Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
The lord's pity led him to release his servant and wipe out his debt completely, though the sum was enormous and beyond any power to repay, and he did not merely give more time but freely canceled it all. The king stands for Christ, and the debt stands for human guilt under the broken law with no power to save itself, so the pardon is God's supernatural forgiveness of all sin and transgression given freely through Christ at infinite cost. Those who receive such compassion must become compassionate themselves, forgiving others from the heart as they were forgiven, with tenderness, forbearance, patience and kindness in deeds. The parable was given to teach that forgiveness must not be limited to a set number of offenses, for refusing mercy after being so greatly forgiven brings revocation of pardon and judgment without mercy.
Parable Story and Meaning
The lord was moved with compassion toward his servant, loosed him and forgave him the debt. The king's response was release and forgiveness, freely canceling what was owed.
The debt was enormous and entire, an immense sum the servant owed. It was a large debt he could not repay and could never repay by his own power.
He did not merely grant more time to pay, but canceled the whole debt outright. The servant's plea brought mercy rather than payment or any equivalent in return. What was given was free cancellation, not an extension for earning it.
The king or lord is Christ, and it is the servant's plea for patience and mercy that compassion answers. The release comes as a response to that plea, with compassion meeting inability to pay.
The verse belongs to a kingdom-of-heaven parable of a king reckoning with his servants. It was given to teach that forgiveness must not be limited to a set number of offenses or become wearisome.
God's Free Forgiveness
The pardon is God's supernatural forgiveness of sin, extending even to all sin and transgression. The debt pictures humanity's guilt under the broken law, condemned and unable to save itself or to repay or earn pardon. That pardon is freely granted through Christ at infinite price, for Christ took humanity upon Himself and gave His life, the just for the unjust, to offer blood-bought pardon and to give His life for the unjust as an example of forbearance. The same free forgiveness made possible through Christ's sacrifice cancels the entire debt rather than merely granting more time.
The Lord who forgives is Christ the great Medical Missionary, who denied Himself every luxury, suffered and endured death on the cross despising the shame, poured out His soul unto death to save sinners while He would not save Himself, and descended to the lowest depths of humiliation so the forgiven might secure salvation and sit in heavenly places. The canceled debt brings relief from the ruin caused by unfaithfulness, and the Lord Jesus hears prayer and forgives the debt of sin with compassion that gives relief and courage and hope. Pardon is found by faith when sins are confessed with repentance and a humble walk with God, and the forgiveness corrects, purifies and saves, calling the corrected one to go forward in faith. The act illustrates Christ's mercy and the tenderness and forbearance He shows despite wickedness.
Forgiven People Must Forgive
Those who have been loosed and had a debt they could never repay or earn canceled must show the same compassion and forgiveness to others. The king's pity pictures supernatural pardon of all sin and transgression freely granted through Christ, and that mercy is meant to change character so the forgiven imitate God by forgiving from the heart as Christ forgives. The canceled debt lifts the ruin brought by unfaithfulness, and its tenderness and forbearance toward wickedness especially binds the forgiven to be compassionate toward the erring.
That response is tenderness, forbearance, love, pity, patience and kindness, not severity and exacting dealing with those who err. It must appear in deeds, freely giving as freely received, reflecting mercy instead of demanding strict justice with pride or oppression, and treating others as one wants God to treat oneself. Gratitude for forgiveness purchased at infinite price produces humility rather than harshness, and perfect love and compassion in reforming others begins with reform of self under Christ and then acting as brethren, with deep interest in the youth, earnest prayer with apprentices, and training them as Christ's property in daily practical life.
The duty holds in every relationship, and business dealings, including business with brethren, must reflect Christ's love, with love of neighbor as self governing conduct so that harsh treatment after being forgiven is not approved. A hard, cruel, self-superior spirit with harshness, lack of courtesy and a severe dictatorial manner wounds souls and destroys confidence, and until it is purged and transformed to compassion, courtesy and mercy, a man cannot represent Christ or safely handle sacred things. The greatness of the forgiveness makes later harshness especially wrong, as seen when the servant forgiven an enormous debt harshly demanded repayment of a much smaller debt, holding brethren strictly accountable for lesser wrongs instead of showing mercy and forbearance.
