Why do we feel so angry, joyless, and stuck in cycles of trauma? Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving servant shows us that unforgiveness tragically locks you and others up in prisons of anger and greed.
But forgiveness has the power to create a better way of life for you, others, and the world.
We can learn from Jesus through this story that forgiveness is one of the greatest ways we partner with God to bring heaven to earth!
What Is a Parable?
A parable is a simple story that uses everyday imagery to reveal deep spiritual truths. Jesus didn’t invent parables, but He was a master parable teller, using them to teach timeless lessons about God’s kingdom.
Parables invited listeners to lean in, reflect, and wrestle with what Jesus was really saying. For those with open hearts, these simple stories revealed deep spiritual truths. But for those who resisted, the meaning remained hidden.
Explore the Ultimate Guide to the Parables of Jesus.
Where Does the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant Appear in Scripture?
The parable of the unforgiving servant appears in only Matthew 18:21-35 and is best read beginning in Matthew 17:22, when Jesus predicts His death and resurrection.
A Parable of the Unforgiving Servant Summary
Jesus told this parable in direct response to a question from Peter, one of his closest friends and followers.
- Peter asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” “Brother or sister” is translated from a word that was used for siblings and also fellow members of their faith community.
- Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
- Next, Jesus shared the parable to explain His peculiar answer while also describing what “the kingdom of God is like.”
The parable goes like this:
- A master calls in a servant owing 10,000 talents and asks him to pay up (this amount of money is so big that Jesus is almost certainly being funny).
- The servant can’t pay what he owes, so the master orders his family and possessions sold.
- The servant begs for mercy, and the master decides to forgive and erase his the entire debt.
- While leaving, the servant sees another servant, someone who owes him an incomparably small amount of money.
- The servant grabs this man by the neck and demands he pay. The man begs for the servant to show him mercy.
- The recently forgiven servant refuses and throws the man in debtor's prison.
- Other servants see these events play out and report back to the master.
- The master hears about his servant’s actions and throws the merciless servant into prison.
After the parable, in verse 35, Jesus shared some challenging words with those listening: “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Who’s Who in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant?
Every parable contains people, objects, or animals to which Jesus gives spiritual meaning. This parable is no different. So before we explore what this parable means, we need to find out who and what each part of this parable represents.
- The master represents God and His desire to forgive those who are seemingly unforgivable.
- The unforgiving servant represents someone who’s been forgiven, yet who still struggles to give and receive forgiveness. Jesus often references the history of the Israelite people this way.
- The servant’s wife and children being sold represent the generational trauma caused by unforgiveness and also hint at Israel’s history of being enslaved and set free, only to turn around and enslave others.
- The servant attacking the man with the smaller debt represents the way vulnerable people can be hurt by those who become stuck in cycles of greed and gracelessness.
- The larger debt of 10,000 bags of gold, or talents, represents sin and mistakes so painful that we can never make up for them on our own.
- The smaller debt of 100 silver coins, or denarii, could feasibly be repaid within 100 days of work. Its size helps illustrate the foolishness of receiving God’s unfathomable grace while failing to turn around and offer grace to others.
- The servants who witness the actions of the unforgiving servant represent people who are watching to see whether Jesus’ followers will live out the love and grace of God.
- The prison represents how unforgiveness can lock people in cycles of shame, pain, and hurt. Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door from the inside.
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant Explained
Jesus shared the parable of the unforgiving servant to answer Peter’s question about how many times we should forgive people who’ve hurt us. Jesus told a story where the most unfathomable debt is forgiven, and unforgiveness is seemingly the only deterrent to forgiveness.
To make it utterly simple: The hero forgives, and the villain doesn’t.
The Context of the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
This parable wasn’t written to us, but it was spoken to real people in a real moment. Understanding that moment helps us see what Jesus meant more clearly.
Jesus told this parable to His followers after predicting His death (Matthew 17:22) and answering questions about taxes and greatness in God’s kingdom, reminding His followers that the least are the greatest.
