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The staggering debt:
v. 24. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him which owed him ten thousand talents.
v. 25. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
v. 26. The servant, therefore, fell down and worshiped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
v. 27. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
With solemn emphasis the Lord says; Hardly had he begun to look over the accounts, the servants appearing before him one after the other with their certificates of debt, when a debtor of a thousand talents was brought forward. The exact sum of money represented by this weight of silver or gold cannot be accurately determined and is immaterial, since the text itself does not state whether the silver or the gold talent is meant. Figures varying from ten to more than three hundred million dollars have been given. The point of the story is that the sum was incalculably great, it staggered the imagination, and purposely so. The proceedings are simple: Since he had not to pay, the lord gave command that he and his wife and his children be sold as slaves, with all their possessions. Thus only could he hope to get a part of the debt paid. It was a hard, but just sentence, in full accord with the absolute power of an Oriental monarch over the lives and property of his subjects, Exo_22:3; Lev_25:39; 2Ki_4:1. The terror and distress of the condemned servant were naturally pitiful, the prospect of his being sold into slavery, perhaps to a hard and cruel master, seared his soul. Throwing himself down, therefore, crouching and almost groveling before the monarch in absolute submission and anxiety, he pleads for an extension of time; he promises to pay all. It was a promise beyond his ability to keep, but this fact did not even occur to him in the greatness of his distress. The king was deeply moved by this picture of terror and misery. He set that servant, whose pitiful plea had touched his heart, free from imprisonment, and the debt he canceled in its totality. The text implies also that he was continued in the service of the king, the latter assuming that the impression made would be a lasting one, that the lesson conveyed to him would never be forgotten.