Bible Parables S1E7 - The Parable Of The Unforgiving Servant

Parable of the Unforgiving Servant Peter approached Jesus and asked,

Lord,

How many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?

Up to seven times?

And Jesus answered,

I tell you,

Not seven times but seventy-seven times.

And then Jesus shared this story.

The kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

As he began the settlement,

A servant who owed him ten thousand talents,

Which is an enormously unpayable sum,

Was brought to him.

Since he was not able to pay,

The master ordered that he,

His wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

The servant fell on his knees before him.

Be patient with me,

He begged.

I will pay back everything.

The master took pity on him,

Cancelled the debt and let him go.

But when the servant went out,

He found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins,

A much smaller amount.

He grabbed him and began to choke him.

Pay back what you owe me,

He demanded.

His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him.

Be patient with me and I will pay it back.

But he refused.

Instead,

He went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.

When the other servants saw what had happened,

They were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

Then the master called the servant in.

You wicked servant,

He said.

I cancelled all the debt of yours because you begged me to.

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

And in anger,

His master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay back all he owed.

This is how my heavenly father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.

So the parable emphasizes forgiveness from God,

Emphasizes that forgiveness from God is generous and unlimited and we are expected to show the same mercy towards others.

And if we refuse to forgive,

We show ingratitude for the mercy we have been shown ourselves.

And that is the traditional interpretation of this parable.

So now we'll go into the parable line by line and we will look at it from a more mystical or the spiritual perspective.

And let's see what meaning we can get from the parable.

So the parable starts with Peter asking Jesus,

Lord,

How many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?

Up to seven times?

This question is a very deeply human question.

It kind of reflects the limits we often place on forgiveness.

Seven represents completeness in many spiritual traditions.

But Peter here is thinking of forgiveness as something that can be measured.

In life,

We often ask this question,

How much is enough?

How many times do I have to forgive someone before I can let go?

But love and forgiveness are not really bound by numbers.

So in our own hearts,

Are we placing these kind of limits?

Are there people in our lives who we are unwilling to forgive?

Are there people in our lives who we are unwilling to forgive?

Because essentially,

Forgiveness is not about the other person being deserving.

Forgiveness is about our freedom.

Forgiveness is about breaking the cycle of resentment that keeps us weighed down.

Because as long as we are not willing to release and let go,

We are still bound to that person's freedom.

We are still bound to that person who we are refusing to forgive.

And Jesus answers not seven times,

But 77 times.

So the idea of forgiveness is beyond calculation.

77 or 70 times 7 in some translation,

It's a very symbolic number.

It is symbolic of boundlessness.

It is symbolic of infinity.

So forgiveness is a spiritual practice.

It is not a transaction.

When we forgive,

We release not just the other person,

But we are releasing ourselves.

You can think of forgiveness as a radical act of love that liberates our heart from bitterness.

It helps to think of forgiveness as an ongoing flow instead of a one-time event.

It's not a checkbox,

But it's a continual state of being.

And many of us find it hard to forgive because sometimes we perceive that grave injustice has been done against us.

So if you are finding it hard to forgive,

Try to understand that this is a journey and every step you take it softens your heart a little bit more.

Parable goes further.

It says the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with the servants.

So the kingdom of heaven,

The divine reality we live in,

Where balance,

Harmony,

And spiritual justice reign.

So in this story,

The king represents the divine and settling of accounts can be seen as a moment of reckoning.

So in our spiritual life,

We are constantly trying to balance the karmic cycle.

We are constantly trying to balance the karmic scales.

And we are doing this not through punishment,

But through self-awareness,

True love,

True grace.

So how can you bring this kind of a balance into your life?

Where do you need to make peace within yourself or with others?

And this kind of internal peace,

This kind of balance is achieved not by holding on to debts,

But by releasing them,

By letting go of old hurts,

By letting go of old grudges.

A servant who owed him 10,

000 talents was brought to him.

This is a big amount.

This is an enormous amount.

And this is kind of symbolic of the weight of our karmic debts,

The weight of our mistakes.

A culmination of all the moments where we have fallen short.

