What character does the servant shows when he doesn’t forgive? 10); the parables of the kingdom (ch. VIII (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995), Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R.; and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV—Year A (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995), Bruner, Frederick Dale, Matthew: Volume 2, The Churchbook, Matthew 13-28 (Dallas: Word, 1990), Brunner, Emil, Sowing and Reaping: The Parables of Jesus (London: The Epworth Press, 1964), Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, A (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1992), Gardner, Richard B., Believers Church Bible Commentary: Matthew (Scottdale, Pennsylvania: Herald Press, 1990), Hagner, Donald A., Word Biblical Commentary: Matthew 14-28, Vol. It goes like this. 28“But that servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, who owed him one hundred denarii, and he grabbed him, and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’, 29“So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay you!’ 30He would not, but went and cast him into prison, until he should pay back that which was due.”. These servants would expect the forgiven servant to abide by that rule, and would be highly offended when he failed to do so. Matthew 18:21-35 Personally Forgiving Wrong-doers. Who can forgive habitually without becoming a forgiving person? That’s why Matthew 18:21-35 includes the parable of the unforgiving servant. Spend a few minutes and write out the main point of the parable in one sentence in your own words. ), The Lectionary Commentary: Theological Exegesis for Sunday’s Text. Justice requires that everyone get their own. Seven times of forgiving a brother is already many more times than their culture. • No effort is too great when trying to restore peace in the church. Does forgiving mean forgetting? One of them owed him 10,000 talents - a huge amount of money. (15-20) Conduct towards brethren, The parable of the unmerciful servant. The common element in these portions of this chapter is that they call us to throw away the calculator when dealing with relationships. “Lord, how often shall my brother” (v. 21a). Second, we need to pray for God to imbue us with his grace so that we can forgive the person who has sinned against us. Now he says that we must forgive from our hearts—not superficially or half-heartedly. Ten thousand (myrias) is the largest number for which the Greeks have a word. We can pass on only that which we have received. Jesus puts a child among them, and says, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you turn, and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (v. 3). Mark 11:25 – Whenever you pray forgive, so that you will be forgiven. 18:19; in a comfortable promise; It shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven; here it is made use of in a terrible threatening. We will distort Jesus’ meaning if we press its details too far. Ephesians 4:32 – Be kind, forgiving one another. The hundred denarii debt is tiny compared with the ten thousand talent debt, but becomes significant when immediate payment is required. ), Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1986), Morris, Leon, The Gospel According to Matthew (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1992), Senior, Donald, Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: Matthew (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998), Shuster, Marguerite in Van Harn, Roger (ed. The prophet Amos speaks of God forgiving three times but warns that God must not abolish punishment a fourth time (Amos 1: 1-13; 2: 1-6). When one is in hot water over one’s head, it matters not whether the depth is a hundred feet or ten thousand. He does ask for the debt to be forgiven. We’ve included complete teaching plans, game suggestions, craft ideas, and bonus coloring page. “Until seven times?” (v. 21c). The central issue is not justice but reconciliation. And if we harbor unforgiveness and hatred in our hearts toward others, then it demonstrates we have not truly repented of our sins and therefore God will not forgive us either. And so the fellow slaves, “exceedingly sorry” (lupeo—full of sorrow), report the injustice to their lord (kyrios—a word often used for Jesus as Lord). Verses 28-30 – The servant is unwilling to forgive a far smaller debt. Does Jesus’ answer mean you should count seventy sevens (or 490) times? Thus the circle of Christ’s love expands ever wider to encircle one more lost sheep—and another—and another. 21 Peter approached Jesus and said, “Lord, how often do I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? If he sins against you seven times in the day, and seven times returns, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him”, “But because he couldn’t pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, with his wife, his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made”, “Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you all”, “The lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, “But that servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, who owed him one hundred denarii”, “and he grabbed him, and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe'”, “So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay you'”, “He would not, but went and cast him into prison, until he should pay back that which was due”, “So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were exceedingly sorry”, “Then his lord called him in, and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! Ecclesiastes 7:20 – There is no one who does good and never sins. What does this debt represent? The World English Bible is based on the American Standard Version (ASV) of the Bible, the Biblia Hebraica Stutgartensa Old Testament, and the Greek Majority Text New Testament. Kids’ Bible Lessons from Matthew 18:21-35. The point is the dramatic contrast between the large and small debts—and between the king’s compassion and the first slave’s lack of compassion. This verse explains why Jesus would require Peter to forgive “seventy times seven” (v. 22). He repeats the warning that he issued earlier in his Sermon on the Mount. One hundred denarii is one hundred days wages, a fairly large amount of money (thus we see that people can commit quite serious sins against us.) To keep track is not to forgive but is rather to record progress toward the day when we can quit forgiving. Regardless, Jesus is not inviting us to keep careful records, but is setting a standard that makes record keeping impractical. In that version, forgiveness is conditional on repentance. Use these free Bible lesson to teach kids in your Sunday School class the meaning of mercy and forgiveness. At the same time, He wants us to show true repentance. • If we forgive our brother or sister from the heart, how can we demand recompense for that which we have forgiven? Just imagine how frequently the cause of Christ is set back by our grudges and resentments. Over 50,000 words of in depth discovery questions, teaching points, and applications cover each chapter in 23 lessons. Is there anyone you need to forgive? Being corrected is painful, for it brings to mind how we have failed, especially how we have let down those we love. 23“Therefore the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who wanted to reconcile accounts with his servants. 22Jesus said to him, “I don’t tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven” (Greek: hebdomekontakis hepta). Also, seven is a holy number to Jewish people, symbolizing perfection or completion (Lockyer, 968). Matthew 7:21. 2 (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1957), Bergant, Dianne with Fragomeni, Richard, Preaching the New Lectionary, Year A (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 2001), Blomberg , Craig L., New American Commentary: Matthew, Vol. and Jesus answered, "Not seven times but seventy times seven" (Matthew 18:21-22). The situation is hopeless, but who can blame the slave for hoping. Sign up for our newsletter to receive your free Bible study E-book of Hebrews. 21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? 31“So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were exceedingly sorry (Greek: lupeo—full of sorrow), and came and told to their lord (Greek: kyrios—a word often used for Jesus as Lord) all that was done. We cannot imagine the first slave’s lack of compassion, given his recent narrow escape, but we must keep in mind that this is a contrived story in which everything is exaggerated for effect. In other words, he can expect to suffer at the hands of his tormentors throughout eternity. Does Jesus require that we place ourselves completely at the mercy of an uncaring and unrepentant sinner? The ASV, which is also in the public domain due to expired copyrights, was a very good translation, but included many archaic words (hast, shineth, etc. First, we received God’s forgiveness. (7-14) The removal of offences. Notes on Matthew 18 21-35. The penalty is severe for those who refuse to respond to the reconciliation process, but the process is designed, not to punish, but to open the eyes of the offender to the seriousness of the offense—and to bring him/her back into the fold.