Kings and slaves were stock...
Illustration
Object:
Kings and slaves were stock characters in Semitic stories. So it's not hard to understand
the setting and characters of Jesus' stories. He starts his parables realistically enough, but
then slips into a warped, almost unbelievable world.
The slave asks to restructure his debt (owing about the value of New York City), yet gets away scot free. Now he happens upon someone who owes him $5,000. We expect the forgiven slave to throw up his hands in wild laughter, "Forget the loan. Here's an extra $100, take the wife out for steak and lobster."
When we see what the forgiven slave does, we vote for tossing him into solitary confinement and permanently misplacing the key. We figure that to forgive such an unforgiving servant would be equivalent to forgiving someone 49 times, and Jesus turns to stare at us. Even when we think Jesus' story is over, we're still not safe.
The slave asks to restructure his debt (owing about the value of New York City), yet gets away scot free. Now he happens upon someone who owes him $5,000. We expect the forgiven slave to throw up his hands in wild laughter, "Forget the loan. Here's an extra $100, take the wife out for steak and lobster."
When we see what the forgiven slave does, we vote for tossing him into solitary confinement and permanently misplacing the key. We figure that to forgive such an unforgiving servant would be equivalent to forgiving someone 49 times, and Jesus turns to stare at us. Even when we think Jesus' story is over, we're still not safe.
