This is part of the worship series,
"Pictures of the Kingdom”
Series Introduction
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4
Week 5 | Week 6
Fourth Week
Parable of the Unmerciful Servant: Forgiveness—Matthew 18:21–35
The Parable
A servant owes a king an incalculable amount of money but unexpectedly finds himself forgiven the complete amount thanks to the benevolence of the king. Also unexpectedly, the same servant soon demands a debtor repay him a paltry sum and shows no mercy when asked for more time to pay the debt. Once word came to the king that this servant had clearly missed the implications of being forgiven, the king summons the servant and holds him to account until the last penny could be paid.
Picturing the Story
Jan Sander van Hemessen depicts the parable in detailed, realistic style in Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (1556). The clutter of ledger books, writing instruments, records, coins, and money bags convey an interest in keeping a record of wrongs, underscoring the major transgression of the first servant. In the background an individual is being cast into a dungeon and the prominent finger of the king allows the viewer no mistake in perceiving that this parable is about the consequences of not forgiving. One of Gerard Dou’s depictions of forgiveness is more focused on the power of forgiveness than the consequences of living with an unforgiving spirit. Old Woman Reading (1631) pictures an elderly figure dressed in a cape of rich red, a color that in traditional iconography represents the blood of Christ and forgiveness. Her hand is exquisitely defined as it touches the text. She has absorbed the Word in a tangible way, received its message of forgiveness by the atoning blood of Jesus, and rests in full redemption, as suggested by the golden headdress that may allude to the helmet of salvation.
Applicatory Thoughts
The point this parable makes is hard to miss: Having been forgiven such an incalculable debt of our sins by a forgiving God (2 Corinthians 5:19), we in turn are called to exemplify the same spirit of forgiveness towards others (Ephesians 4:32). The challenge comes in putting it into practice. There is truth in the proverb “to err is human, to forgive divine.” The ability to genuinely forgive someone who has offended or hurt us requires supernatural strength. It is a divine act that manifests the reality that we have indeed been forgiven by God through Jesus. Authentic Christian community is possible only when we are able to forgive; without it we find ourselves in isolated, private prisons of begrudging resentment, anger, and guilt. To forgive as we have been forgiven opens the way to flourishing communion. Notice the communal context in which the Apostles’ Creed places the doctrine of forgiveness: “I believe in . . . the holy catholic church, the communion of the saints, [and] the forgiveness of sins.”
Suggested Songs
“Forgive Our Sins as We Forgive” Herklots
“How Blest Are They Whose Trespass” Psalter 1912
“Oh, qué bueno es Jesús/Oh, How Good Is Christ the Lord” Puerto Rican
“A Debtor to Mercy” Kauflin
“Broken Vessels (Amazing Grace)” Hillsong
Revised Common Lectionary
Year A: Season after Pentecost—Proper 19 (24)
