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Scripture Story Sketch Notes · Matthew 18:21–35

The Unmerciful
Servant

“I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:22

A question about counting, a debt too big to pay, a king who forgave it all, and a servant who would not forgive a little. Walk through the story, look closer, and see the King who forgives.

Walk through the story ↓ Read Matthew 18:21–35 first
Hand-drawn doodle story map: at the top a figure of soft light talking with Peter by the sea; below, a king’s hall with a servant kneeling beside a huge pile of coin bags; a torn scroll; the servant outside grabbing a fellow servant who holds a few coins; a barred prison door; worried servants; and at the bottom the servant before the king again.

Before you begin

The story in brief

Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive his brother. “Till seven times?” Jesus answered, “Until seventy times seven,” and told a story about a king.

A servant owed the king ten thousand talents, far more than he could ever pay. He begged for patience, and the king, moved with compassion, forgave him the whole debt. Then that servant found a fellowservant who owed him an hundred pence, took him by the throat, and had him thrown into prison. When the king heard, he asked, “Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?”

Who’s who

  • Jesus: teaching
  • Peter: asking how often to forgive
  • The king: who forgave
  • The servant: who would not

Where and when

Near Capernaum; the story is set in a king’s court.

Watch for the Savior

Listen for the same words spoken twice: “Have patience with me.”

Read it yourself: Matthew 18:21–35

Part 1 of 7

The story, mapped

Eight stops from Peter’s question to the king’s answer. Scroll, or tap a number on the map.

    Part 2 of 7

    The story, plainly

    Four scenes: the question, the king’s mercy, the servant’s demand, and the king’s question. Look for the Savior in each one.

    Read it plainly

    The words that trip people up

    Tap any dotted word for its meaning. The scripture stays exactly as written.1

    1. Matthew 18:23 “would of his servants”
    2. Matthew 18:24 “ten thousand ”
    3. Matthew 18:27 “and him”
    4. Matthew 18:29 “and him”
    5. Matthew 18:34 “and his lord was ”

    Part 3 of 7

    Look closer

    This is a parable. Some cards are details in the text; others share insights from prophets and Church resources. Each card says which.

    0 of 9 turned

    Part 4 of 7

    Where are you in the story?

    People in this story kept count, held a debt, forgot what they had been forgiven, or needed mercy. Which feels most like you right now?

    Try it

    The king or the servant?

    Two men in this story were owed money. Read each detail and decide: does it describe the king, or the servant he forgave?

    “Even as I had pity on thee.” Matthew 18:33

    Part 5 of 7

    Their world, their words

    A little background helps us see how big the first debt was and why the second one was so small. Outside sources are labeled.

    Apostle · Talmage

    Why seven?

    Elder Talmage: Peter “would fain have some definite limit set,” and “the rabbis prescribed a triple forgiveness only.”6

    Seven felt generous. Jesus asked for more.

    Apostle · Talmage

    How big a debt?

    Elder Talmage: “the Lord intended to present a case of great disparity and striking contrast. The actual amounts involved are of minor significance in the story.”6

    What matters is the difference.

    Apostle · Talmage

    The same words

    The fellowservant pleaded, “Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.” Elder Talmage: those words “were identical with those of his own prayer to the king.”6

    He had prayed them himself that same day.

    Apostle · Talmage

    Mercy is for the merciful

    Elder Talmage: “Mercy is for the merciful.” The Lord’s prayer asks, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”6,2

    We pray it every time.

    Word study · Greek

    splagchnizomai σπλαγχνίζομαι · “moved with compassion” (Matthew 18:27)

    Bible Hub: “To have compassion, to be moved with compassion,” from a word for “the inward parts.”7 Outside · lexicon

    The king was moved from the inside. The same word is used of the Good Samaritan and of Jesus Himself.1

    What the text does not say

    Jesus did not say forgiving means pretending nothing happened. Elder Talmage writes that “to forgiveness man may set no bounds.”6 Elder Robbins adds that the Savior’s forgiveness “doesn’t mean that the sacrament becomes a license to sin.”5

    Part 6 of 7

    Look to Him

    The King in this story forgave more than anyone could pay. That is what the Savior does for us.

