The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant is one of the most familiar of all Jesus’ parables, at least for most of us. It’s the one where a servant who owed his master a great deal of money had his debt forgiven by the master when he was unable to pay. Later, while the master was away, he had another servant, who owed him a small debt thrown into prison and tortured until he paid. When the master returned and found out what that servant had done while he was away, the master had that servant killed because he had been forgiven much and was expected to do likewise.
The context for this section is set in 18:15-20 in which Jesus was instructing the disciples about how to handle brothers and sisters who sin. The climax comes in verse 21:
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” (18:21)
In His response, Jesus tells Peter the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. The crux of the matter is simple: God has forgiven us much, and when a brother or sister sins against us, we are expected to forgive them as God has forgiven us- this is a command, by the way.
Verse 35 is Jesus’ final word on the subject:
“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” (18:35)
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