Mt 18:21—19:1
21Peter approaching asked [Jesus], “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. 23That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. 24When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
25Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. 26At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’ 27Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. 28When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ 29Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ 30But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt. 31Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. 32His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. 33Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ 34Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. 35So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.” 1When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.
Big Debt, Small Debt: If the behavior of the king (who cancels a huge debt) is “too good to be true,” that of the forgiven slave (who exacts payment for a very small debt) is both shocking and sad. He refuses to imitate the mercy of the king-patron. This time, the sense of honor of the king makes him punish the “wicked servant.” If the servant gets away with his deed, the king will be dishonored before his servants and his subjects. To protect his honor, the king hands the servant to the torturers.
The parable is part of a collection of Jesus’ teachings called the Community Discourse (Mt 18). Matthew here teaches that the members of the Christian community must treat one another as God has treated each of them. As they were called to be believers and forgiven of their sins at the cost of Jesus’ blood, so they must forgive one another “from the heart.”