NOTES for Mat 18:15-35
15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. |
16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. |
17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. |
18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. |
19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. |
20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. |
21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? |
22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. |
23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. |
24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. |
25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. |
26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. |
27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. |
28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. |
29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. |
30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. |
31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. |
32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: |
33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? |
34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. |
35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. |
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The parable emphasizes the immeasurability of our mutual debts and God's forgiveness: ten thousand talents is a million times more than a hundred denarii, and there is simply no such numeral in the Greek language. It is as if, having received an apartment as a gift, we were to take a ruble away from some beggar, though even more grand comparisons could be invented. On the other hand, a debt of a hundred denarii is also a sum: the offense inflicted by those close to us can be very bitter.
We all owe one another something; all of us, in one way or another, hurt others and are hurt. But when God enters the tangled, complicated ball of our mutual grievances and old debts, He disrupts the whole moral and material balance of our human relationships. This happens when, in the face of misfortune, our disagreements and quarrels grow pale, or when on a deathbed life acquires such seriousness that grievances and the wounds we have inflicted on one another come to seem absurd.
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