English: OBS Study Questions - English

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29. The Story of the Unmerciful Servant

What the Story Says

  1. What did Jesus mean when told Peter to forgive his brother seventy times seven?

    When Jesus told Peter to forgive his brother seventy times seven, he wanted to say that Peter should forgive his brother as many times as necessary without stopping (#29-01).

  2. How would the king get his money back by selling the servant and his family as slaves?

    The king would take the money that he would receive from selling the man and his family as slaves. This money would be a partial payment toward what the servant owed the king (#29-03).

  3. Would the servant every be able to pay the money he owed to the king?

    Since the servant owed 200,000 years’ wages, he would not be able to repay the king in his lifetime (#29-02), (#29-04).

  4. Would the servant who owed four months’ wages be able to repay the other servant?

    The servant who owed four months’ wages might have been able to repay the other servant if he had time to earn the money (#29-05), (#2-06).

  5. Why were the other servants disturbed by what happened?

    The other servants thought the servant who the king forgave had treated the other servant unfairly. He should have forgiven the other servant (#29-07).

  6. Why was the king so angry?

    The king was angry because he had forgiven the debt of the servant, but now he saw that that servant was a wicked man. He was not willing to forgive other people as the king had forgiven him (#29-08).

  7. For how long did the king put the wicked servant into prison?

    The king put the servant into the prison until he could repay his debt. However, his debt was so large that he would never be able to repay it. Therefore, he would be in prison for the rest of his life (#29-08).

  8. Why did Jesus tell this story?

    Jesus wanted his disciples to know that God had forgiven them, and that he expected them to forgive each other in the same way (#29-09).

What the Story Means to Us

  1. Why do you think Peter offered to forgive his brother seven times?

    Peter apparently thought that he was being merciful if he forgave his brother seven times. That seemed like a lot to Peter. However, Jesus answered that seven times was not enough. Disciples of Jesus should forgive seventy times more than that. That is, they should forgive their brothers without limit.

  2. How did the debts of the two servants compare to each other?

    The debt of the first servant was so large that it would be impossible to repay. The debt of the second servant was significant, but not impossible to pay.

  3. Who do you think the king and the servants represent in this story?

    In this story, the king represents God. The servants represent the disciples of Jesus. Every disciple owed God a payment for his sin that was impossible to pay, just as the servant owed the king a huge debt. However, God forgave their sin because Jesus died in their places. Therefore, God expects his disciples to forgive each other.

  4. How will God respond to disciples who do not forgive other disciples?

    God will be very angry with disciples who are not willing to forgive other disciples. He will judge them severely.

Summary

Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive a fellow disciple who sinned against him. He thought that perhaps seven times would be enough. But Jesus told him that he should continue to forgive his brother even seventy times more than that. Jesus then told a story to show that God is like a king who has forgiven his disciples a great debt of sin. Therefore, his disciples should also forgive their fellow disciples. The debt that they owe each other is much less than the debt they owed to God. If his disciples do not forgive each other, God will be angry with them and will punish them.