Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

The servant in this parable was happy when his master did not require him to repay a debt of millions of dollars. Incredibly, the servant went straight to another servant and demanded that he pay him a few dollars that he owed him. When the second servant could not pay, the first servant threw him in prison. When the master heard, he was furious.  Now, the first servant was sent to prison.  Jesus said that our Heavenly Father would feel the same towards us if we did not forgive others from the heart.

God has forgiven us of very much. We should forgive people from our hearts.

Bible verses used in this episode:

• Matthew 18:21-35
• Ephesians 4:32

Outline:

1. Peter asks Jesus how many times we should forgive a brother (Matthew 18:21-22)
2. The Parable (Matthew 18:23-34)
   1. Merciful master
   2. Unmerciful servant
   3. Judgement
3. The Heavenly Father’s view (Matthew 18:35)

Tips for teaching:

• Children can memorise Ephesians 4:32
• For a craft, decorate a poster with the verse.
• The teacher can use role-play to act out imaginary scenarios in which you ask a child for forgiveness (Please forgive me for…breaking your toy, saying mean things to you, telling a lie, etc)
• To understand the huge disparity between the two debts, bring store ads and real estate ads and look through them.
• This is a difficult one to practice in a class setting.  But you can spend time in prayer.  Ask the class to pray for the courage to genuinely say, “I’m sorry.”.  Pray for strength to forgive the who who has offended or sinned against you. If at the moment you don’t feel like forgiving, pray that you will come to feel like it.  If you don’t want to forgive, pray that you would “want to want” to forgive.  
• Write out on a piece of paper your hurt that someone has caused you; write down how that made you feel; write down the name of the person who hurt you and what you want to say to them, what they did to you.  Write down how they made you feel.  Be honest.  Try to write down words that you would want one day to forgive them.  This may not be easy.  You don’t have to send this to them.  You can keep it.  Sometimes writing can help us process our heart.  And then write down a prayer to God about this.

Full teaching instructions free from Mission Bible Class:

Bible Lesson:  Parable of an Unforgiving Servant

Scriptures quoted from the International Children’s Bible®, copyright ©1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Tommy Nelson. Used by permission.

Excerpts from Mission Bible Class used by permission.

Music: Upbeat Positive Culture (Acoustic Corporate Travel Promo Christian Rock), Individual License, Stock Media provided by HumansWin, pond5.com

For questions or comments email: mary@missionbibleclass.org