a person ready to forgive others. Someone who has been truly forgiven will be forgiving because of the work of God within them.

Analysis.

Note that the small letters demonstrate the chiasmus. The capital letters draw attention to the inner sequence.

a “Therefore is the kingly rule of Heaven likened to a certain king, who would call his servants to account for their activities” (Matthew 18:23).

b A “And when he had begun to call them to account, one was brought to him, who owed him ten thousand talents (that is in our terms ‘many billions of dollars/pounds'), but because he did not have the wherewithal to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made” (Matthew 18:24).

c BC“The servant therefore fell down and worshipped him, saying, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you all', and the lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt” (Matthew 18:26).

d AB “But that servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, who owed him a hundred denarii (one hundred day's wages), and he laid hold on him, and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.' So his fellow-servant fell down and besought him, saying, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you” (Matthew 18:28).

e C “And he would not, but went and cast him into prison, until he should pay what was due” (Matthew 18:30).

d “So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were deeply sorry, and came and told their lord all that was done” (Matthew 18:31).

c “Then his lord called him to him, and says to him, ‘You wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt, because you begged me. Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow-servant, even as I had mercy on you?” (Matthew 18:32).

b “And his lord was justly angry, and delivered him to the tormentors, until he should pay all that was due” (Matthew 18:34).

a “So also will my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts” (Matthew 18:35).

Not that in ‘a' the Kingly Rule of Heaven is likened to a king call his servants to account, and in the parallel we have the reaction of Jesus' Heavenly Father to those who do not forgive. In ‘b' the king was requiring his servant to pay all his debt and in the parallel he is still required to pay all his debt. In ‘c' the servant pleads for mercy and is forgiven all his debt, and in the parallel the king reminds him that this was what had happened. In ‘d' we have that servant's treatment of a fellow-servant described, and in the parable the fact that this is reported to the king. Centrally in ‘e' is the failure of the servant to forgive his fellow-servant, the basic point that called for the parable.

“Therefore is the kingly rule of Heaven likened to a certain king, who would call his servants to account for their activities.”

At first sight this appears to be another example of a parable of the final judgment, but in fact it turns out not to be so. It is rather a parable of the ongoing nature of the Kingly Rule of Heaven on earth prior to the final judgment. It is a good example of how the Kingly Rule of Heaven has commenced on earth, prior to it merging with the ‘heavenly' Kingly Rule of Heaven.

In the parable the king is seen as ruling over those within his kingly rule, and regularly calling his servants to account. It can to some extent be compared with the scenes in Job 1-2, but here it is His earthly servants who are called to account. This ‘calling to account' is that which takes place when a person is faced up by God with the size of their debt to Him. They are then ‘called to account'. He is seeking to call them to repentance.