“Then came Peter to Him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven” (Matt. 18:21-2221Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. (Matthew 18:21‑22)).
The Lord likens the kingdom of heaven to a certain king to show what its character is to be in regard to forgiveness. The king reviewed the accounts of his servants. One servant was called who owed ten thousand talents. Having nothing to pay, he ordered him, his family, and his belongings to be sold to pay the debt. The man begged for time to pay, promising to pay all. His promise to pay all was evidence that he was not yet broken. He could never pay all. It is a picture of the unrepentant Jew clinging to his pride. His master, the king, forgave him the debt, having compassion on him.
This servant (the Jew) had a fellow servant (the Gentile) who owed him a hundred pence, a much smaller debt than the one that the Jew owed the king. The Gentile asked the Jew for mercy, but he laid hands on him and cast him into prison.
The Lord of the first servant, hearing that he refused to show mercy to his fellow man, called him, rebuked him and delivered him to the tormentors until he paid all. The Jew now is in prison until Jesus comes to deliver him (Isa. 40:1-21Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. (Isaiah 40:1‑2)). The Lord said, “So likewise shall My heavenly Father do also unto you [the Jew], if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother [including Gentiles] their trespasses.” Such an unforgiver does not know God.
C. E. Lunden