    President Gordon B. Hinckley: “I think it may be the greatest virtue on earth, and certainly the most needed.”

    President Gordon B. Hinckley, “Forgiveness,” October 20054
    “Somehow forgiveness, with love and tolerance, accomplishes miracles that can happen in no other way.”
    President Gordon B. Hinckley4
    “The Lord used the math of seventy times seven as a metaphor of His infinite Atonement, His boundless love, and His limitless grace.”
    Elder Lynn G. Robbins, April 20185
    “This reply must have meant to Peter as it means to us, that to forgiveness man may set no bounds.”
    Elder James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ6

    Book of Mormon

    As often as they repent

    “Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me.” Mosiah 26:30

    Gospel of Matthew

    The Lord’s Prayer

    “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Matthew 6:12

    Part 7 of 7

    Seek Him today

    His question

    “Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?” Matthew 18:33

    Elder Robbins: “I am eternally grateful for the loving-kindness, patience, and long-suffering of Heavenly Parents and the Savior, who allow us countless second chances.”5 Whom will you give a second chance this week?

    Try it today

    One step of forgiveness a day. It saves on this device, one day at a time.

    0 of 7 today

    This week:0 of 7 days

    A quiet moment

    “Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.”

    Read Matthew 18:23–35 slowly. Then sit in quiet and ask Heavenly Father whom He would like you to forgive, and listen. Matthew 18:23–35

    A verse to hold

    Talk about it

    1. Why do you think Peter asked if seven times was enough?
    2. How did the king feel about the servant who owed so much?
    3. Why was it wrong for the servant to demand the hundred pence?
    4. How is Jesus like the king in this story?
    Open

    For adults and deeper study

    Go deeper

    Longer readings, harder questions, and where to study next. Each one says what it is before you click.
    Prophet

    President Gordon B. Hinckley, “Forgiveness” (2005)

    Why forgiveness may be “the greatest virtue on earth,” with stories of people and nations who forgave, and the prodigal son.4

    Read the talk →
    Seventy

    Elder Lynn G. Robbins, “Until Seventy Times Seven” (2018)

    How the Savior’s forgiveness has no limit for those who keep repenting, and how the sacrament gives us “weekly pardon.”5

    Read the talk →
    Apostle

    Elder Talmage, Jesus the Christ, chapter 24

    Peter’s question, the parable, and a note on talents and pence, explaining why the size of the first debt matters.6

    Read chapter 24 →
    Scripture

    Mosiah 26:29–31

    The Lord tells Alma that “as often as my people repent will I forgive them,” and asks us to forgive one another.3

    Read Mosiah 26 →
    To ponder

    Harder questions

    • The servant used the same words his fellowservant later used. Why do you think he didn’t remember?
    • What is the “ten thousand talents” the Savior has forgiven you?
    • Jesus asked for forgiveness “from your hearts.” What is the difference between saying it and meaning it?

    Sources

    Every quotation, gloss, and piece of background on this page is listed here: scripture first, then Church sources, then outside scholarship (labeled).

    Scripture

    1. Matthew 18:21–35: “Until seventy times seven.”
    2. Matthew 6:12: “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
    3. Mosiah 26:30: “Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them.”

    Church leaders and Church resources

    1. President Gordon B. Hinckley, “Forgiveness”, general conference, October 2005.
    2. Elder Lynn G. Robbins, “Until Seventy Times Seven”, general conference, April 2018.
    3. Elder James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ, chapter 24, “From Sunshine to Shadow”, Gospel Library.

    Outside sources (labeled on the page)

    1. Strong’s 4697, splagchnizomai, Bible Hub lexicon.

    Quotations checked against the linked pages on October 7, 2026. Scripture is quoted from the King James Version as published in the Gospel Library.

    “Forgave him the debt”

    The King forgave a debt no one could pay. Forgiven people forgive. Matthew 18:27

    Back to this week: April 12–18 Next story: The Good Shepherd Earlier: The Good Samaritan All New Testament Story Sketch Notes
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    Independent study notes from Weak Things, not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version. This is a parable; the insights in “Look closer” are labeled by source.