So in a very spiritual sense,

It can represent the heaviness we carry from lifetimes of unhealed wounds or unresolved guilts.

So we keep piling it on,

We keep piling it on,

We keep piling it on.

And this debt just starts to get bigger and bigger.

So what kind of emotional or spiritual burdens are you carrying?

And emotional and spiritual burdens,

How many of them are self-imposed?

Since he was not able to pay,

The master ordered that he,

His wife,

His children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

And this kind of represents or it illustrates the cost of holding on to unresolved debts,

Whether emotional,

Spiritual or karmic debts.

When we cling to our guilt,

When we cling to our shame,

When we cling to our anger,

It impacts not only ourselves,

It also impacts everyone around us.

This energy of unforgiveness,

It spreads like a ripple,

It affects all aspects of our life.

In your life,

Try to notice where this energy of unforgiveness is affecting your relationships.

Because sometimes there may be areas in our life where we are holding on to old grievances and this is blocking our growth,

It is blocking our peace.

Start to practice letting go.

Start to practice letting go for the sake of your own wholeness and the wholeness of everyone around you.

The servant fell on his knees and begged,

Be patient with me and I will pay back everything.

And this plea kind of represents the cry of the soul.

Because many a times we feel overwhelmed by our mistakes,

We feel overwhelmed by our shortcomings believing that we must somehow earn our way back into grace.

But the good part is that grace like love,

It cannot be earned,

It is freely given.

So practice compassion to yourself.

We don't need to strive endlessly to make up for our past wrongdoings.

The master took pity on him,

Cancelled his debt and let him go.

And this is essentially the essence of divine grace,

It is complete and unconditional forgiveness.

The debt is wiped away not because it was deserved but because there was a choice made to forgive.

And this is the transformative power of mercy.

When we release others from their debts,

We in turn open ourselves to the same divine flow of mercy.

So it's about unconditional forgiveness.

If someone wrongs you,

You can see it as an opportunity to reflect the divine by cancelling their debt.

And this doesn't mean excusing harmful behavior but choosing not to carry the burden of resentment.

But when the servant went out,

He found one of his fellow servants who owed him 100 silver coins.

He grabbed him and began to choke him.

And this represents how sometimes despite receiving grace,

We often struggle to extend it to others.

When we act out of fear,

When we act out of ego,

When we act out of unresolved pain,

We set ourselves to fall into the trap of withholding forgiveness.

And the choking symbolizes the way resentment strangles both the forgiver and the one who needs forgiveness.

The fellow servant fell on his knees and begged him,

Be patient with me and I will pay back.

But he refused.

And when we withhold forgiveness,

We become blind to the humanity in others just as the servant was blind to his fellow's plea.

And this refusal kind of,

The refusal to forgive mirrors the way we keep ourselves locked in suffering.

When we refuse mercy,

We are shutting ourselves off from the very flow of love that sustains us.

And a little further,

The parable says that the master called the servant in.

You wicked servant,

He said,

I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.

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

And this sentence is a very powerful reminder that the grace that we receive is not for hoarding.

It is meant to flow through us to others.

The universe operates in a cycle of give and take.

When we receive love,

We must also give it.

If we block this flow,

We create suffering for ourselves.

So you can think of forgiveness like a river.

When you receive mercy,

Pass it on.

Allow yourself to be a channel of love,

A channel of peace,

A channel of grace,

Rather than being a dam that withholds it.

And by keeping this flow open,

We align ourselves with the rhythms of the universe.

And the parable ends with,

This is how my heavenly father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.

This closing line is not a threat,

But this is a spiritual truth.

When we hold on to grudges,

We are imprisoning ourselves in a cycle of suffering.

And true forgiveness,

It should come from the heart.

It should not merely be an outward gesture,

But it should be a deep internal release that frees both the giver and the receiver.

Before we go into the meditation,

Let's look at another interpretation.

So the question of Peter,

How many times shall I forgive my brother or sister?

And forgiveness,

It's not just an external act,

But it's an internal one.

Forgiveness can be represented as a shift in consciousness.

Forgiving someone could mean that we are no longer holding them in the state of having wronged us.

When we forgive them,

We change how we perceive them.

