Matthew 18: 21 35 Parable Of The Unforgiving Servant

Target year level: Year Two, Year Five

Scripture text

Introduction

Scripture scholars think that the Gospel of Matthew was written in the last part of the first century CE sometime after 70 CE. Matthew’s intended audience was Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians who were familiar with Jewish culture, religious belief and religious practice. Matthew’s text has many Jewish references that take for granted an audience familiar with Judaism.

For further background on the Gospel of Matthew, see the The New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), Introduction to Matthew.

World behind the text

The authorship of the Gospel which bears the name of Matthew is uncertain. It is generally accepted that the author is not the apostle Matthew. The author was probably a Jewish convert who was familiar with the Law, Prophets, Jewish traditions and Messianic expectations.

Matthew’s frequent reference to Hebrew scriptures and traditions suggest that his audience were predominantly converts from Judaism. Some argue that because of his missionary outlook and openness to gentiles that the gospel was written for a gentile audience as well. The Gospel of Matthew was probably written between 85 and 90 C.E.

Talents and Denarii: units of currency used in that time period. The sums of money mentioned in the story are large figures. The first servant owed 10,000 talents, which is an astronomical figure. The annual tax collected from the regions of Galilee and Paraea combined was just 200 talents. The second servant owed 100 denarii, which was equivalent of 150 days wages.

The point of the parable is made when it is observed that the first slave has his debt ‘let go’. 10 thousand talents is equivalent to 160 thousand years of wages. (Source: Michael Fallon)

Debt: in that time period, people who could not pay their debts were imprisoned and potentially could be sold into slavery to pay the debt. The purpose of this was to shame the person’s family and encourage them to pay the debt on behalf of their relative. (Into the Desert, Dan White)
Shame: A shame culture existed in 1st century Palestine, and people would go to great lengths to avoid shame. Being thrown in prison for not paying a debt would have been a great source of shame for the individual and their extended family. If the shame could not be ‘covered up’ then often the person would be excluded from the community. (Into the Desert, Dan White)
Forgiveness: Peter is obviously learning from Jesus. He presumes that he must forgive in a full and complete way (‘seven times'). We are to put no limits on our readiness to forgive. The goal of forgiveness is reconciliation. No one can bring this about on their own as both parties to the hurt have to be willing to be reconciled. But even when another is unwilling to forgive or to be forgiven and shies away from reconciliation for whatever reason, we are asked by Jesus to be ready to forgive and to be open to reconciliation. Any barriers that are there should not come from us. We should treat each other with the same mercy with which God treats us. (Source: Michael Fallon)
Our forgiveness should be unlimited (vv. 21-22)
The notion of forgiving seven times or seventy-seven times comes from the story of Cain and Abel, but in Gen 4:24, the reference is to taking vengeance seven or seventy-seven times. Jesus reverses the seventy-seven-fold vengeance to seventy-seven times forgiveness. He demands unlimited forgiveness toward those who are truly repentant. (Refer IVP Commentary)

World of the text

A parable is a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle or moral lesson. Parables convey their meaning by the use of comparison, analogy, metaphor and simile
Break open the story using activities such as 5W and H: who was in the story? What happened? When did it take place? Where did the story take place?, etc.

World in front of the text

Why is this parable important to me, today?
What does it say about forgiveness? We must be always ready to forgive and be open to reconciliation.
In the school context, what implications does this parable have for me? How does this parable say we should treat other in our school community? (forgive others).