18:29Matthew 18:29

The verse pictures a fellow servant falling at the feet of the servant who demands payment, begging for patience and promising to pay all he owes, in words that echo the first servant's own plea to his lord.COL 243.1+4 His debt is only a hundred pence, a small sum owed to a fellow servant, in stark contrast to the ten thousand talents just cancelled for the first servant.Ms 11, 1888, par. 39–41+2 The plea is met with no mercy but refusal, harsh demand for strict repayment, and imprisonment.ST May 11, 1915+2 Those who have received God's mercy for a far greater debt must therefore show the same compassion and forgive others from the heart, with tenderness, patience and forbearance rather than severity and harshness.COL 243.1+4 God's pardon is received only by those who forgive, and it is revoked from the one who will not forgive, for those who judge without mercy will themselves face justice without mercy.ST Dec 14, 1882+3

The fellow servant falls down at the feet of the servant who is pressing him for payment, begging for patience and promising to pay all that he owes.COL 243.1+4 The scene shows the debtor pleading for forbearance and time to repay, while the one who had himself been forgiven a far greater debt refuses to show him mercy.COL 243.1+4 The refusal stands in direct contrast to the compassion just received, teaching that mercy received calls for mercy shown.COL 243.1+4

His plea for patience and time to pay echoes in substance and often in the very same words the first servant's own plea to his lord and king for patience.ST May 11, 1915+4 The fellow servant asks for time to repay a small debt with the same appeal for patience that the servant whose much greater debt had been forgiven had used before the king.ST May 11, 1915+4 That repetition makes the second appeal a mirror of the first, promise to pay and all.Ms 11, 1888, par. 39–41+4

The debt in the verse is only a hundred pence, a small amount owed to a fellow servant.Ms 11, 1888, par. 39–41+4 It stands in stark contrast to the ten thousand talents, the vastly greater and enormous debt that had just been cancelled for the first servant.Ms 11, 1888, par. 39–41+4 The one forgiven great sins yet holds another strictly accountable for a far lesser wrong, even when help had been given.Ms 11, 1888, par. 39–41+4

The plea receives no mercy but refusal, harsh demand for strict repayment, and imprisonment.ST May 11, 1915+4 The fellow servant is refused compassion and cast into prison instead of being shown forbearance.ST May 11, 1915+4 In so doing the forgiven debtor keeps the small amount owed to him in mind and carries out a sentence like the one the king had revoked for him, and for that unforgiving course the pardon he had received is revoked.ST May 11, 1915+4

The plea tests the true spirit of the forgiven man, whether he will manifest the same forgiveness and mercy shown toward him or prove selfish with an unsoftened heart.Ms 11, 1888, par. 39–41+1 Its rejection proves an unforgiving heart that will show no mercy for a small debt after receiving pardon for a great one.Ms 11, 1888, par. 39–41+1 The treatment of that appeal pictures those forgiven much who yet reveal an unforgiving spirit toward others.Ms 11, 1888, par. 39–41+1

The fellow servant's falling down to beg for patience and promise full repayment repeats in substance and wording the first servant's own plea to his lord and king, yet it meets refusal instead of compassion.COL 243.1+4 The contrast is deliberate, for the one who had been forgiven a far greater debt would not show mercy for the small debt, and the lesson is that those who have received such forgiveness must forgive others.COL 243.1+4 Christ's followers are therefore to deal with others in love and forgiveness rather than harshness, showing the forbearance and compassion they themselves received.Ms 89, 1898, par. 14–16+3 Those forgiven by God must forgive from the heart, showing mercy instead of demanding strict repayment.Ms 143, 1905, par. 6–10+1

That forgiveness means tenderness, patience, love, kindness, forbearance, and compassion toward the erring.12MR 290.1–291.1+2 It forbids being severe or exacting toward those who err, and forbids criticizing and condemning them.12MR 290.1–291.1+1 It forbids dealing harshly with the erring, answering a brother's plea with harshness, resentment, or revenge by those who depend on the mercy of the sin-pardoning Saviour.Ms 1, 1880, par. 62–65+1 It forbids condemning others without showing them the compassion one wants to receive, since God judges people by how they treat others.Lt 10a, 1885, par. 6–7

