Regarding Matthew 18:23-35,
I have heard many monetary conversion rates to help us appreciate the debt the unforgiving
slave had in comparison to his peer. But probably the absolute best
reasoning point I’ve ever heard that not only drives home the point in a
timeless way, but is easy to grasp is the following.
Quoting from the Insight
on Scriptures, vol.1, starting on page 1179, published by the Watchtower
Bible and Tract Society, under the heading “Illustrations,” we read: “A
denarius equaled a day’s wages; so 100 denarii, the smaller debt, equaled
approximately one third of a year’s wages. Ten thousand silver talents, the
larger debt, equaled 60 million denarii, or wages that would require thousands
of lifetimes to accumulate.”
To expand on the above, according to Matthew 20:10,
a denarius (singular for denarii) was equal to a single day’s wage in the times
when Jesus walked the earth. A drachma is also equal to one day’s wage. (We
need this information to continue with equation.) A single mina is worth 100
drachmas. And a single talent is worth 60 minas. We need to break that back
down now to determine the difference between a denarius and a talent. 100
(drachmas) times 60 minas is 6,000 denarii. But the unforgiving slave did not
owe his ruler merely 1 talent. He owed 10,000. That is 60 million denarii. If a
denarius is one day’s wages, then the slave owed 60 million days. If an average
working life is about 60 years, that equates to 21,900 days. So that slave
would have to live and die 2,739 lifetimes before being able to pay his debt
and that doesn’t even count the debt he would incur during each subsequent
life.
But how in world could any man amass such debt? Again, this was an
illustration that Jesus made. In the book of Psalms we discover a point that
makes Jesus illustration very plain. In Psalm 49:7-9 we
discover that we are incapable of redeeming our sinful lives. If it weren’t for
God’s willingness to forgive us through the value of Christ’s ransom sacrifice,
we would indeed be as hopeless as the unforgiving slave. Yes, God forgave us
all what he considers to be a huge debt. Since that is so, would any of dare to
anger God by not being forgiving to our fellow man, even if what they owed us
was a mere single lifetime!?
