The Parables of Jesus - Lesson 9

By John Harrison

Parable of the Unforgiving Slave (Matthew 18:9-14)

Objectives: By the end of this lesson the learner will be able to:

Define important background information that will improve the readers' understanding of this parable.
Identify what issues a 1st century Jewish audience would focus on after hearing the parable of the Unforgiving Slave.
Identify the major lessons conveyed allegorically by the main characters.
Make applications of the major lessons to contemporary situations. O/H 1

Teaching Aids and Materials:

Easy to understand Bibles for every student (CEV, RSV, NAV, NIV, NRSV, etc.)
A chalkboard, marker board, or overhead projector.

Lesson Plan for Conducting the Class

Introduction: (about 8-10 minutes)

Begin class by welcoming members and any visitors; make all necessary class announcements; songs.
Lead the class in a prayer that will include asking God to help them forgive brothers and sisters in Christ who have wronged us when they come asking for that forgiveness.
Q: Who would like to share the results of finding sayings that extols the virtue of humility? (Allow 2-3 people to respond)
Share with the learners the lesson objectives. O/H 1
Have someone read Matthew 18:23-35.

Learning Experiences: (about 20-25 minutes)

Part I: Background information for understanding the main characters

This parable occurs only in the Gospel of Matthew. Explain to the learner that even though most translators call the unforgiving man a "servant", the Greek word doulos means slave (that is, someone owned by someone else). Translators have opted for the word "servant" so as not to confuse readers with the modern experience of slavery. Slavery in the ancient Mediterranean world was very different. It was not racially based but primarily an economic arrangement wherein the person worked off a debt. Slaves during this period were "persons" and not property. They could be educated and even have citizenship. In this parable it appears that the unforgiving slave is a government official who has been carrying out the business of the king (which partially explains the enormous amount of money given to him. Q: How much was a talent? A: Some of the learners may remember that when we examined the parable of the talents (lesson 4) that a talent would be equivalent to what a day laborer could earn after working for 20 years. So the slave owed the king something equivalent to what a common laborer's wages would be after 200,000 years. This is an unfathomable amount. Even Herod the Great, one of the richest persons to live during this time, could not have paid this amount. A "talent" was the highest currency in the Near East at the time and 10,000 was the highest number used in calculating figures. The excessiveness of the size of the debt helps the listeners to remember it. Draw the learners' attention to the fact that the slave was brought (v. 24) to the king. This may indicate that he went reluctantly because he knew that his debt was being called in and was unable to pay it. At first the king behaves in a way that Jews would expect a Gentile king to behave, he orders the man and his family to be sold to recoup some of the losses (even if this is unimaginable). Q: What do you make of the slave's promise to repay back everything? A: Hopefully some of the learners will recognize that the slave's promise is arrogant and na?ve. It would take several life times for anyone to pay back such a huge amount. Q: What emotions do you think this slave would have had upon hearing that his punishment is remitted and his debt canceled? A: There may be several answers such as euphoria to bewilderment. Explain to the learners that now in contrast the fellow slave only owes the first slave roughly four months wages. One talent is equal to 6000 denarii. The unforgiving slave has just been forgiven 600,000 times more what the fellow slave is asking mercy for to repay. The slave is either a Gentile or a disobedient Jew since he is willing to do what the law does not permit, namely throw this person in prison to pay off a debt. However, a person could be sold into slavery if they were guilty of theft and could not make restitution (Exodus 22:1). Q: Why do you think that the other slaves respond in the way they do? A: There may be several explanations such as they feared that they would be similarly mistreated or they were outraged at the severity and injustice of this man's imprisonment. Draw the learners' attention to the fact that one of the shocking and disturbing observations of this parable is that even though the king granted forgiveness of the debt he still had the authority and ability to reinstate it (v. 34). Q: Can the same thing be true with God's forgiveness? (Allow for several learners to respond)