Refusal to show mercy after pardon leads to revocation of pardon, so a hard unsympathetic heart faces repayment. Those who condemn mercilessly and judge without mercy will themselves face justice without mercy. The compassionate release and forgiveness belongs to Christ's lesson that people reap what they sow.
Church Guidance and Leadership
Matthew 18 as a whole gives instruction for dealing with erring members of the church, directing that those who are in the wrong and fall into error and sin be approached with mercy and with a manifest desire to save them from ruin. The lord's being moved with compassion to loose his servant and forgive his debt is the model of that mercy toward one in the wrong. When that compassionate forgiveness is followed, Christ's love and grace can soften hard hearts and bring a heavenly spirit into the church.
The same mercy restores one who is in debt, and the lesson of the chapter heals dissension through accepting correction, repenting of wrongdoing, and showing kindness and love. The instruction of the chapter is to be carefully studied as a whole, hung in the chambers of the mind, kept in memory, often read and pondered and obeyed and woven into Christian experience. It shows how God's work is to be done, calling for self to be kept under the control of the great Teacher and for the Bible's teachings to be practiced. It is to shape how people treat one another, so that when it is fully followed the atmosphere in the family, the school, and the church will be different, whereas resentful and critical treatment of a fellow worker shows its teaching was not understood or followed.
Those in positions of responsibility are to practice that compassion rather than dominate those in God's care. They are to lead wisely and to serve with wisdom and humility rather than rule as lords, avoiding selfishness and overbearing conduct and setting an example that strengthens and protects God's people. God's will is that those who do His sacred work treat His children with compassion, courtesy and mercy, forgiving as the lord forgave the debt, instead of bringing harshness, lack of courtesy and a severe dictatorial manner that wounds and bruises souls and destroys confidence. Loving one's neighbor as oneself must therefore govern business with brethren, and unless a hard, cruel, self-superior spirit is purged and transformed, a man cannot represent Christ or safely handle sacred things.
There is to be no striving for supremacy, for in Christ's spiritual kingdom greatness is not position, outward splendor or authority, but spiritual excellence manifested in true conversion, learned continually from Christ in submission and obedience. The chapter stands as plain, decided, clear-cut written word against dissension, self-esteem, self-exaltation, strife for supremacy and for being highly esteemed by men, and criticism and faultfinding. Such criticism and faultfinding is the work of the devil, begun in the heavenly courts when Satan, admired for beauty and loveliness, suggested a change in the government of God for the advantage of the heavenly family. He won sympathy and assent by deception, putting his own thoughts in the minds of angels and then repeating them to the highest Authority as theirs, spreading suspicion and distrust of God and of one another without being detected, and starting strife and rebellion that God decisively ended by expelling the disloyal with the instigator of evil for the good of the loyal and true. Reading the chapter traces out the cause of that disaffection and its evil consequences.
Self interposed between professed Christians and God — self-sufficient planning, standing back on dignity, satisfaction in the deficiencies of brethren, perversity of spirit, fancied superiority of judgment and capabilities, and inward concealed strife for supremacy and to be first — grieves the Saviour and hinders the work. It turns men who ought to be a blessing into a curse that retards instead of advances the work, and this unsanctified element must be cleansed from the soul temple before the Lord can work manifesting His power and His grace. Learning the lesson brings present and eternal good as workers love as brethren and are tenderhearted, pitiful and courteous. As Jesus pitied and forgave Daniel's great sins, Daniel should forgive his brethren for lesser wrongs rather than hold them strictly accountable.
The words were spoken by Christ to His disciples to be put into daily practice, requiring that compassion, tenderness and love appear in deeds, with perfect love and compassion shown in reforming others. Applied to those in places of responsibility in the publishing work, this requires deep interest in the youth under their care, earnest prayer together with the apprentices, and educating and training them in remembrance that these youth are the property of Jesus Christ. It contains educating lessons of high and holy principles for the daily practical life, first to reform self under the one head Christ Jesus and then to act as brethren in reforming the youth.