He then told the story of a shepherd leaving ninety-nine sheep to search for the one lost sheep, and explained how to restore broken relationships:
- Go directly to the person.
- Bring witnesses if needed.
- Involve the wider community.
- If they still refuse, treat them as a pagan or a tax collector.
Jesus was calling His followers to keep showing grace.
Some think step four means cutting people off. But Jesus said this to His disciples, including Matthew the tax collector, after showing grace to both tax collectors and pagans. In light of the parable that follows, it seems clear Jesus was calling His followers to keep showing grace.
Loosing and Binding
Jesus then said:
“... whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 18:18 NIV
The word for bind implies chains, and the word for loose means to set free. Forgiveness loosens. Unforgiveness binds. Jesus linked the way we forgive with the way God forgives us, which led directly to Peter’s question.
Why the Sevens?
Some rabbis taught that forgiving someone three times was enough.
Peter suggested seven, a number of fullness in Jewish tradition. Jesus raised this number to “70 times seven,” pointing to forgiveness that is complete, limitless, and like God’s own forgiveness. This is the kind of forgiveness His death and resurrection would soon make possible.
The Debt in Perspective
The servant’s debt of ten thousand talents was impossible to repay. One talent alone would have taken up to twenty years’ worth of wages to repay, which means the servant’s debt would have required hundreds of thousands of years of work. The second debt of one hundred denarii was about three months’ pay. The contrast is almost comical and makes two points:
- The unforgiving servant is shockingly hard-hearted.
- Forgiveness is often about our willingness to let go, not the size of the debt.
The Bigger Story
From Eden onward, people have chosen blame over grace. Yet God forgives again and again, 70 times seven, with His forgiveness reaching its culmination in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Christians have been forgiven more than they could ever repay. That is why they are called to forgive others in the same way.
This parable is not only about personal forgiveness, it’s a picture of the whole biblical story. God invites His people to offer the same grace they have already received, even to those they would rather exclude.
What the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant Means Now
This parable reminds us that Jesus came to set us free by showing us what God is like. It also shows us how we can become the kind of people that God, in love, created us to be.
As you reflect on Jesus’ parable, what do you hear Jesus graciously telling you about God, yourself, and others?
- Are you like the master, who may need to extend forgiveness to someone else?
- Are you like the unforgiving servant, who’s been forgiven, but who struggles to forgive?
- Are you like the second servant, waiting for forgiveness from others?
- Are you like the onlooking servants, who’ve seen Christians fail to live graciously to the point that you’re struggling with your faith?
- Do you feel bound up by others’ unforgiveness or set free to continue extending God’s unfathomable grace to others?
Note: Forgiveness is not the same as letting someone continually hurt you, themselves, or others. That’s enablement. If you’re in a relationship where someone is repeatedly causing harm, you can create strong, safe boundaries. God wants you to be treated well. If you’re in an unsafe situation, please tell someone you trust.
3 Truths From the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
- Forgiveness is a partnership with God to restore relationships and bring heaven to earth. When we forgive others, we are not only doing what God does—we’re living out His plan for restoration.
- Forgiveness is a biblical theme that starts in Genesis and leads to Jesus. When we choose to receive God’s forgiveness and extend it to others, we are participating in God’s grand story.
- Forgiveness sets you and others free. Unforgiveness locks you and others up. Forgiveness is not forced on us. We can ask for it, choose it, and give it. God lets us experience the outcome of choosing to be bound by unforgiveness or set free by forgiveness.
Next Steps
Jesus didn’t tell an interesting story just for fun. He had changing the world in mind.
- Who do you want to set free by choosing to ask for, give, or receive forgiveness? Yourself, a family member, others, or an entire community of people?
- Pray these forgiveness prayers, pray in your own words, or ask God for the strength to give and receive forgiveness.
- Be set free over and over again as you forgive. Don’t stop forgiving—forgive to the point of fullness and completion.
📖 Read the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant for Yourself
Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”
“No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!
“Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.
“But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.
“But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.
“His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.
“When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.
“That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.” Matthew 18:21-35 NLT