Then Peter approaching asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. 23 That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. 25 Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. 26 At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’ 27 Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. 28 When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ 29 Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ 30 But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt. 31 Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. 32 His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. 33 Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ 34 Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. 35 So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”
Peter approaches Jesus with a practical question about forgiveness. “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” (v. 21). In Jewish teaching, forgiving someone three times was often considered sufficient, so Peter likely believes he is being generous when he suggests seven times. Yet Jesus immediately expands the measure far beyond what Peter expects: “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times” (v. 22).
Jesus is not giving a mathematical formula. His answer means that forgiveness cannot be limited to a fixed number. It must be given again and again. His words deliberately reverse the spirit of vengeance expressed earlier in Scripture when Lamech boasted, “If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times” (Gen. 4:24). Where that ancient saying expressed unlimited revenge, Jesus teaches unlimited forgiveness.
During Lent, the Church calls us to examine our hearts and seek God’s mercy. This passage reminds us that the mercy we ask from God must also shape the way we treat others.
To explain what this means, Jesus tells a parable about a king settling accounts with his servants (v. 23). One servant is brought before him who owes an enormous debt—ten thousand talents (v. 24). A talent was the largest unit of money used in the ancient world, and the number ten thousand was the largest commonly used figure. Together they represent an impossibly large amount. The servant owes a debt he could never repay.
Because he cannot pay, the king orders that he and his family be sold to recover part of the debt (v. 25). The servant falls down before him and pleads, “Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full” (v. 26). The promise is unrealistic given the size of the debt, but the king responds not with strict justice but with compassion. Moved with pity, he releases the servant and forgives the entire debt (v. 27).
This moment reveals the heart of the parable. The king’s mercy completely restores the servant’s life. An unpayable debt has been wiped away.
Yet the story quickly turns. The servant who has just been forgiven encounters a fellow servant who owes him a much smaller amount—one hundred denarii (v. 28). Unlike the first debt, this one could realistically be repaid. Nevertheless, the forgiven servant seizes the man and demands immediate payment. When the second servant falls to his knees and pleads with the same words—“Be patient with me, and I will pay you back” (v. 29)—the first servant refuses and has him thrown into prison until the debt is paid (v. 30).
The contrast between the two debts exposes the servant’s hardness of heart. He has received overwhelming mercy, yet he refuses to extend even a small measure of mercy to another.
When the other servants see what has happened, they report the matter to their master (v. 31). The king summons the unforgiving servant and confronts him: “You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?” (Mt. 18:32-33).
The king then hands him over to punishment until the debt is repaid (v. 34). Because the debt is so enormous that it can never be repaid, the sentence effectively becomes permanent. Mercy, once freely given, has been withdrawn because the servant refused to imitate that mercy in his treatment of others.
Jesus ends the parable with a direct warning: “So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart” (v. 35).
This teaching echoes the Lord’s Prayer, where Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Mt. 6:12). Immediately after giving that prayer, Jesus explains that those who forgive others will be forgiven by the Father, but those who refuse to forgive close themselves to that mercy (Mt. 6:14-15).
Jesus does not present forgiveness as an optional act of generosity, but as a necessary response to the mercy we ourselves hope to receive from God. During Lent, this teaching calls us not only to ask pardon for our sins, but also to examine where resentment, bitterness, or refusal to forgive may still be lodged in our hearts. Scripture consistently links mercy with mercy received: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Mt. 5:7).
Lent is a season when we ask God for forgiveness and prepare our hearts to receive his mercy more deeply. The parable reminds us that God’s forgiveness is far greater than any offense we suffer from others. Our sins against God form a debt we cannot repay, yet God freely forgives.
Because we receive that mercy, we are called to extend it. The forgiveness we ask from God during Lent must become the forgiveness we give to others.
Almighty God, you have forgiven us more than we can ever repay. Help us during this Lenten season to recognize the depth of your mercy and to forgive others from our hearts, just as you have forgiven us. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Sources and References
- New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), Mt. 18:21-35 and notes.
- Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, New Testament, commentary on Mt. 18:21-35, pp. 39-40.
- The Navarre Bible: St. Matthew, commentary on Mt. 18:21-35, pp. 111-112.
- The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, commentary on Mt. 18:21-35, p. 662, para. 116.
- The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century, commentary on Mt. 18:21-35, pp. 1210-1211.
- The Paulist Biblical Commentary, commentary on Mt. 18:21-35, p. 946.
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