Matthew 18:21–35

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

In answer to a question Peter asked about forgiveness, Jesus Christ taught the parable of the unmerciful servant. This lesson can help you become more like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as you make efforts to forgive others.

Sharing true stories and accounts. To help increase students’ interest in a lesson, consider sharing true stories or accounts from the lives of the prophets and Church history as well as from general conference addresses, Church magazines, or your own life. These stories can build students’ faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ by helping them understand the gospel through others’ experiences.

Student preparation: In a doctrinal mastery scripture passage the Lord states, “Of you it is required to forgive all men” (Doctrine and Covenants 64:10). Invite students to ponder why Jesus Christ commands us to forgive one another. It may also be beneficial to invite students to read Doctrine and Covenants 64:9–11 and to reflect on the Lord’s message in those verses.

Possible Learning Activities

Throughout this lesson, be sensitive to students who may be struggling to forgive someone who has hurt them. Consider using some of the statements found in the “Commentary and Background Information” section that might be helpful for students who are facing such situations.

“Will you forgive me?”

During World War II, a woman named Corrie ten Boom suffered for months in a Nazi concentration camp in Ravensbrück, Germany. Her sister Betsie died there. Following the war, Corrie spoke to a group of people about the forgiveness of God. Bishop Keith B. McMullin, formerly of the Presiding Bishopric, described what happened after her speech. As you read, think of ways Corrie might have chosen to react.

A man approached her. She recognized him as one of the cruelest guards in the camp. “You mentioned Ravensbrück in your talk,” he said. “I was a guard there. … But since that time, … I have become a Christian.” He explained that he had sought God’s forgiveness for the cruel things he had done. He extended his hand and asked, “Will you forgive me?” [Corrie ten Boom, Tramp for the Lord (1974), 56].

(Keith B. McMullin, “Our Path of Duty,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2010, 13)

What thoughts might have gone through Corrie’s mind at that moment?
Why can it be so difficult to forgive others?

Read Matthew 18:21–22 to see how Jesus answered a question Peter asked about forgiveness.

How would you explain what Jesus taught Peter?
Why do you think the Lord commands us to become forgiving people?

While there are many important principles relating to forgiveness, this lesson focuses on our desire to forgive others as Jesus Christ forgives us. Based on students’ answers to the next question, consider adjusting the lesson to meet their needs.
What questions do you have about the Savior’s commandment for us to forgive others?

Reflect on your feelings about forgiveness. Is there anyone you have had difficulty forgiving? In your study journal, write down how your life would be blessed if you were able to forgive those who have offended you. Consider also recording how your life would be different if you did not try to forgive others. As you study a parable the Lord shared with Peter, look for how the Lord’s willingness to forgive us could strengthen your ability to forgive others.

The parable of the unmerciful servant

Read Matthew 18:23–27, looking for how the king in the parable treats his debtor. It is important to know that 10,000 talents is an unpayable debt. It would have taken a poor working man in Jesus’s day over 250,000 years to earn that much money (see Jay A. Parry and Donald W. Parry, Understanding the Parables of Jesus Christ [2006], 95).

Why do you think Jesus Christ would use an unpayable debt to teach this parable?

Read the rest of the parable in Matthew 18:28–35, looking for how we should treat each other and why. It is helpful to know that 100 pence was around “three months’ wages of a poor working man” (verse 28, footnote a).

What did you learn about forgiveness from this parable?
Why is it important to understand how much mercy the Savior extends to us?

One truth we can learn from this parable is that we can follow the example of Jesus Christ by forgiving others as He forgives us.

The Lord reiterated the importance of forgiving others in our dispensation. Read Doctrine and Covenants 64:9–11, looking for the Lord’s teachings about forgiveness.

Based on what you have learned today, why do you think the Lord requires us to forgive all people?

Jesus Christ can help us forgive others

Sometimes it can be difficult to extend forgiveness to others. But with the Savior’s help, all things are possible.

