Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

Hidden In Him said:

I dunno. He asks them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?" His incredulity here suggests this parable was actuality the most basic and easy to interpret, yet they couldn't.

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Interesting that that verse only occurs in Mark, not Luke or Matthew. The dullness of the disciples is a common theme throughout the gospels so I fail to see why you think your post has relevance since it does not alter the fact that Jesus gave an allegorical explanation to this parable which the 3 synoptic evangelists thought was worth recording - but not in this way for many other parables.

Rather we get brief conclusions such as

So also will My Father in Heaven do to you if you do not forgive from your hearts each man his brother

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Hidden In Him said:

I'm preparing to do some work on this, and I would like a breakdown of this parable from anyone who wishes to respond, symbol for symbol. To those who give an answer, please post your interpretations of exactly what or who is represented by the following symbols: The king, the servant, his debt, and his punishment.

Blessings in advance to those who respond.

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From the parable series of the book "Bible Rap"

There once was a king wanting to settle accounts
With his servants and calculated all the amounts
These servants owed to the king in question
His demand for repayment was more than a suggestion
There was a servant who owed him quite alot
But could he repay? No, he could not
So the master demanded all his things be sold
He and his family, his silver and gold
Then the servant fell to his knees
Hoping his master to appease
"Be patient with me. I know that I lack.
But if you wait, the debt I'll pay back".
The master took pity on him, you know
And cancelled his debt and let him go
But the servant then went out and found a fellow man
Who owed him just a little - grabbed him and began
To choke the fellow servant demanding he be paid.
But the servant fell to his knees trembling and afraid
"I will pay you back everything I owe.
Please just wait a while. Don't take this as a 'no'"
But the servant was impatient and threw him into jail.
But word got to the king of this horrid tale.
And called the wicked servant in before his throne
"I forgave, you should too, this should have known.
But now you have revealed your real attitude
And so I am removing all your latitude."
He threw him into jail to pay back all he owed.
Being tortured day and night even after growing old.
This kind of treatment my Father will impart.
If you don't forgive your brothers and do it from your heart

Just prior to Jesus’ giving the illustration at Matthew 18:23-35, Peter came up to Jesus and asked: “Lord, how many times is my brother to sin against me and am I to forgive him? Up to seven times?” Peter thought he was being very generous. Though the scribes and the Pharisees set a limit on forgiveness, Jesus said to Peter: “I say to you, not, Up to seven times, but, Up to seventy-seven times.” Seven times would hardly suffice for one day, as Jesus said: “Pay attention to yourselves. If your brother commits a sin give him a rebuke, and if he repents forgive him. Even if he sins seven times a day against you and he comes back to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”-Luke 17:3, 4.

Seventy-seven, a repetition of seven in a number, was equivalent to saying “indefinitely” or “without limit.” Jesus counsels Christians to forgive their brothers/sisters to that extent.

God Almighty forgives in a large way is indicated in one of Jesus’ illustrations, that of a king who forgave a slave a debt of 10,000 talents (about $33,000,000, U.S.). But when that slave would not forgive a fellow slave a debt of a hundred denarii (some $60, U.S.), the king was furious.

The king is Almighty God and the slaves represent human individuals. Based on God’s standards, consider the sin that we are all justly guilty. Such sin is likened to the unplayable debt the first slave accumulated and consequently was forgiven. In turn, he could not forgive his brother (second slave) of an insignificant sin against him (first slave).

The lessen is that if we-being imperfect-cannot forgive others, then how can God justly forgive our sins?

Hidden In Him said:

I agree. So what does the punishment of being handed over to the torturers represent?

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I'd say it means one opens the door to a lot of possible negative things to take place in their life not even that God is doing them but rather the devil can enter in to cause problems.

Hidden In Him said:

I was thinking about this at work, Bobber, and my problem with it is that God is the one who pronounces the judgment upon him, and the following, which I will explain to WherevertheWindblows about her response.


I thought this over, sister, but if one is to interpret the parable strictly, this interpretation presents a seeming inconsistency: In the parable, the king declares that because the servant would not forgive another his minor debt, the original grace of having his entire debt forgiven has been rescinded and must now be paid in full. Nearly all agree that the debt represents his entire sin debt which had initially been forgiven by the Lord, so it logically follows that whatever torments he is subjected to will have to be carried out against him until his entire sin debt has somehow been paid. And since most are in agreement that this debt is described as an amount impossible to pay, it logically follows that the torment will last forever. There is no hint in the parable that the king will relent on the punishment if the wicked servant somehow amends his ways. The debt must now be paid in full regardless.

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I certainly hope the king doesn't relent on the punishment, thats what imparts the fear, and we know that fear hath torment, just as we know he that feareth is not made perfect in love (and that servant certainly isn't made perfect in love yet). There is judgment without mercy to one who is showing no mercy. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

His judgment, chatisement, punishment, affliction, correction etc its all done in faithfulness

I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.

Its to teach

It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.

We are exercised thereby

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Means you are being corrected, and its not a great experience but it will pay out what it should in you (the peaceable fruit of righteousness) unto them which are exercised thereby.

If all the previous debt ( or his sins rather) were placed back onto the servant and he has to paid for (himself) in full, that is a debt no man can pay for himself. Which would make the unforgivable sin = not forgiving as we should (at any time, even just once). And people don't necessarily walk in Christ as they should at first that is why correction is something desirable.

I see it more of a forgive us "AS WE forgive" others (or not) thing because the punishment issued towards him consisted of his own (not the Masters) initial punishment towards him. Which again can be looked upon as a "Do unto others AS YOU would want DONE UNTO YOU", and this is where we actually see the first "casting into prison" deal shown there). Not forgetting to mention being cast into prison for such a very small thing. So what exactly was owed by the one he did not forgive? Yeah, not so much at all (even though his own harsh punishment towards such a small thing is coming back upon this same unforgiving servant). We are not given a measure of time.

