Albert Barnes Commentary Matthew 18:24

"And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, that owed him ten thousand talents." — Matthew 18:24 (ASV)

Ten thousand talents. A talent was a sum of money, or weight of silver or gold, amounting to three thousand shekels. A silver shekel was worth, after the captivity, not far from half a dollar of our money.

A talent of silver was worth 1,519 dollars, 23 cents [or £342 3s. 9d.], and a talent of gold was worth 24,309 dollars, 88 cents [or £5,475.]. If these were silver talents, as is probable, then the sum owed by the servant was 16,180,000 dollars [or about £8,421,876 sterling]; a sum which proves that he was not a domestic servant, but some tributary prince.

The sum is used to show that the debt was immensely large, and that our sins are so great that they cannot be estimated or numbered. .