Matthew 18:21–35

Bible Studies for Life
Assistant Professor of Religion, Department of Religion, Samford University

FORGIVE EARLY AND OFTEN
Matthew 18:21–35
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus proclaims the coming of God’s Kingdom in His teachings, provides a foretaste of its blessings in His miracles and embodies its power in His exemplary life (4:1–25). Jesus said this Kingdom requires a level of righteousness that exceeds commonly accepted standards (Matt. 5:20). You must do to others as you would have them do to you (Matt. 7:12). Participation in this Kingdom also requires the confession of Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:13–16). Until the Kingdom is fully realized, followers of Jesus must live together in the church in self-denying love (Matt. 16:24–27; 18:1–5, 15–20). Indeed the two greatest commands are that you must love God and love your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22:34–40). In Matthew 18, Jesus illustrates the second command with the parable of the unforgiving slave.

Debt Forgiven (21–27)
Matthew records Peter making many pivotal comments, some showing faith and others exhibiting doubt and fear (16:13–23; 19:27; 26:31–35, 69–75). Here in Matthew 18, after Jesus explains how conflicts should be resolved (vv. 15–20), Peter asks how often should he forgive a person who sins against him. He offers what he believes is a generous number: “seven times.” In His response, Jesus once again shows that the Kingdom exceeds expectations. He tells Peter that the answer is not seven times but “seventy times seven.” Some translations have “seventy-seven times.” In either case, Jesus’ point is that those who follow Him must not set limits on forgiveness.

Jesus makes this point explicit with His parable comparing the Kingdom to a king who settles his slaves’ accounts.
One slave owed the king 10,000 talents. A talent was worth more than a laborer’s wages for 15 years. Thus 10,000 talents would be an exorbitant exaggeration, far beyond any realistic amount. In today’s terms, this would be similar to saying a minimum-wage worker owed billions of dollars. Of course, that would be out of the question, but the exaggerated amount is precisely the point. The slave owed something he could never repay. He owed an impossible debt.

The king demanded that the slave, his wife, his children and all his possessions be sold to settle the account. After the slave begged for mercy, however, the king had pity and forgave the entire debt. The king’s kindness surpassed anything one could request or imagine (see Eph. 3:20). Accordingly this is the point of comparison between the Kingdom and the king. Like the king’s decision about the slave’s debt, the kingdom of heaven offers immeasurable forgiveness.

Heart Hardened (28–30)
Ironically after he was forgiven an insurmountable debt, that slave violently confronted a fellow slave who owed him 100 denarii. The denarius was a laborer’s wage for one day. A hundred denarii, then, would be equivalent to about 17 six-day workweeks, or just more than four months. The fellow slave pleaded for mercy, but the first slave did not relent; he threw his fellow slave into prison for the unpaid debt. In light of the debt amounts, the first slave owed infinitely more than the second. Yet the forgiven slave refused to extend even the smallest fraction of the mercy he had just received. Clearly his actions are the very opposite of what Jesus has been saying about the righteousness of those who follow Him and participate in the Kingdom.

Forgiveness Expected (31–35)
The other slaves were distressed by the forgiven slave’s senselessness. They informed the king and he condemned the slave as wicked, punishing him accordingly. Jesus then concludes the parable by pronouncing the same fate for those who do not forgive as they have been forgiven. This reiterates the expectations of discipleship.
The slave violated the basic principle taught earlier: Do to others as you would have them do to you (Matt. 7:12).