Closer Look: How Much Did He Owe?

(5–8 minutes, easy set-up)
Learners will calculate how much each debtor owed in today’s currency.
Provide a dry erase board and marker.

Explain that a talent was a measure of weight roughly equivalent to 80 pounds, and could be tendered in gold or silver. Lead learners to form two teams to calculate the enormity of the first servant’s debt.

Instruct Team 1 to use a smart phone to look up the current market value of an ounce of gold, calculate the value of a pound of gold, and then calculate the value of the servant’s debt of 10,000 talents (80 pounds per talent) of gold.
Instruct Team 2 to use a smart phone to look up the current market value of an ounce of silver, calculate the value of a pound of silver, and then calculate the value of the servant’s debt of 10,000 talents (80 pounds per talent) of silver.

After a couple of minutes, record the current values of servant’s debt on the board. Ask: Is there any way that a servant, or someone who works a typical job, could ever repay a debt this large? (Obviously, the answer is “no.”) Ask: What does that reveal about the magnitude of the king’s grace to forgive such a debt?

Next, explain that the second servant owed the first servant a hundred denarii (coins typically given in payment of a day’s work). Encourage learners in each group to calculate the current market value of this servant’s debt based on what they think the typical employee earns in a single day. After a few moments, record their calculations on the board. Ask: How did the second servant’s debt compare to the first servant’s debt? What does the servant’s refusal to forgive the debt reveal about his heart? (The first servant’s heart was hard and unforgiving even though he had been forgiven much and had much to be thankful for.) Ask: Why does God expect His followers to forgive others as generously as God has forgiven them?