<p>18:26&nbsp;<i>The servant therefore fell on his knees, saying</i>- This is precisely what the second servant does to the forgiven servant (:29 s.w.; he also asks for &ldquo;patience&rdquo; just as the first servant did). Our situation before God is exactly mirrored by the situation of others before us who have sinned. The Lord&rsquo;s prayer had made this point, in asking that we be forgiven&nbsp;<i>as&nbsp;</i>we forgive others. Forgiving them, therefore, becomes of utterly crucial importance in our personal salvation. Nothing else we may do or be can compensate for unforgiveness, rejection of little ones, and the subsequent causing them to stumble which this causes. See on :25&nbsp;<i>His wife and children</i>.</p>
<p><i>Fell down and worshipped-</i>&nbsp;AV. The two words often occur together. The basis of real worship is thereby defined for us as being a deep conviction of the depth of our sin. Such worship isn&rsquo;t therefore something that can just be turned on or turned off. True worship has very deep roots, in deep conviction of personal debt and a core desire to somehow beseech God&rsquo;s grace.</p>
<p><i>Lord, have patience with me-&nbsp;</i>See on :26&nbsp;<i>Fell down</i>. The servants both ask for &ldquo;patience&rdquo;, and yet the story invites us to see how irrelevant is that request- no amount of time can repay such a huge debt. Even although the servant therefore doesn&rsquo;t throw himself on the King&rsquo;s grace to the extent he ought to have done, and still entertains the absurd idea that he can actually somehow repay the debt- the King shows grace. Again, the attitude of those &lsquo;little ones&rsquo; we engage with will be far from ideal, they miscalculate their debt just as the servant genuinely thought he could &ldquo;pay all&rdquo;, they fail to appreciate the damage done, the hurt caused, believing that they can put right what clearly they never can. But the King&rsquo;s forgiveness of that servant is our pattern for forgiving those indebted to us by their sins and poor behaviour. Yet again we see the hint that forgiveness based upon repentance and restoration is not what is needed at all. Sin cannot in that sense ever be restored or put right by the sinner, but only by the grace of the one sinned against.</p>
<p><i>And I will pay you all that I owe-&nbsp;</i>The servant is presented as insincere, to those who meditate a bit upon the information given. His falling down at the feet of the King was not sincere, surely; for instead of admitting his fault and begging for grace, he claims that with time, &ldquo;patience&rdquo;, he can actually repay it. No amount of work could repay his debt. The huge sum which he &lsquo;owed&rsquo; the King was so large that we are invited to imagine that the debt had arisen more by theft than by being lent that huge amount. For why would he, a servant, need to borrow such a huge amount? We are led to expect a confession of theft from the King- but there is none. Likewise the huge sum of debt is an element of unreality in the story that attracts our attention. The King typically would have killed such a person- but this unusual King doesn&rsquo;t do that. He offers him a way out apart from death- and still the man isn&rsquo;t grateful, he doesn&rsquo;t even want to do a period in bonded slavery for his sins. Within the context of Israel, a slave could only be held for seven years. And &ldquo;in the seventh year he shall go out a free person, without debt&rdquo; (Ex. 21:2). In the seventh year, all debt was to be forgiven (Dt. 15:1-3). So this gracious King was willing to actually forgive the debt and give the man a path to total freedom. But he didn&rsquo;t want even that- he wanted time so that he could pay the debt. He clearly had no real conception of the extent of his debt. And he even implies that the problem is with the King not being patient enough- as if to say &lsquo;If only you were patient, I can pay all this back&rsquo;.</p>