As you read the conclusion of Bishop McMullin’s story about Corrie facing her former prison guard, look for how the Savior gave her the strength to forgive.

You may want to watch the video “Our Path of Duty,” available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org, from time code 2:16 to 3:26.

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“It could not have been many seconds that he stood there—hand held out—but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do.

“… The message that God forgives has a … condition: that we forgive those who have injured us. …

“… ‘Help me!’ I prayed silently. ‘I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling.’

“… Woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. As I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.

“‘I forgive you, brother!’ I cried. ‘With all my heart.’

“For a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely, as I did then” [Corrie ten Boom, Tramp for the Lord (1974), 54–55].

(Keith B. McMullin, “Our Path of Duty,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2010, 13)

What did you learn from Corrie’s experience that could help you to forgive when it is difficult?
What have you learned from your own life, the lives of others, or the scriptures about how to forgive others when it is difficult?

One thing that can help us as we study the scriptures is to learn from and then seek to develop the attributes of Jesus Christ. Matthew 18:21–35 is one of many scripture passages that show the forgiving nature of the Savior and also the justice of God when we choose not to forgive. Think about what you can do to become a more forgiving person like Jesus Christ. How will you invite the Savior to help you?

Commentary and Background Information

Matthew 18:24. How much money is 10,000 talents?

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

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There is some difference of opinion among scholars regarding the monetary values mentioned here—and forgive the U.S. monetary reference—but to make the math easy, if the smaller, unforgiven 100-pence debt were, say, $100 in current times, then the 10,000-talent debt so freely forgiven would have approached $1 billion—or more!

As a personal debt, that is an astronomical number—totally beyond our comprehension. (Nobody can shop that much!) Well, for the purposes of this parable, it is supposed to be incomprehensible; it is supposed to be beyond our ability to grasp, to say nothing of beyond our ability to repay. That is because this isn’t a story about two servants arguing in the New Testament. It is a story about us, the fallen human family—mortal debtors, transgressors, and prisoners all. Every one of us is a debtor, and the verdict was imprisonment for every one of us. And there we would all have remained were it not for the grace of a King who sets us free because He loves us and is “moved with compassion toward us” [Doctrine and Covenants 121:4].

(Jeffrey R. Holland, “Be Ye Therefore Perfect—Eventually,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2017, 41)

Does feeling pain for what was done to me mean I have not yet forgiven someone?

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

It is, however, important for some of you living in real anguish to note what [Jesus Christ] did not say. He did not say, “You are not allowed to feel true pain or real sorrow from the shattering experiences you have had at the hand of another.”

(Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Ministry of Reconciliation,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2018, 79)

Elder David E. Sorensen of the Seventy taught an important truth about the commandment to forgive.

I would like to make it clear that forgiveness of sins should not be confused with tolerating evil. … Although we must forgive a neighbor who injures us, we should still work constructively to prevent that injury from being repeated.

(David E. Sorensen, “Forgiveness Will Change Bitterness to Love,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2003, 12)

How can forgiving others be liberating to us?

Watch the video “Principles of Peace: Forgiveness” (1:49), located at ChurchofJesusChrist.org, to learn about the peace a woman felt after forgiving her father many years after her parents’ divorce.

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What did the Savior mean when He told Peter to forgive others “until seventy times seven”? (Matthew 18:22)

Elder Lynn G. Robbins, formerly of the Presidency of the Seventy, explained:

The Savior essentially told Peter to not even count—to not establish limits on forgiveness. …

Obviously, the Savior was not establishing an upper limit of 490. That would be analogous to saying that partaking of the sacrament has a limit of 490, and then on the 491st time, a heavenly auditor intercedes and says, “I’m so sorry, but your repentance card just expired—from this point forward, you’re on your own.”

The Lord used the math of seventy times seven as a metaphor of His infinite Atonement, His boundless love, and His limitless grace. “Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me” [Mosiah 26:30; emphasis added].

(Lynn G. Robbins, “Until Seventy Times Seven,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 23)