Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. 26 So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27 And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ 30 But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. 31 So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. 32 Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ 34 And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. 35 My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.” — Matthew 18:21-35, NASB

The parable was given by Jesus to emphasize the importance of forgiveness, and the connection between God’s forgiveness of the Christian believer and the believer’s forgiveness of others. The teaching appears in Matthew 18, the discourse in which the Lord guides His disciples on how to deal with one another and shepherd the community of believers in His coming absence. He has just given general direction on how they should deal with sinning fellow Christians before Peter asks specifically about how forgiveness should be handled.

The number seven is routinely used throughout scripture to denote perfection or completeness. When Jesus tells him that not only must he forgive his fellow believer seven times, but up to seventy times seven, He is emphasizing the fact we must always forgive, every single time there is offense. Christians are to mirror God’s example, and
as such there should be no end to their capacity for forgiveness for a brother in the faith.

He then tells the parable in which a king, symbolizing God, is settling accounts with his slaves. The act of settling of accounts here reflects God’s ongoing assessment and expectation that believers conform to His holy standard. A particular slave is found to owe the king 10,000 talents with no means to satisfy the debt. To recoup the money, the slave was to be sold along with his family and possessions. The slave begs for patience until he can pay it off.

The amount is staggering. A single talent was the equivalent of 600 denarii, and a single denarius represented the average daily wage. The king knows that the slave couldn’t pay this off in a lifetime or several, and has compassion on him, just as God continually shows compassion to His own despite their imperfections and inability to pay off their own massive, ongoing sin debt.

The king forgives the entire amount and the slave is released, just as believers are forgiven their past, present and future trespasses because they are justified by the blood of Christ. Jesus chose the outrageous figure of 10,000 talents to illustrate that the debt was insurmountable. In absorbing such a loss, the king shows a capacity for forgiveness that is equally vast.

But shortly thereafter, the slave went out and found a fellow slave who owed him 100 denarii, grabs him by the throat and demands that he pay what he owes him. That slave, representing another brother in the faith, prostrates himself and asks for patience that he might pay the debt over time, but the first slave refuses and has him jailed until the debt is paid. Though the amount he is owed pales in comparison to the massive amount the king excused, he will not extend the same compassion and mercy that he had just received.

Other slaves, also representing fellow believers, observe this and are mightily distressed. In taking their issue to the king, they reflect a part of the pattern for church discipline Jesus outlined in verses 18:15-17. The king has the unforgiving slave brought in. After labeling him wicked and lecturing him on the irony of the situation, he casts him to the jailers for tormenting until repayment is made.

This parable can easily cause difficulty and confusion because it can be interpreted as a salvation-focused teaching that seems to contradict the biblical principle of “once saved, always saved.” As usual it is best to take the passage in context, noting that the emphasis is placed on the importance of forgiveness, not the conditions for salvation. The unforgiving slave therefore represents neither a false nor a backsliding believer, and verses 34-35 do not suggest the revocation of salvation or existence of any kind of post-death purgatorial state.

While other parables do address the characteristics and eternal fate of false believers, the parable of the unforgiving servant does not; instead it provides a glimpse of how God deals with justified believers. Even if verse 27 were to be taken as an illustration of God’s act of salvation, the text plainly states that the king forgave the servant, and God certainly does not save in error. Neither however does He rescind a believer’s salvation (Jn 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom 5:9-10; 8:1, 8:31-39; 1 Cor 1:4-8; Eph 4:30; Heb 7:25,
13:5; 1 Pet 1:5; Jude 24). His word furthermore nullifies the concept and necessity of purgatory (Jn 19:30; 2 Cor 5:8; Heb 1:3, 7:25, 7:27, 9:12, 10:14, 10:17-18; Lk 16:26, 23:43).

What these last two verses do provide is a picture of God’s chastening of believers who lapse into spells of disobedience. Remember that Jesus is addressing the disciples; sincere repentance and profession of faith does not completely eliminate sin nor the earthly consequences of sin in a believer’s life. Just as the slave is sentenced “until he should repay all that was owed him,” God imparts correction to His own, and there are no believers who do not undergo His discipline. He allows believers to experience the results of their offenses as a reminder that they are always to express His nature in what they do. The unforgiving servant did not reflect the righteous qualities of the king and was reprimanded.

Jesus does not dangle the anvil of eternal punishment over believers' heads in verse 35. That debt has been paid. He is instead providing a matter-of-fact reminder that God will chastise His own whenever they lapse into the sinful behavior humanity is prone to. Spurgeon draws the distinction:

Punishment can never happen to a child of God in the judicial sense, he can never be brought before God as his Judge, as charged with guilt, because that guilt was long ago transferred to the shoulders of Christ, and the punishment was exacted at the hands of his surety. But yet, while the sin cannot be punished, while the Christian cannot be condemned, he can be chastised, while he shall never be arraigned before God's bar as a criminal, and punished for his guilt, yet he now stands in a new relationship—that of a child to his parent: and as a son he may be chastised on account of sin.*

The Christian doesn’t wield the new godly nature overnight, and will always fall short. But through his sanctifying walk with God, he gradually and inevitably will reflect godly qualities, among which is true forgiveness.

It is a vital Christian attribute, a demonstration of our saving faith, but it is not always easy. Often we have to work against our very nature to forgive. In those instances we must remember “seventy times seven,” being fully aware of the mercy God has granted us. Before demanding recompense from our brother, as Christians perhaps we should view his petty offense in light of all which we have been forgiven.

Wretched humanity sits 10,000 talents in the red to a holy Creditor poised to foreclose and completely justified to do so. All of us carry that liability, but He has mercifully offered relief. The debt will be erased once and for all, washed away by the blood of His only Begotten for those willing to accept and follow Him. Though we will continue to fail the test of righteousness and receive His chastening in this life, God’s forgiveness of the Christian is sufficient and eternal. He will not remember our sins. It is an undeserved, unearned gift, indicative of the holiness of its mighty Sender. Being recipients of such a grace, we are obligated to follow His example.

Quotation reference:
* Spurgeon, C.H.; Chastisement (Sermon #48), Oct. 28, 1855

Image:
Luyken, Jan (1649-1712); Parable of the Ungrateful Servant; Medhurst, Phillip (attribution)