A Non-Repayable Debt Series

I have entitled our message this evening “A Non-repayable Debt,” and we will be looking at what is commonly called, “The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.” “John Oglethorpe, in talking to John Wesley, once made the comment, ‘I never forgive.’ Mr. Wesley replied, ‘Then, Sir, I hope that you never sin’.”(1) We are going to learn tonight that if we never forgive, then we had better hope that we never sin.

All people owe a non-repayable debt to the Lord. If the Lord dismisses our debt (and He will), then we should extend the same courtesy to any of our debtors. So, what is the non-repayable debt that we owe, and to whom are we indebted? What does it cost us personally, and how can we have our debt dismissed? Also, what happens if the debt is not dismissed? These are some question that will be answered tonight as we go through this parable.

Peter Demonstrated Generosity (vv. 21-22)

21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “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.”

It’s highly unlikely that Jesus was angry with Peter’s question concerning how many times someone should be forgiven. In fact, his suggestion to forgive “up to seven times” was quite generous when compared to the standard of forgiveness set forth in the law. A. T. Robertson says, “The Jewish rule was three times” (Amos 1:6).(2) Rabbi Jose ben Hanina said, “He who begs forgiveness from his neighbor must not do so more than three times.”(3) Rabbi Jose ben Jehuda said, “If a man commits an offense once, they forgive him; if he commits an offense a second time, they forgive him; if he commits an offense a third time, they forgive him; the fourth time they do not forgive him.”(4)

Peter was being especially generous in his pronouncement of forgiveness up to seven times. He sought to impress Jesus with his answer, and He was likely pleased with Peter; however, Jesus sought to clarify the standard of forgiveness set forth in “the law of love.” Jesus said, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” When He stated forgiveness up to 490 times, He was not being literal. Jesus was using figurative language to convey the spiritual truth that forgiveness should be granted to an individual an unlimited number of times. He then began to share a parable to illustrate this principle.

He Who Owed Much (vv. 23-27)

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ 27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.”

Jesus shared this parable in order to reinforce God’s standard of forgiveness. He spoke of a king who began to settle accounts with his servants. This king represents God Almighty, ruler of heaven and earth. There was also a servant and his master. The servant owed a non-repayable debt to the king, which represents how all human beings owe a debt to the Lord for their sin; one which cannot be paid on one’s own. The master represents Jesus Christ who will execute judgment in the final day on those whose debt has remained unpaid, or has not been forgiven.

Verse 24 shows how a servant who owed ten thousand talents was brought to the king. An understanding of the value of measures listed in this parable will help unravel the spiritual application. A talent is a measure of weight. In the U. S. weight standard, which is a pound, a talent is equal to 75.558 pounds.(5) A. T. Robertson stated back in the 1930’s that one talent is worth 6,000 denarii or about 1000 U. S. dollars, and that ten thousand times this amount is equal to 10 million U. S. dollars.(6) However, today, ten thousand talents are now worth around 450 billion U. S. dollars.(7)

What was ten thousand talents worth in Jesus’ day and time? Robertson said, “The imperial taxes of Judea, Idumea, and Samaria were only 600 talents while Galilee and Perea paid 200.”(8) The man with whom the king wished to settle an account owed him ten thousand talents, which was 16 times more than the imperial taxes of Judea, and 50 times more than the imperial taxes of Galilee. Ten thousand talents would have been more than what was contained in the treasuries of some of the smaller countries. The servant whom the king had brought before him owed a king’s ransom.