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Love & Forgiveness

The Context of Jesus’ parables

Narrative context

From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17
Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1: 14-15
When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them. But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.” Luke 4: 42-43
Too long, please open your Bible John 18: 36-37

Across the gospels, we see that the kingdom of God is heart of Jesus’ purpose. This agenda formed the core of everything Jesus did and taught (including the parables).

Seeing that the primary context of the parables is the Kingdom of God, we must keep in mind that the parables are not tools to teach universal truths, and neither are they merely moral lessons. Every parable gives us an insight into the culture and reality of the Kingdom of God which Jesus brought.

Historical context

As we read the parables, we must resist the temptation to plant our 21st century ideas on them. We should also not try to make them fit our already established theological positions.

We can only read accurately if we find out what Jesus would have wanted His hearers - first century Jews living in Jerusalem under Roman rule - to understand when they heard Him teach.

Some facts about Jesus’ parables

Parables make up about 35% of Jesus’ teaching recorded in the Synoptics - Matthew, Mark & Luke. They are called Synoptic because they are similar in structure, content, and wording, and they often tell the same stories in a similar sequence. The word "Synoptic" comes from a Greek word that means "to see together" or "from the same point of view”.

In a technical sense, there are no parables recorded in John.

Why parables?

Drawing from the prophet Isaiah, he explains that his parables are intended to be ambiguous, at least for some people.

Too long, please open your Bible. Matthew 13: 10-16

The Unforgiving Servant

Too long, please open your Bible Matthew 18: 21-35

How much was the debt?

A “talent” is a measurement of weight of gold, silver, or copper. It varied but was between approximately 60 and 90 pounds. Ten thousand talents would be about 204 metric tons (or 204,000 kg). Depending on which metal was used, a talent was the equivalent of about 6000 denarii, which would make the first servant’s debt 60,000,000 denarii, and at one denarius a day (as in Matt 20:2) would require a day laborer over 164,000 years to repay! The annual salary of Herod the Great was reportedly 900 talents: 200 talents being the tax revenue for Galilee and Perea, 100 talents the tax revenue from the regions assigned to his son Philip, and 600 talents the tax revenue for the areas controlled by Archelaus (see Josephus, Ant. 17:318-20).

Excerpt From Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus Snodgrass, Klyne R.

The main point of Jesus using such a high amount is to emphasize the inability and impossibility of the debtor repaying the debt.

What does this parable say about God?

Saying the the king is representative of God in the story presents a challenge for some people because the king:

  • was initially going to sell his servant and his family to repay the debt
  • did not know ahead of time that the servant wouldn’t show mercy
  • reversed his earlier decision to forgive and sent his servant to torturers

However, this is only a problem because people seem not to be able to reconcile the reality of a forgiving God with the one who judges (as though any conflict existed in the first place).

We have to always remember that salvation would not be necessary if there was no judgement, and God must necessarily judge evil as an expression of His goodness.

What about the jailers/torturers?

The strong language is there to emphasize the seriousness of a failure to forgive, and the reality of judgement for such.

We must be careful to not stretch this to infer the nature of the judgement. It does not mean that God has torturers, for example.

Connecting the parable to its surrounding context (v21-22)

Then Peter approached him and asked, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? As many as seven times?” “I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven. Matthew 18: 21-22

The parable helps us understand Jesus’ response to Peter better. Our forgiveness must always flow out of a realization that God forgave us our sins (debt) that we could never repay. “Seventy times seven” isn’t a limit on the number of times we forgive; rather it is to show that we must forgive without limits (the same way the amount owed in the parable is used to express an unpayable debt).

Conclusion

The parable tells us of the forgiveness of God, the necessity of us forgiving others, and the warning of judgement for those who do not forgive.

This forgiveness is made available in Jesus’ present kingdom, but it comes with great responsibility too.

The Two Debtors

“A creditor had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Since they could not pay it back, he graciously forgave them both. So, which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one he forgave more.” “You have judged correctly,” he told him. Luke 7: 41-43

How much was the debt?

A denarius is one day’s wage for a common laborer. Therefore, the first debtor in the parable owes a little more than a year and a half’s wages, and the second owes about two months’ wages.

Excerpt From Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus Snodgrass, Klyne R.

Connecting the parable to its surrounding context (v21-22)