The Unmerciful Servant

This is a book first posted on Grace Connection, the Magazine. There is no printed edition. All 30 chapters will appear on the Wheel in the following weeks.

CHAPTER 15

Matthew 18:21-35

A thousand years ago, Tsar Samuel ruled the Bulgarian Empire. His archenemy was Basil II, the Byzantine emperor. For decades they had fought without either side winning a decisive victory until Samuel set a trap for Basil in a gorge along the river Struma. Basil eluded the trap and captured Samuel's entire army. He then taught the tsar a lesson in Byzantine revenge.

Basil blinded the eyes of all but 150 of the 15,000 captured soldiers. He then blinded one of the eyes of the remaining soldiers so that they could lead their blind compatriots back to the Bulgarian Empire. A horrified Samuel watched the return of his once proud army, eye sockets vacant, shuffling, stumbling, clutching one another, each hundred led by a one-eyed soldier. The sight killed him, and his empire came to an end. Needless to say the Bulgarians never forgot the cruelty of Basil the Bulgar slayer.

Read more at Adventist Perspective.