Personal Obedience and Character
Christ's words in this chapter are spoken directly to each disciple to be put into daily, practical life as a learner in the school of Christ. They are educating lessons of high and holy principle that must be read and practiced, and every church member who claims to be converted must strictly obey these rules with practical obedience pledged in the presence of God and fellow believers. That practice begins with reforming self under the one head Christ Jesus, putting away retained defects of character and imaginings of an unsanctified mind, and then acting as brethren in reforming others. Applied to those in places of responsibility, it requires compassion, tenderness and love to appear in deeds, with perfect love and compassion shown in reforming others, deep interest in the youth under care, earnest prayer together with apprentices, and educating and training them in remembrance that these youth are the property of Jesus Christ.
Obedience means humbling oneself, taking oneself in hand and chastising oneself instead of criticizing and accusing brethren. It means obeying the holy law of God by loving God with all heart and soul and mind and strength and loving neighbor as self as the only terms for securing eternal life. It means cultivating the garden of the soul to remove every weed and tare, purifying thoughts by bringing them into captivity to Christ, ceasing to be occupied with weeds in the neighbor's garden, and ceasing to scatter words recklessly without careful consideration of their lodgment and result. The Lord's compassion in loosing and forgiving debt is discipline of the Word to reprimand and correct the selfish, unholy, hard and unforgiving spirit, and receiving this lesson brings daily humbling before God and overcoming of entertained temptations.
No man is fit to preach the Word or handle sacred things until he has received this lesson. Unless a hard, cruel, self-superior spirit is purged and transformed, a man cannot represent Christ or safely handle sacred things, for those who do His sacred work must treat His children with compassion, courtesy and mercy, forgiving as the lord forgave the debt, instead of wounding and bruising souls with harshness, lack of courtesy and a severe dictatorial manner that destroys confidence, and loving neighbor as self must govern dealings with brethren. The forgiven owe their Lord a sum that cannot be computed, for Christ denied Himself every luxury, suffered and endured death on the cross despising the shame, poured out His soul unto death to save sinners while He would not save Himself, and descended to the lowest depths of humiliation that the forgiven might secure salvation and sit in heavenly places. Awakening to that love puts extravagant outlay for worldly show to shame and requires becoming a producer and not a consumer by studying the Saviour's life and practicing His lessons of self-denial, without which there is no entrance to the courts of the blessed.
The lord's pity led him to release his servant and wipe out his debt completely, though the sum was enormous and beyond any power to repay, and he did not merely give more time but freely canceled it all. The king stands for Christ, and the debt stands for human guilt under the broken law with no power to save itself, so the pardon is God's supernatural forgiveness of all sin and transgression given freely through Christ at infinite cost. Those who receive such compassion must become compassionate themselves, forgiving others from the heart as they were forgiven, with tenderness, forbearance, patience and kindness in deeds. The parable was given to teach that forgiveness must not be limited to a set number of offenses, for refusing mercy after being so greatly forgiven brings revocation of pardon and judgment without mercy.
Parable Story and Meaning
The lord was moved with compassion toward his servant, loosed him and forgave him the debt. The king's response was release and forgiveness, freely canceling what was owed.
The debt was enormous and entire, an immense sum the servant owed. It was a large debt he could not repay and could never repay by his own power.
He did not merely grant more time to pay, but canceled the whole debt outright. The servant's plea brought mercy rather than payment or any equivalent in return. What was given was free cancellation, not an extension for earning it.
The king or lord is Christ, and it is the servant's plea for patience and mercy that compassion answers. The release comes as a response to that plea, with compassion meeting inability to pay.
The verse belongs to a kingdom-of-heaven parable of a king reckoning with his servants. It was given to teach that forgiveness must not be limited to a set number of offenses or become wearisome.
God's Free Forgiveness
The pardon is God's supernatural forgiveness of sin, extending even to all sin and transgression. The debt pictures humanity's guilt under the broken law, condemned and unable to save itself or to repay or earn pardon. That pardon is freely granted through Christ at infinite price, for Christ took humanity upon Himself and gave His life, the just for the unjust, to offer blood-bought pardon and to give His life for the unjust as an example of forbearance. The same free forgiveness made possible through Christ's sacrifice cancels the entire debt rather than merely granting more time.