We see them free,

We see them whole,

We see them deserving of love.

And forgiving 70 times 7,

Forgiving 77 times would represent the need to persistently assume this new state of consciousness.

You don't just forgive once,

But we continually revise our internal state,

Always trying to imagine the best version for ourselves and for others.

Interpretation of the king.

The kingdom of heaven is like a king who wants to settle accounts.

So the king could represent your higher self,

The divine aspect that rules our life.

And the king settling accounts is simply the mind becoming aware of the debts.

And the debts are negative emotions,

Grudges,

Limiting beliefs,

The debts that the mind is holding on to.

And the settling of accounts,

These are those moments of self-reflection,

The opportunity to release old states of consciousness.

So every debt that we hold,

Resentment,

Fear of judgment,

Fear of criticism,

These are simply states of consciousness.

We have the power to settle these accounts by changing our state.

So we'll go now into a reflective meditation.

And the meditation is on the theme of the parable.

The parable being the parable of the unforgiving servant.

So settle yourself into a comfortable position.

If you are sitting,

Sink into your chair.

If you are sleeping,

Let go of all efforts and just let the surface beneath you support you.

If it's safe to do so,

Close your eyes and allow your body to relax.

Start to breathe deeply and slowly.

Feeling the rise and fall of your chest with each breath.

Let your mind become still,

Quiet and open.

And imagine the air around you filled with a sense of peace and light.

Inhale this peace and exhale any tension or concerns you may be holding on to.

Let yourself relax in this moment.

Now bring your attention inward.

Bring your attention to the center of your being.

Bring your attention to your heart,

The seat of your spirit.

A space of openness,

A space of love.

In this meditation,

We are going to journey within.

The parable is about forgiveness,

Release,

Freedom.

And as we meditate,

We will explore these themes and allow them to fill our being.

Begin by imagining you are standing before a great king.

The symbol of divine blessing,

Divine power,

Divine love,

Divine wisdom,

Divine compassion,

Divine love,

Divine compassion,

Divine love,

Divine love,

Divine love,

Divine love.

The symbol of divine wisdom.

This king represents the universal power that governs your life.

The love that holds everything together.

The king looks at you full of compassion.

As you stand before him with all the debts you carry.

Mistakes,

Regrets,

Resentments,

Old hurts,

Judgments you've held on to.

And also fears that have weighed you down.

Take a moment to feel the weight of these burdens.

Notice if there are any emotions tied to these experiences.

Breathe into these feelings,

Allowing them to surface.

Now imagine the king speaks to you.

His voice is gentle and full of love and he says,

I see everything you have been carrying and I release you from it.

You are free of this burden.

I forgive you completely.

And feel the release of all these past burdens.

Feel how light you are.

How free you have become.

With each breath feel this weight lifting of you.

The king smiles.

Letting you know that nothing from the past holds power over you any longer.

You are forgiven.

You are free.

Stay here for a moment.

Breathing in the feeling of forgiveness.

Allowing it to cleanse and refresh you.

And refresh you.

Now gently shift your focus.

Bring to mind a person or situation in your life that you have not yet fully forgiven.

It may be something small or it may be something large.

But notice how it feels in your heart.

Perhaps there's still some anger,

Some hurt or some resentment lingering.

As you focus on this situation,

Remind yourself that forgiveness is not a burden.

Remind yourself that forgiveness is not about excusing the action.

But about releasing the emotional weight it holds over you.

It's about freeing yourself.

Now imagine the same king appears before you.

But this time he places his hand on your shoulders.

Offering you the strength.

In his presence you are able to open your heart fully.

In your mind's eye,

See this person or situation and say,

I release you.

I forgive you from my heart.

Feel the words ripple through you,

The leasing tension.

Melting away any lingering pain or anger.

As you say these words,

See the situation dissolve in a warm golden light.

This light is the light of divine love healing you and the other person.

Breathe in deeply and as you exhale,

Let go completely.

You are free.

They are free.

Now reflect on the part of the parable where the servant refuses to forgive his fellow servant.

Imagine this refusal to forgive as a stone held in your hand.

A stone of judgment,

A stone of resentment or a stone of anger.