A person is to treat a fellow human being with the same forbearance and compassion the king showed his debtor.Ms 89, 1898, par. 17–18 The erring are to be treated as one would wish to be treated and as the Saviour has treated the offender.Ms 103, 1894, par. 4–5 The plea for patience and time to repay is the measure of that treatment, and to refuse it is to refuse the mercy one has received.Ms 89, 1898, par. 17–18+2

A fellow believer's debt is to be forgiven as an act of obedience to God and as one hopes God will forgive one's own indebtedness.Lt 111, 1886, par. 6–9 God's pardon and grace are received only by those who forgive others from the heart.ST Dec 14, 1882 The pardon once received is revoked from the one who will not forgive his fellow servant.ST Dec 14, 1882

The fellow servant's falling down and begging for patience with the promise to pay all repeats in substance the plea the first servant himself had just made, yet this second plea meets refusal instead of mercy.ST May 11, 1915+1 The promise to repay everything betrays a mistaken hope that the debt can be met by personal effort.ST May 11, 1915+1 It shows a failure to recognize helplessness before God and the true greatness of the debt owed.ST May 11, 1915+1 That same lack of humility is found in those who try to earn God's favor by their own works instead of receiving grace as a free gift, and it leaves them self-righteous, exacting, and unforgiving toward others.ST May 11, 1915+1

Every person owes the Lord a sum that cannot be computed.Lt 38, 1901, par. 13–15 The measure of that debt is what Christ gave, for as the great Medical Missionary He denied Himself every luxury and suffered to secure salvation, enduring death on the cross while despising the shame.Lt 38, 1901, par. 13–15 He poured out His soul unto death to save, would not save Himself, and descended to the lowest depths of humiliation so that sinners might sit in heavenly places.Lt 38, 1901, par. 13–15 Such love puts to shame extravagant outlay for worldly show.Lt 38, 1901, par. 13–15 It demands awakening to obligation to God, becoming a producer and not merely a consumer, and studying the Saviour's life and practicing His lessons, without which there is no entrance into the courts of the blessed.Lt 38, 1901, par. 13–15

The fellow servant's plea for patience and promise to repay is met not with mercy but with refusal, and that refusal stands as the picture of mercilessness.Lt 71, 1895, par. 7+1 It warns that those who judge without mercy will themselves face justice without mercy.Lt 71, 1895, par. 7 God judges people by how they treat others, so condemning others without showing them the compassion one wants to receive brings condemnation upon oneself.Lt 71, 1895, par. 7+1

The chapter to which this plea belongs teaches as its lesson that people reap what they sow.Lt 202, 1902, par. 7

The lesson of Matthew 18 must be studied and brought into practical life, for without practicing it no one will ever enter the kingdom of heaven.Ms 143, 1899, par. 6–7 It forbids despising one of the little ones whose angels behold the Father's face.Ms 143, 1899, par. 6–7 It reveals the Father's will that not one of the little ones should perish, shown in seeking the straying sheep and rejoicing when it is found.Ms 143, 1899, par. 6–7 Christ came to a world seared and marred with the curse to meet humanity and to uplift the degraded and fallen and outcast, and His followers are called to practice that same compassion and patience toward their fellows.Ms 143, 1899, par. 6–7 The masterly spirit that lords it over God's heritage is what is closing the gates of heaven to men.Ms 143, 1899, par. 6–7

Matthew 18, including this plea for patience, belongs to practical instruction to be hung in the chambers of the mind, to be often read and pondered and obeyed and woven into Christian experience, and to be carefully studied in connection with correcting wrongs in the church and seeking to save a person from ruin.Ms 112, 1904, par. 12–14+1 It teaches obedience to the holy law of loving God with all heart and soul and mind and strength and loving neighbor as self as the only terms for securing eternal life.Ms 40, 1896, par. 12–13 It calls each person to cultivate the garden of the soul, to remove every weed and tare sown by Satan during neglect caused by being occupied in finding weeds in a neighbor's garden, to take one's own garden under one's own stewardship, to purify one's own thoughts by bringing them into captivity to Christ, and not to scatter words recklessly without careful consideration of their lodgment and result.Ms 40, 1896, par. 12–13 The chapter's directions about dealing with those who fall into error and sin show that the church has a duty to address wrongdoing through an ordered process.Lt 32, 1892, par. 29–30 Those who cause dissension should receive reproof, turn from their wrong course, and seek reconciliation, since refusing correction leaves alienation unhealed and harms God's work.Lt 360, 1905, par. 15–16