The Lord who forgives is Christ the great Medical Missionary, who denied Himself every luxury, suffered and endured death on the cross despising the shame, poured out His soul unto death to save sinners while He would not save Himself, and descended to the lowest depths of humiliation so the forgiven might secure salvation and sit in heavenly places. The canceled debt brings relief from the ruin caused by unfaithfulness, and the Lord Jesus hears prayer and forgives the debt of sin with compassion that gives relief and courage and hope. Pardon is found by faith when sins are confessed with repentance and a humble walk with God, and the forgiveness corrects, purifies and saves, calling the corrected one to go forward in faith. The act illustrates Christ's mercy and the tenderness and forbearance He shows despite wickedness.
Forgiven People Must Forgive
Those who have been loosed and had a debt they could never repay or earn canceled must show the same compassion and forgiveness to others. The king's pity pictures supernatural pardon of all sin and transgression freely granted through Christ, and that mercy is meant to change character so the forgiven imitate God by forgiving from the heart as Christ forgives. The canceled debt lifts the ruin brought by unfaithfulness, and its tenderness and forbearance toward wickedness especially binds the forgiven to be compassionate toward the erring.
That response is tenderness, forbearance, love, pity, patience and kindness, not severity and exacting dealing with those who err. It must appear in deeds, freely giving as freely received, reflecting mercy instead of demanding strict justice with pride or oppression, and treating others as one wants God to treat oneself. Gratitude for forgiveness purchased at infinite price produces humility rather than harshness, and perfect love and compassion in reforming others begins with reform of self under Christ and then acting as brethren, with deep interest in the youth, earnest prayer with apprentices, and training them as Christ's property in daily practical life.
The duty holds in every relationship, and business dealings, including business with brethren, must reflect Christ's love, with love of neighbor as self governing conduct so that harsh treatment after being forgiven is not approved. A hard, cruel, self-superior spirit with harshness, lack of courtesy and a severe dictatorial manner wounds souls and destroys confidence, and until it is purged and transformed to compassion, courtesy and mercy, a man cannot represent Christ or safely handle sacred things. The greatness of the forgiveness makes later harshness especially wrong, as seen when the servant forgiven an enormous debt harshly demanded repayment of a much smaller debt, holding brethren strictly accountable for lesser wrongs instead of showing mercy and forbearance.
Refusal to show mercy after pardon leads to revocation of pardon, so a hard unsympathetic heart faces repayment. Those who condemn mercilessly and judge without mercy will themselves face justice without mercy. The compassionate release and forgiveness belongs to Christ's lesson that people reap what they sow.
Church Guidance and Leadership
Matthew 18 as a whole gives instruction for dealing with erring members of the church, directing that those who are in the wrong and fall into error and sin be approached with mercy and with a manifest desire to save them from ruin. The lord's being moved with compassion to loose his servant and forgive his debt is the model of that mercy toward one in the wrong. When that compassionate forgiveness is followed, Christ's love and grace can soften hard hearts and bring a heavenly spirit into the church.
The same mercy restores one who is in debt, and the lesson of the chapter heals dissension through accepting correction, repenting of wrongdoing, and showing kindness and love. The instruction of the chapter is to be carefully studied as a whole, hung in the chambers of the mind, kept in memory, often read and pondered and obeyed and woven into Christian experience. It shows how God's work is to be done, calling for self to be kept under the control of the great Teacher and for the Bible's teachings to be practiced. It is to shape how people treat one another, so that when it is fully followed the atmosphere in the family, the school, and the church will be different, whereas resentful and critical treatment of a fellow worker shows its teaching was not understood or followed.
Those in positions of responsibility are to practice that compassion rather than dominate those in God's care. They are to lead wisely and to serve with wisdom and humility rather than rule as lords, avoiding selfishness and overbearing conduct and setting an example that strengthens and protects God's people. God's will is that those who do His sacred work treat His children with compassion, courtesy and mercy, forgiving as the lord forgave the debt, instead of bringing harshness, lack of courtesy and a severe dictatorial manner that wounds and bruises souls and destroys confidence. Loving one's neighbor as oneself must therefore govern business with brethren, and unless a hard, cruel, self-superior spirit is purged and transformed, a man cannot represent Christ or safely handle sacred things.
