The Lost Sheep and the Unforgiving Debtor

June 10, 2025 | Read and Think About Matthew 18:10-35

In this passage, Jesus tells two parables - one about a wandering, lost sheep who has become split off from the herd, and the other about a man who was forgiven a great debt, only to do the exact opposite to another who begged and pleaded for mercy. That Matthew recorded these close to each other offers an additional clue about their meaning.

In the first parable, I wondered why the shepherd allowed the sheep to wander off in the first place. If the shepherd is meant to symbolize God, why would a Good Shepherd fail to notice his wandering sheep? It is because the sheep symbolizes a person created by God, who has free will. The importance of the parable is not the wandering off, but the response of the Shepherd to His lost sheep. The parable ends with Jesus telling His listeners of the incredible lengths the Shepherd went to in order to find this lost sheep, and of the exceeding joy over the success of this rescue!

In the second parable, the huge debt of the first servant symbolizes his many sins, for which he is in great need of forgiveness. The fact that the parable is about sin is indicated by Peter's question that opens the parable: "How many times am I to forgive one who sins against me?" The ending of the parable shows how seriously God takes this business of forgiveness. It is not just the vertical aspect - God forgiving His people of their sins. There also is a crucial horizontal aspect to forgiveness.

In this case, the servant who was forgiven millions brooded over the tiny debt of one hundred. It says he went out and found this fellow servant who owed him this tiny debt. The Greek word for "found" is "heurisko." Elsewhere, Matthew uses the same word to convey how the wise men sought and "found" Jesus after his birth (Matthew 2:8). And Jesus used the same word in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 7:7-8 to say that those who seek shall "heurisko" (find) the good gifts of God. Whatever the end purpose, the word means to search out and find something - or someone.

This unforgiving servant went out looking for a brother to lash out against and punish. The master's rhetorical question captures Jesus' point:

• "Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?"

It's good to let that question sink in.

I also wondered why these two parables were paired up. Can the incensed reaction of the master be further understood by the parable of the lost sheep? I think it can be. The reaction is certainly based on the imbalance of one being forgiven so much yet hardening his heart over something so trivial. But also, from God's perspective, what if that second servant happens to be one of His wandering, lost sheep? With such an unforgiving spirit, the first servant might be impeding the work of the Shepherd in going out to look for and rescue the second servant, this wandering soul.

We never want our actions and attitudes to run counter to the work God is doing in the lives of our fellows. Even if we don't like someone, we are called to love others and to want the same thing God wants for them.