Christ Conversation www.christconversation.com Jesus Stories: Matthew 18:21-35 This parable follows Jesus’s teaching on interpersonal conflict resolution and church discipline. This is extremely important to remember. From that teaching, Peter asks the question we all ask: “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Peter is being very gracious by the standards of his day: which were you forgave someone three times – then no more. Taken from the prophet Amos: “For three sins of ______, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath . . .” (see Amos 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 13; 2:1, 4, 6) the Rabbi’s surmised: “He who begs forgiveness from his neighbor must not do so more than three times.” (Rabbi Jose ben Hanina) and “If a man commits an offense once, they forgive him; if he commits an offence a second time, they forgive him; if he commits an offence a third time, they forgive him; the fourth time they do not forgive.” (Rabbi Jose ben Jehuda). Peter goes past the three times – even a fourth time, and adds three more. This is exceedingly generous and shows that Peter has wrestled through to a point where he goes much further than we would consider. “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”
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Debt amount – 10,000 Talents Denarius = one day-laborer’s working wage. Average work weeks in a year = 50 (Sabbath/festivals) 20 years’ labor = 6,000 denarii = 1 talent Repay time = 200,000 years.1
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Consider that the total revenue of the province containing Idumaea, Judaea and Samaria was 600 talents! And in richer Galilee – 300 talents. 2
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Who are these servants?
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What is both right and what is absurd about the servant’s vow to pay back in full?
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Why does Jesus use such fantastic differences in the debts owed?
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Why would the servant be so demanding on the one who was indebted to him?
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1
http://chimes.biola.edu/story/2010/oct/27/parable-twodebtors/
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2
William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 2