There is to be no striving for supremacy, for in Christ's spiritual kingdom greatness is not position, outward splendor or authority, but spiritual excellence manifested in true conversion, learned continually from Christ in submission and obedience. The chapter stands as plain, decided, clear-cut written word against dissension, self-esteem, self-exaltation, strife for supremacy and for being highly esteemed by men, and criticism and faultfinding. Such criticism and faultfinding is the work of the devil, begun in the heavenly courts when Satan, admired for beauty and loveliness, suggested a change in the government of God for the advantage of the heavenly family. He won sympathy and assent by deception, putting his own thoughts in the minds of angels and then repeating them to the highest Authority as theirs, spreading suspicion and distrust of God and of one another without being detected, and starting strife and rebellion that God decisively ended by expelling the disloyal with the instigator of evil for the good of the loyal and true. Reading the chapter traces out the cause of that disaffection and its evil consequences.
Self interposed between professed Christians and God — self-sufficient planning, standing back on dignity, satisfaction in the deficiencies of brethren, perversity of spirit, fancied superiority of judgment and capabilities, and inward concealed strife for supremacy and to be first — grieves the Saviour and hinders the work. It turns men who ought to be a blessing into a curse that retards instead of advances the work, and this unsanctified element must be cleansed from the soul temple before the Lord can work manifesting His power and His grace. Learning the lesson brings present and eternal good as workers love as brethren and are tenderhearted, pitiful and courteous. As Jesus pitied and forgave Daniel's great sins, Daniel should forgive his brethren for lesser wrongs rather than hold them strictly accountable.
The words were spoken by Christ to His disciples to be put into daily practice, requiring that compassion, tenderness and love appear in deeds, with perfect love and compassion shown in reforming others. Applied to those in places of responsibility in the publishing work, this requires deep interest in the youth under their care, earnest prayer together with the apprentices, and educating and training them in remembrance that these youth are the property of Jesus Christ. It contains educating lessons of high and holy principles for the daily practical life, first to reform self under the one head Christ Jesus and then to act as brethren in reforming the youth.
Personal Obedience and Character
Christ's words in this chapter are spoken directly to each disciple to be put into daily, practical life as a learner in the school of Christ. They are educating lessons of high and holy principle that must be read and practiced, and every church member who claims to be converted must strictly obey these rules with practical obedience pledged in the presence of God and fellow believers. That practice begins with reforming self under the one head Christ Jesus, putting away retained defects of character and imaginings of an unsanctified mind, and then acting as brethren in reforming others. Applied to those in places of responsibility, it requires compassion, tenderness and love to appear in deeds, with perfect love and compassion shown in reforming others, deep interest in the youth under care, earnest prayer together with apprentices, and educating and training them in remembrance that these youth are the property of Jesus Christ.
Obedience means humbling oneself, taking oneself in hand and chastising oneself instead of criticizing and accusing brethren. It means obeying the holy law of God by loving God with all heart and soul and mind and strength and loving neighbor as self as the only terms for securing eternal life. It means cultivating the garden of the soul to remove every weed and tare, purifying thoughts by bringing them into captivity to Christ, ceasing to be occupied with weeds in the neighbor's garden, and ceasing to scatter words recklessly without careful consideration of their lodgment and result. The Lord's compassion in loosing and forgiving debt is discipline of the Word to reprimand and correct the selfish, unholy, hard and unforgiving spirit, and receiving this lesson brings daily humbling before God and overcoming of entertained temptations.
No man is fit to preach the Word or handle sacred things until he has received this lesson. Unless a hard, cruel, self-superior spirit is purged and transformed, a man cannot represent Christ or safely handle sacred things, for those who do His sacred work must treat His children with compassion, courtesy and mercy, forgiving as the lord forgave the debt, instead of wounding and bruising souls with harshness, lack of courtesy and a severe dictatorial manner that destroys confidence, and loving neighbor as self must govern dealings with brethren. The forgiven owe their Lord a sum that cannot be computed, for Christ denied Himself every luxury, suffered and endured death on the cross despising the shame, poured out His soul unto death to save sinners while He would not save Himself, and descended to the lowest depths of humiliation that the forgiven might secure salvation and sit in heavenly places. Awakening to that love puts extravagant outlay for worldly show to shame and requires becoming a producer and not a consumer by studying the Saviour's life and practicing His lessons of self-denial, without which there is no entrance to the courts of the blessed.