The tormentors being a part of the picture of a judgment rendered into the bosom of the forgiven servant (who became a wicked servant) in order to turn him (not to back off of the punishment) the punishment should be rendered. Even when our children do wrong, they are punished, they can still be forgiven but they need to pay for what they did to learn by it.

Just makes sense, that He delights in mercy (and this servant chose not what God delights in) and needs to learn not only to appreciate the mercy that was extended to him but delight in showing it towards others in the smallest of things.

You certainly don't have to agree. The punishment is shown rendered which I see as for correction. Punishment and forgiveness don't have to be mutually exclusive but can go hand n hand. And the words borrowing, robbery, debt, paying again and things like that can be shown to apply to mercy (as received) and mercy (paid out again).

Hidden In Him said:

We are certainly in agreement that the chastisement of the Lord is for our good. We simply disagree on if His chastisement for the sake of correction is in view in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. But it appears we remain in disagreement on the final judgment of the king, since I think you are skirting what the text actually states in Matthew 18:34. The wording there is ἕως οὗ ἀποδῷ πᾶν τὸ ὀφειλόμενον (literally "until he should repay everything that was owed to him," i.e. everything that he owed to the king). We agree that if it represents his sin debt it is a debt no man can pay, but that's precisely what I think strengthens my argument. He is left in a position where he will now have to pay the original debt; a debt he cannot pay.

About the "unforgivable sin," I don't single this out as being the only thing that can cause God's grace to be rescinded. I believe disowning Him in the face of persecution can, as can receiving the mark of the beast, and others. So I'm not assigning unforgiveness as the unforgivable sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. That's a different matter. I'm simply arguing here that harboring persistent unforgiveness in one's heart towards fellow-Christians especially is not something the Lord will allow in Heaven, and hence those who never feel the need to repent of it may find themselves outside the kingdom when judgment finally comes.

Good discussion, and we can leave it there if you want. I appreciate debating the scriptures with someone as polite and respectful as yourself.

Blessings in Christ,
Your brother,
Hidden

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Sure, I don't really debate parables but compare as I am led to do but it's neither here nor there with me what another might have come to on something like this. I think we differ on how we regard the picture of judgment, you mentioned it as more of a final judgment scenario whereas I might see it more like a picture of a judgment rendered. Either way we know that "if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses". So whether we are standing in prayer and holding something against another, (even while we might pray, "Forgive us our debts EVEN AS WE forgive others their debts" (and yet still carry a sense of heaviness with us concerning our own sin) but perhaps because we might not have let go of something as we ought) and until we do that remains a sort of thing we might be made to carry around (until we do). Or whether it is something we live a lifetime of doing (as you say, in more of a persistent unforgiveness) it would still remain the same instruction. Regardless, I believe we can agree it shows us how important it is to forgive our brothers. Thats really the most important part of the picture anyway.

God bless you in Jesus Christ also
Peace

In the first century, the Greek word for “torment” had a special connotation. Jailers often inflicted cruel tortures on prisoners, hence were called ba·sa·ni·stes′ (tormentors.)

Since Jesus used illustrations that the common people could understand and relate to, the reference to “jailers,” “tormentors,” or “torturers” (each used in different translations) was symbolic for the seriousness of not forgiving a fellow offender while knowing the Almighty God is willing to forgive our crushing and innumerable sins.

Sounds like liberals
(just kidding)

Hidden In Him said:

I'm preparing to do some work on this, and I would like a breakdown of this parable from anyone who wishes to respond, symbol for symbol. To those who give an answer, please post your interpretations of exactly what or who is represented by the following symbols: The king, the servant, his debt, and his punishment.

Blessings in advance to those who respond.

Then, having come, Peter said to Him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I say unto you, not up to seven times, but seventy times seven. Because of this, the kingdom of Heaven is likened unto a king who wanted to take account of his servants. And having begun to settle accounts, there was brought to him one who owed him ten thousand talents. And because he did not have enough to repay, the master ordered him and his wife and children and all that he had to be sold so as to be repaid. Therefore, having fallen down, the slave worshipped him, saying, "Have patience with me, and I will repay it all to you." And having been moved with compassion, the master of the slave released him and forgave him the loan. But having gone out, the slave found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii. And having seized him, he choked him, saying, "If you owe something, pay it!" Therefore, having fallen down, his fellow slave implored him, saying, "Have patience with me, and I will repay it all to you." But the man would not do so, and went and cast him into prison until he should repay what was owed. Therefore, his fellow slaves, having seen what took place, were greatly grieved, and going to their master narrated unto him all that took place. Then the master, having called him, said unto him, "Wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt since you pleaded with me. Ought you not to have had pity on your fellow slave as I also had pity on you?" And being made angry, his master delivered him unto the torturers until he should repay everything that was owed. So also will My Father in Heaven do to you if you do not forgive from your hearts each man his brother." (Matthew 18:21-35)

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This passage connects well to the under the law theme in Paul's writings.

When you cannot forgive someone, the mercy of God is cut off from you, in the same way if you are directed by the law, you cannot be by the Spirit.

Hidden In Him said:

Greetings, Michael.

About your post, my problem with the "under law" interpretations is that they tend to negate the thrust of the parable; the warning that those who do not forgive will be handed over to the torturers.

What do you believe is the punishment for those who do not forgive?

Blessings in Christ, and thanks for your response.

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I was making a correlation, but the consequences of under the law is different than not forgiving after being forgiven.

Since this thread is about the latter, I'll comment on that.

For me, it means the healing I rely on God for stops working.

Healthy boundaries are one thing, but not forgiving someone, totally unacceptable.