The parable of The Unforgiving Servant is found only in Matthew 18:23-35. The occasion of this parable is found in the context of a conversation the Lord had with His disciples and the resultant questioning of Peter. I suggest you read all of Matthew 18 at this point so you’ll be familiar with what was said. I’ll just hit the high points as we move through this, as it’s much easier to understand this parable when you understand the context in which Jesus gave it.
It starts in verse 1 with the disciples asking Jesus the question, “Who is the most important in the kingdom of heaven?” This seemed to be an on-going dilemma: James and John showed their immaturity and carnality by allowing their mother to campaign for their promotion in the kingdom (Matthew 20:20-28); Jesus scolds the Pharisees for their long history of religious self-importance (Matthew 23:1-13); and during their final evening with the Lord in the upper room the disciples argued about who was perceived to be the most important and, therefore, qualified to take over when Jesus was gone (Luke 22:24-27).
Then in verses 3 and 4 Jesus answers their question; and His statement is revealing. “Unless you change your ways and become like little children (trusting and forgiving), you can never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever will humble himself and become like this little child will be important and valued in the kingdom.” The question revealed a problem, and Jesus let them know that change was needed. Evidently, at least by this point in time, the disciples had not yet “arrived”. By using this example Jesus is telling them (and us) that those who would enter the kingdom must be like young children who have not yet learned to be selfish and competitive and have not developed a lust for the wealth, power and fame offered by the world. True humility demands the conscious rejection of all these things in exchange for the selfless determination to please God and be obedient to Him, regardless of any personal consequences (see the paper titled “Humility”).
There are several topics in this chapter that should be addressed. I’ll try to be brief. Some of it (the cutting off of hands and plucking out of eyes in verses 8-9) is a little too graphic for the religious crowd. Have you ever heard a message preached on these two verses? Here Jesus is simply using an exaggerated figure of speech to emphasize His point. The idea of actually doing something that might be painful in order to rid themselves of the sin that keeps them separated from God is unreasonable to some and unnecessary to others. Religious pretense is the order of the day (“I’m OK, God loves me just the way I am”).
Some of it (instructions for discipline among believers in verses 15-17), they turn upside down and use as some sort of permission to allow themselves to be offended at any little thing that happens, so they can whip out their supposed spiritual superiority and straighten out the offender. I’ve yet to see anyone properly understand the context of Jesus’ remarks here. The “trespass” and “fault” of verse 15 has to do with a brother’s unwillingness to humble himself and forgive, because he’s been offended! It’s the one who has been offended and refuses to forgive that is in trouble. And everything Jesus says here about efforts towards restoration or discipline should be understood in that light. Jesus is simply emphasizing the fact that every effort must be made to make sure no one harbors an unforgiving attitude, so others will not be affected by or infected with his unforgiveness. I know from all my years in traditional ministry how easily people take on the offenses of others and how unforgiveness can quickly spread to destroy relationships.
Of course, then we have the binding and loosing (verse 18) and all the really bizarre applications in religion, especially among those involved in so-called spiritual warfare. Let me just say, in spite of the unfortunate rendering of this verse found in most translations, all Jesus is saying here is that we should be very careful to forbid only what is already forbidden in heaven and permit as proper only what is already permitted in heaven. This is not God’s permission for those in religious institutions to decide for themselves what they want “bound” or “loosed”. Again, in religion man thinks he’s in control and it’s up to him to decide. In spiritual reality true believers know that God has already decided; they know He’s in control, and they’re submitted to that.
Then you have one of the TV preacher’s favorite gimmicks (verse 19), the prayer of agreement. “Now I’m going to pray, and I’m asking you to pray with me, and we’re going to agree together, and remember what Jesus says about the prayer of agreement, and I’m going to ask God to bless your finances as you send me your seed faith offering, because God has given me an anointing to make you rich”. In others words, “you don’t understand this, stupid, because I’m cloaking my deception in religious half-truths and appealing to your flesh, but I’m asking you to send me your money so I can get rich, and I really don’t care what happens to you.” Anyone with even half a brain should be able to see that Jesus’ statement here is based on what He has just said in the previous verse and the “agreement” must be founded on what God has already declared in heaven, not what any two people decide to declare out of their flesh or desperate circumstances. God’s promise to answer prayer is always in the context of praying according to His will (I John 5:14), not according to ours. He’s not interested in what our flesh wants; He’s interested in us submitting to His will and purpose.
And finally the promise “where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I in their midst.” (Verse 20) This is not “where two or three are gathered in a building with My name on it to do what they have decided to do, there I am in their midst.” As I’ve pointed out before in several articles, the idiom “in My name” means “as a representation of all that I am”. When people gather together to focus on the will and purpose of God, to do what He requires (remember, the emphasis here is on forgiveness), He promises to be there. When they gather to do their religious thing, to participate in their rituals and traditions, someone might show up from the spirit realm, but it won’t be God.
This emphasis on forgiveness was not lost on Peter, who shows he understood Jesus’ comments; obvious from the question Peter poses in the very next verse (21). “How many times can my brother sin against me and I forgive him, as many as seven times? To which Jesus answers, “No, not seven times, but as often as necessary.” I know, most translations say “seventy times seven”. But Jesus is only using this as an illustration to make His point. He’s simply using a large number (an extension of the same number used by Peter) to say that when it comes to forgiveness, you don’t keep score and then stop forgiving when a certain number is reached. There is no limit on the requirements of forgiveness where God is concerned.
This brings us to the parable of the unforgiving servant found in verses 23-35, which we will examine in some detail in the next lesson.