Part II: Issues raised in the minds of a Jewish audience

Draw the learners' attention to the fact that when Jesus refers to a king, the only "king" at the time was the Roman Emperor. Since Jews would have been accustomed to Old Testament images of God as king, they would immediately realize that Jesus is talking about what God does. Only now Jesus is comparing God to a merciful Roman Emperor! Q: To whom is the parable directed and why? A: To Peter (and through him to the rest of the disciples) who has asked how often he must forgive his "brother" who has sinned against him (v. 21). Matthew is using the story to raise the question, "How often do you forgive a fellow Christian (or Christian leader, if "slave" is used by Jesus to refer to them) after they repent?" Q: Would Jews have seen the king as an honorable person? A: While they certainly could recognize his act of mercy towards the unforgiving slave, they would have also seen him as ruthless because of the extent to which he will punish a debtor. It may have been startling for them to hear God compared to a king who can act with mercy but can also act with ruthlessness.

Part III: Lessons from the main characters

Q: Who are the main characters? A: The main characters are the king and the unforgiving slave. The second servant and the fellow servants are necessary for the story but their actions are not designed to teach one of the main lessons. Q: What main lessons do the king and the unforgiving servant convey allegorically? A: There are three lessons:

1. God can and desires to forgive any amount of sin when we seek his mercy.

2. The disciple of Christ who will not forgive their fellow disciple will not receive God's forgiveness.

3. We should be willing to forgive those who have sinned against us when they seek our mercy because God has forgiven us. O/H 2

Part IV: Contemporary Applications of the main lessons

Ask the learners to give some reasons why Christians will not forgive other repentant Christians who have injured them. (Allow 5 or more learners to respond.) Note to the Teacher: During this period you will have to help some learners distinguish between forgiveness and "holding a grudge". "Holding a grudge" is an emotional response to a person who has wronged us. When we hold a grudge we have a desire to get revenge on those who have hurt us. Christians must resist the personally damaging effects of the desire for revenge and instead trust God's justice. On the other hand, when we forgive a person, we are asking God to forgive them and not punish them for their sin. God does not forgive sins unless there is repentance or a spirit of contriteness (In other words, a person may not know they have committed a specific sin but is humble before God and knows that they are constantly in need of his mercy.). It would be a mockery of God's forgiveness to forgive someone of a wrong when they continue to claim that their wrong actions are right. It is certainly understandable if someone wants to say that we should have a "forgiving heart" if they mean that we should also be ready to forgive if a person is repentant. Now ask them to describe God's reaction to those unforgiving Christians. (Allow about 3 learners to respond.)

Application: (about 5-10 minutes)

Ask the learners to fill out handout #1 "Areas Where Forgiving Is Hard". They are to list examples of things that are done to them that they find especially hard to forgive after the person has come to apologize. Allow 2-3 learners to share their answers. What are you are looking for is to see if learners will give examples of situations where they have been wronged by and must forgive another Christian.

Assignment: (about 2 minutes)

Next week be prepared to share with the class three reasons you see given in scripture that explains why it is so important to forgive. You may want to point them to passages such as Matthew 6:12-14, 2 Corinthians 2:7-10 and Ephesians 4:32. Lesson Wrap-up Review the lesson objectives. Let them know the title of next weeks lesson: The Wheat and the Weeds

Overhead 1

Lesson Objectives

Define important background information that will improve the readers' understanding of this parable.
Identify what issues a 1st century Jewish audience would focus on after hearing the parable of the Unforgiving Slave.
Identify the major lessons conveyed allegorically by the main characters.
Make applications of the major lessons to contemporary situations.

Overhead 2

Lessons from the main characters

God can and will forgive any amount of sin when we seek his mercy. 2. The disciple of Christ who will not forgive their fellow disciple will not receive God's forgiveness. 3. We should be willing to forgive those who have sinned against us when they seek our mercy because God has forgiven us.

Download Worksheets

Lesson 9 Handout

Back to Parables of Jesus

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.