Matthew 18:24
Tuesday, 7 April 2026
And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. Matthew 18:24
“And he, having commenced to balance, he was presented, one, to him, an ower of myriads of talents.” (CG)
In the previous verse, Jesus began the parable of what is known as “the unforgiving servant.” A king determined to balance his account with his servants. Jesus continues, saying, “And he, having commenced to balance, he was presented, one, to him.”
It can already be seen that the focus of the parable will be on the relationship between the king and this particular person. Other side issues may be brought in, but the nature of the parable is to set the tone quickly and then develop the story around that initial person or situation. Understanding this, Jesus notes this person is “an ower of myriads of talents.”
Two new words are seen here. The first is murios, a myriad. Strong’s says of this word, “Plural of an apparently primary word (properly, meaning very many); ten thousand; by extension, innumerably many -- ten thousand.”
To say, “ten thousand” is simply a way of defining an otherwise indeterminate number, just as saying “one hundred” when someone else said “heaps.” The second new word is talanton. HELPS Word Studies says, “a silver talent, worth about 6,000 denarii (gold talents were worth about 30 times as much). A talent was not a coin but rather a weight (about 75 lbs, NIVSB) used as the basis of monetary exchange.”
The idea of a talent, then, is equivalent to a bar of silver or gold. Its value would change based on the prevailing currency rates or by some other set or changeable standard. It would be equivalent in thought to the Hebrew word kikkar, a word signifying “circular.” It may speak of a circular region, a loaf of bread, or a measure of silver or gold that is in a circular form rather than a bar.
The word is used this last way, for example, in Exodus 25:39, “It shall be made of a talent [kikkar] of pure gold, with all these utensils.” The intent of Jesus’ words is that this guy owes the king an insanely large amount of money.
Life application: One can already see the comparison taking shape from Jesus’ words. Man owes an infinite debt because of sin. The reason for this is that sin, even inherited sin, in relation to God, who is infinite, will infinitely separate us from Him. At no point will we ever be able to overcome the gap because of this.
There is literally nothing we can do to change our state. We are in time, heading forward. The sin cannot go back and be undone. Thus, our condemnation remains forever. But this is where Jesus stepped in and handled the problem.
Because His Father is God, He bears God’s infinite nature. And because His mother was human, He became a suitable sacrifice (as allowed under the Law of Moses, God’s standard) for substitution. In essence, our sin can transfer to Him while His innocence is transferred to us.
Because of this, and because He prevailed over death, Jesus can now mediate between the infinite and the finite. There is no other way to reconciliation with God because no other avenue can attain the infinite pardon that is demanded by God’s holiness.
In other words, it is Jesus or eternal separation from God. There is no other way –
“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:18
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” John 14:6
Choose wisely. Choose Jesus.
O God, help us to clearly and precisely explain the importance of Jesus to others. Without Him, there is no hope. This life is absolutely pointless without Jesus. But You, O God, have made it worth all of the joy eternity can provide because You sent Jesus. Thank You, O God, for Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
