What does Matthew 18:23 mean?
Peter has asked Jesus if he should forgive someone who sins against him up to seven times. Jesus has said no. Instead, Peter should forgive 77 times—or, possibly, 490 times—meaning Peter should plan to always forgive, with no plan to stop forgiving. Holding on to unforgiveness toward others should never be an option (Matthew 18:21–22).To illustrate why this is true, Jesus begins a parable. As with other parables, Jesus starts by saying that the "kingdom of heaven may be compared to…" In this case, the point of comparison is also a kingdom with a powerful king. The time had come for that king to settle accounts with his servants or slaves.
In a large and prosperous country, the king would have high-ranking slaves who lived very well, better even than the free citizens of the nation. In the case of this story, those servants were able to borrow or hold money owed to the king in some way for a limited time. The time to pay up had arrived.
