Grace and Ungrace: The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

This is a story about grace.

It is about grace being forgotten; something that should never happen, but does all too often.

In this parable, the master forgives the servant a huge debt, ten thousand talents. The servant would have had to sell all of his possessions, his children, and his wife to pay back the debt.

Imagine that today. A man has to pay back a loan to the bank. To do this, not only does he sell his house, his car, and everything he owns, but also he sells his 8-year-old boy, his 13-year-old girl, and his wife. Sells them. Gone.

That is a BIG debt.

Back to the parable.
The master took pity on the servant and (pay attention, you need to realize the impact of this) "canceled the debt and let him go."

What?!

I mean... good for the servant, but what is the master thinking??
Why would the bank just decide that this particular man doesn't EVER have to pay back his loan?
It is an act of grace, and it's not fair... but that is kind of the point.

Great story. But wait! There's more....

So what does this servant do? He goes and tells everyone about his wonderful master, about the grace he has experienced, about the mercy and love that has saved him!

Actually, he does none of those things.

(V.28) "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded."
He actually goes on to have the man put in jail until he pays him back.

This is called "ungrace." (Thank you Phillip Yancey)

Ungrace does not please the servant's master.
In fact, the master is very upset by this. "In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed."

So, moral of the story??

Well, if you haven't figured it out yet, the master represents God, and the servant is us. God has forgiven much. God has sacrificed much... He has actually taken a loss for us. He paid for us, bought us, with blood.

So how does this make God feel when we turn around and show the complete opposite to his other servants?

I can't speak for you, but I never want to hear God call me "You wicked servant" (v.32).

Jesus says in verse 35, "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

Created over 3 years ago