What comes next in Matthew is
rather suggestive that Ezra is in mind at this juncture, as Jesus offers up
what has come to be known as the “Parable of the Unforgiving Slave.” This
parable becomes a picture of both the type of treatment desired by Jesus and
forgiveness in action. It does so along with a word of warning of the way
that the Creator God will look upon those that do not abide by Jesus’
prescription. Here, it is appropriate to reflect on the statement offered
up by Ezra, originally called to mind through and following his use of
“seventy-seven,” reflecting the experience of the returnees from Babylon during
the era of Persian occupation, while also serving to adequately describe the
prevailing situation in Israel under the Romans, which was “Although we are
slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our servitude” (9:9a). This lines
up quite nicely with what will be found in the parable.
Together with that, in an era in
which the cry of Rome, which it sought to put on the lips of all upon whom it
foisted its dominion, was “No king but Caesar,” the respondent cry of an Israel
that would not be assimilated and subdued was “No King but our God!”
Owing to that, thoughts and hopes and dreams concerning the coming kingdom of
their God were current; and of course, Matthew presents a Jesus that is
primarily concerned with the advent of the kingdom of His God. It is in
the mindset created by this set of ideas---ongoing slavery, claims concerning
kingship, and concerns about a kingdom---with which one presses forward into
the parable.
As an obvious adjunct to what
Jesus has just said, with no separation, division, nor delay, the parable
begins with “For this reason, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted
to settle accounts with his slaves” (Matthew 18:23). The king, naturally,
is the God of Israel. The slaves are the people of His covenant.
“As he began settling his accounts, a man who owed ten thousand talents was
brought to him” (18:24). This man is one of the already referenced
slaves. He had an obligation to his king. However, “Because he was
not able to repay it, the lord ordered him to be sold, along with his wife,
children, and whatever he possessed” (18:25).
This demands a reach into the
collective memory of the respective audiences, with a recollection of Israel’s
obligation under its covenant to be a light to the people of the surrounding
nations and to bearing the image of their God in representing His covenant to
the world. Israel had failed to fulfill their end of that covenant, and
their ongoing subjection by Rome confirmed that their failure was
ongoing. They did not meet their obligation, so it was understood to be
the case that their God had “sold” them into both Assyrian and Babylonian
exile, with Rome now playing the role of those two empires.
Proceeding, Jesus says “Then the
slave threw himself to the ground before him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and
I will repay you everything.’” (18:26) This, because of the mindset and
self-identifying history in which the hearers are steeped, is reminiscent of
the prayers of repentance and restoration from exile that are to be found in
the second book of the Kings, the second book of the Chronicles, Daniel, Ezra,
and Nehemiah.
These prayers are best summed up
with “if My people, who belong to Me, humble themselves, pray, seek to please
Me, and repudiate their sinful practices, then I will respond from heaven,
forgive their sin, and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). The audience
goes on to learn that “The lord had compassion on that slave and released him,
and forgave him the debt” (18:27). Indeed, in spite of their covenant
failures, and because of His faithfulness to His plan of redemption for His
people and the world through them, because of their response to this demand,
the Lord allowed His people to return to the land, to reconstruct the Temple,
and to rebuild Jerusalem.
No comments:
Post a Comment