What Is the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant — Meaning Explained

In Matthew 18:21-35, Peter asks how often he must forgive — up to seven times? Jesus answers, 'Not unto seven times: but, Until seventy times seven,' and tells this parable. A king brings his servants to account. One owes ten thousand talents — an unimaginable sum. When he begs for mercy, the king forgives the entire debt. That same servant then finds a fellow servant who owes him a hundred pence — a trifle by comparison — and has him thrown in prison for inability to pay. When the king hears this, he is angry: 'Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?' He delivers the unmerciful servant to the tormentors. The lesson is unmistakable: God's forgiveness of our infinite debt demands that we forgive the comparatively small debts others owe us.