Feel the hardness of the stone.

Notice how carrying it keeps your hand clenched,

Heavy,

Tense.

Recognize that by holding the stone,

You are closing yourself off from love,

From peace,

From the natural flow of good in your life.

In this moment,

Ask yourself,

Am I ready to release this stone?

Take a deep breath and when you are ready,

Imagine opening your hand and letting the stone fall to the ground.

See it dissolving into the earth,

Becoming dust,

Disappearing into nothing.

Feel the release in your heart,

The lightness that comes with letting go of judgment.

Feel the release in your heart,

The lightness that comes with letting go of judgment.

In its place,

Feel forgiveness blooming in your heart like a flower.

This flower represents the freedom,

The love you create in your life when you choose to forgive.

In the final moments of this meditation,

Feel yourself surrounded by a brilliant white light,

The light of divine love.

This is the love that forgives all,

That heals all,

That knows no separation or division.

It flows freely from you,

Through you and to everyone around you.

Through you and to everyone around you.

Repeat these words silently to yourself.

I am one with the divine flow of love.

I forgive freely and completely.

I release all judgment,

All pain,

All fear.

Love flows through me and I am free.

Let these words settle in your heart.

Feel how aligned you are with the infinite power of the universe,

Which operates to love,

Peace and forgiveness.

Know that this power is always available to you.

Each time you forgive,

You open yourself to greater blessings,

Greater harmony,

And greater peace.

As you begin to come back to the present moment,

Take a few deep breaths slowly and deeply.

Wiggle your fingers and toes.

Bring your awareness back to your physical body.

Feel the breath.

Feel the peace within you,

Knowing that you are free to forgive,

Free to love,

Free to live in harmony with the divine.

And whenever you are ready,

You can open your eyes and carry the sense of peace with you throughout your day,

Your week,

Your journey.

Know that by practicing forgiveness,

You align yourself with the divine flow of life.

You open the way for greater joy,

Greater love,

Greater freedom.

Forgiveness is not a one-time act.

It's a continuous practice.

And each time we forgive,

We release ourselves from the past and make space for new beginnings.

So as you walk through life,

Let your heart remain open.

Let forgiveness be your guide.

Know that in forgiving others,

You are essentially forgiving yourself and creating a life of peace,

A life of freedom.

Call to action.

So it's not simply about listening and feeling good in the moment.

It is when we start to take action,

That's when the magic happens.

That's when everything takes place.

So,

When we start to take action,

We are creating a life of peace.

How do I practice forgiveness?

Now,

The amazing part about practicing forgiveness is you don't have to,

You don't necessarily have to go in front of the other person and say,

I forgive you.

You can do it in your mind because it's all an internal process.

Like I've mentioned in my previous sections,

All this drama is going on in our lovely human mind.

So,

A daily forgiveness practice,

You could begin the day or end the day by reflecting on situations where,

Any situations,

Any person that you need to forgive,

Even yourself,

Just take a minute or two to silently affirm,

I forgive you and release you and I am free.

And that's more than enough to create that start,

To start building up that energy.

Now,

You can create also a forgiveness journal and keep a,

Write down everything that you're holding on to and then declare your intention to forgive.

A very powerful exercise in releasing all these emotions is writing everything that you're holding on to,

Your grudges,

Your regrets,

Your frustrations,

Your judgments,

You write it on a piece of paper.

And once you've written everything,

You just symbolically rip up,

Tear up the piece of paper,

Throw it away,

Or burn the piece of paper to symbolize the release of all that negativity from your life.

And very,

Very important,

Because most of the time we are our worst enemy,

Self-forgiveness.

Holding on to guilt,

Holding on to shame blocks your spiritual growth.

And sometimes it's just realizing that there is nothing to forgive,

There is nothing to feel guilty for,

Because whatever actions we took at a specific point in time was based on who we were at that point in time.

And if we have made a conscious decision to move away from that who we were to who we are now and who we want to be,

All that's left to do is simply to let go.

So,

There is nothing to forgive,

There is nothing to be guilty about.

Thank you everyone.

Love,

Light,

Blessings,

Namaste.