Living in the Image of God M03S15
Christ teaching in the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant uses human interactions regarding debt to teach human relationship with God regarding forgiveness of sin. Forgive those that repent from sin they committed against you, the same way that God forgives you when you repent. Repentance establishes a call for forgiveness, as the need of another person establishes a call to compassion. God rewards a person that accepts a call for forgiveness but promises punishment for the one that declines. The same way he rewards those that complete responsibility in a call to compassion and promises punishment for those that decline.
We discuss Christ teaching in the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant to understand that God expects you to forgive those that repent from sin they committed against you, the same way he forgives you when you repent. To perform the responsibility, accept repentance from others and forgive them. Also, as we discuss in a previous study under Responding to Sin, guide the others to repentance if they don’t repent on their own initiative (Matthew 18:15–17) and forgive them if they repent.
In addition to laying down the requirement to forgive those that repent, the parable describes the consequences for denying forgiveness. God’s promise of punishment for those that fail to forgive others is described in the parable through a king rescinding his initial grant of mercy to a servant after he was informed that the servant denied mercy to a fellow servant: “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart” [Matthew 18:35].
We discuss the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant to understand (i) God’s mandate to every person to forgive those that repent from any misdeed or undesirable action they committed against you and (ii) his promise of punishment for those that refuse to forgive.
Parable of the Unmerciful Servant: Debt Cancelled
In the parable, Christ uses human interactions regarding debt to teach human relationship with God regarding forgiveness of sin. The parable begins with a king cancelling the debt of one of his servants. The debt was large such that a payment default would attract severe penalty: “Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt” [Matthew 18:25]. However, the servant acknowledged the debt and begged for mercy [Matthew 18:26]: “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’” The servant’s behavior in acknowledging the debt and begging for mercy represents repentance.
The king showed mercy and cancelled the debt, not minding the size of debt: “The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go” [Matthew 18:25]. The king’s response of cancelling the debt not minding the size of debt represents forgiveness; the same way that God forgives sinners that repent, irrespective of the sin. Also, cancelling the debt was an act of compassion. Repentance establishes a call for forgiveness; the same way that the need of another person establishes a call for compassion.
Servant Denies Mercy to Another
In the second event of the parable, the servant that received mercy from the king denied mercy to another servant that owes him. He showed himself wicked in denying mercy regarding a small debt. He did not care that the debtor acknowledged the debt and begged for mercy. Also, he did not care that his own debt to the king was cancelled on account of mercy by the king.
The debtor acknowledged the debt and begged for mercy. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back’” [Matthew 18:29]. The debtor’s behavior in acknowledging the debt and begging for mercy represents repentance and established a call for forgiveness. However, the creditor refused and insisted on full punishment for the debtor [Matthew 18:30]: “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.” The creditor’s behavior represents a refusal to forgive a person that repented. He did not show mercy as was shown to him. He declined a call to forgive, thus declining a call to compassion.
King Rescinds Mercy to Punish Servant
The king heard about the wickedness of the unmerciful servant and rescinded his cancellation of debt owed to him by the servant. The unmerciful servant did not show mercy as the king had shown to him earlier. Therefore, the king recalled his debt and punished the unmerciful servant for failing to pay: “In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed” [Matthew 18:34].
A clear lesson based on the parable is that God expects you to forgive those that repent from sin they committed against you and will punish those that refuse to forgive.
Call for Forgiveness
Repentance establishes a call for forgiveness the same way that the need of another person establishes a call to compassion. As we discuss in a previous study under Responsibility in Call to Compassion, God blesses those that complete responsibility regarding a call to compassion and punishes those that decline the responsibility. Similarly, he blesses those that forgive others that sin against them and repent but punishes those that refuse to forgive despite repentance.
The behavior of the unmerciful servant in the parable illustrates a refusal to forgive despite repentance. Also, the response of the king in punishing the unmerciful servant illustrates God’s punishment of a person that refuses to forgive another person despite repentance.
Summary of What We Learned
Christ teaching in the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant uses human interactions regarding debt to teach human relationship with God regarding forgiveness of sin. Forgive those that repent from sin they committed against you, the same way that God forgives you when you repent.
Repentance establishes a call for forgiveness, as the need of another person establishes a call to compassion. God rewards a person that accepts a call for forgiveness but promises punishment for the one that declines. The same way he rewards those that complete responsibility in a call to compassion and promises punishment for those that decline.