Matthew 18:21-19:1 Lesson 36

Matthew 18:21-19:1 Lesson 36

Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."

In this lesson

Lesson 35 contines.
Forgiveness and mercy.
The forgiven debtor who wouldn't forgive others.

Between this passage and lesson 40 (verse 20:34), Matthew concentrates on
Jesus' trip to Calvary and crucifixion.
Because Jesus traveled through Perea and Judea on His way to Jerusalem, many
Bible scholars refer to this as the Perean-Jedean Ministry. This trip took about four months.

Mark covers this ministry in verses 10:1-52, Luke in 9:51-19:27, and John in 7:3-12:12.

Study Tip:

Find the truth in each passage. Ponder how that truth is relevant to you. Determine what you can do to apply that truth into your life.

The Gospel According to St. Matthew

The King James Bible

Matthew 18:21-19:1
A lesson in forgiveness

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.

Matthew: Chapter 19:1

1 And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan;

Margin notes:

"Until seventy times seven." (18:22) - Jesus tells us to keep forgiving, if our malefactor repents (Luke 17:3-4).

"Which would take account of his servants." (18:23) - Means the king "wanted to settle accounts with his servants" that owed him money.

"Reckon." (18:24) - "Settle up."

"Ten thousand talents." (18:24) - A talent was the highest number in Greek mathematics.  In today's money, the value of 10,000 talents is in the millions of dollars, far more than a servant could pay, which is Jesus' point.  Just as the servant could never repay the debt and needed the king to be merciful, mankind is incapable of repaying our debt to God and must rely on His mercy to forgive our sins. See "Today's Question" below.

"He had not to pay." (18:25) - "He wasn't able to repay."

"Loosed him, and forgave him the debt." (18:27) - "Released him and forgave the debt." Just as God forgives our debt.

"Owed him an hundred pence." (18:28) - Jesus is comparing mankind's sins against God with the small wrongs committed against us. Although the king forgave a massive debt, this man wouldn't forgive a small one.

"Pay me that thou owest." (18:28) - "Pay what you owe me."

"Besought him." (18:29) - "Begged him."

"Prison." (18:30) - Placing debtors in prison served as a punishment and a warning to others. Debtors could also have their property confiscated or be forced to perform hard labor to repay their creditor. Sometimes the debtor or his sons were pressed into slavery (2 Kings 4:1).  If a debtor had money hidden away, the threat of prison or slavery usually convinced them to produce it.

"They were very sorry." (18:31) - "They were very distraught."

"Because thou desiredst me." (18:32) - "Because you asked me to."

"His lord was wroth." (18:34) - "The king was angry."

"Delivered him to the tormentors." (18:34) - "Delivered him to the jailers."

"Came into the coasts of Judaea." (19:1) - "Went to the region of Judea."

New Living Translation

Matthew 18:21-19:1
Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor

21 Then Peter came to him and asked, "Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?"

22 "No, not seven times," Jesus replied, "but seventy times seven!

23 "Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him.

24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.

25 He couldn't pay, so his master ordered that he be sold-along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned-to pay the debt.

26 "But the man fell down before his master and begged him, 'Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.'

27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.

28 "But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.

29 "His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. 'Be patient with me, and I will pay it,' he pleaded.

30 But his creditor wouldn't wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.

31 "When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened.

32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, 'You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me.

33 Shouldn't you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?'

34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.

35 "That's what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart."

Matthew 19:1

1 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went down to the region of Judea east of the Jordan River.

This second Bible text from the "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word for word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."

Today's Question:

1. What is the lesson of this parable?

The crucial part of Bible study is applying what you learn into your life.

Answer: (Do you agree?)

1. The lesson of this parable is that if you seek forgiveness, you must give forgiveness.

Application thought for the day:

In Jesus' time, a wronged person was expected to forgive another up to three times. However, Jesus changed that when He told Peter to forgive others no matter how often they sinned (18:21-22), which is precisely what God does!

Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series" published by NavPress Books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; "The Quest Study Bible" published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies"; "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers published by Barbour publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course the "King James Bible." All were critical in putting these lessons together.
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