The verse gives positive instruction for all who claim to be disciples of the meek and lowly Jesus, showing the principles upon which to act in all cases and under all circumstances, with no striving for supremacy, because in Christ's spiritual kingdom greatness is not position, outward splendor or authority but spiritual excellence manifested in true conversion.Lt 64, 1900, par. 1–3 It belongs to Jesus' teaching about humility and concern for others, calling for humbling self before God, turning from self, and showing sympathy and love to others, especially through personal effort for those outside Christ.RH May 18, 1876+1 It belongs to the lessons a learner in Christ's school and a minister humbling himself before God must practice by overcoming selfish, unchristian traits.Lt 48a, 1900, par. 3–4 Self-sufficiency, standing back on dignity when judgment and capabilities are not appreciated, taking satisfaction in the deficiencies of brethren, and inward concealed and outward manifest strife to be first and supreme must be cleansed from the soul temple, for until this unsanctified element is removed the Saviour's Spirit is grieved and His power and grace cannot work, and men who ought to be a blessing become a hindrance that retards the work.Ms 26, 1889, par. 15–17

The scene of the fellow servant pleading for patience and promising repayment bears on how followers of Christ should treat one another and avoid the wrongs that dishonor God and harm His cause, with lessons to be learned for present and eternal good in loving fellow believers and being tenderhearted, compassionate, and courteous.ST Sep 19, 1900+1 Understanding and following that instruction is necessary for conduct that honors God and supports unity in shared work.Lt 1, 1899, par. 6–7 God does not desire any man to draw apart from his brethren, so lack of love, the desire to hinder and repress one doing a good work, accusing one another, seeking removal of a fellow worker from office, thinking and speaking evil, and devising plans to separate brethren are forbidden as the enemy's devices that grieve the Spirit and show Christ is not dwelling in the heart, and believers must give no place to the enemy, refuse to think or speak evil, and meet and condemn divisive plans with strong portions of the Word.Lt 31, 1903, par. 4–5 Criticism and faultfinding are expressly the work of the devil and are to be met with a plain it is written, for read with the rest of Matthew 18 the verse traces out the cause of disaffection and its evil consequences.Lt 107a, 1900, par. 2–3 That work began in the heavenly courts when Satan sought sympathy for the claim he could do wonderful things if not hampered by the law, suggested to angels a change in God's government for the advantage of the heavenly family, secured assent by deceiving one and another while appearing in harmony with God and the Prince of heaven, repeated to the highest Authority the disaffection he himself had originated, and covered his tracks so that suspicion and distrust came in without detection, until rebellion had to be met by God's decision and for the good of the loyal the disloyal were expelled with the instigator of evil.Lt 107a, 1900, par. 2–3

Men standing in positions of responsibility and trust must carry out the instruction in Matthew 18 by not acting as lords nor thinking they can rule as kings, but by being men of wisdom able to give counsel that will protect and strengthen God's people, hating every vestige of selfishness, showing a broad mind, and setting an example that may be safely followed.18MR 182.3–4 Position gives no liberty to speak impatiently or boastfully or to act in an overbearing manner, for failure here imperils the progress of the cause and sets a misleading example before all within the sphere of influence, and the standard Christ has uplifted must be honored and not allowed to trail in the dust by scolding, fretting, and acting like spoiled children.18MR 182.3–4 Those who handle sacred work must treat God's children with courtesy, kindness, and mercy, not with harshness, severity, and a dictatorial manner that wounds and bruises souls and causes loss of confidence, putting away self-superiority and a hard, cruel spirit and loving neighbor as self in order to represent Christ and be fit to handle sacred things.Lt 58, 1901, par. 18–19

Every individual who has had light upon the truth must read this message from Christ to answer what he is doing while Christ and angels are at work, becoming converted and Christian in practice, obeying the truth, and entering real union with Christ in ministerial service, uniting with angels as whole-hearted servants to help needy souls to repentance, to win souls, to enlighten the ignorant, and to relieve the oppressed, and not remaining timid and inactive or perplexing the weak in faith.Ms 29, 1900, par. 29–30 As stewards and workers the work is to be done by keeping self under the control of the great Teacher, properly representing truth in all its lines, giving the ministry its rightful place and ample room to teach men, women, and children and to understand the work for this time, discerning God's claims, and studying the Bible with intense interest and practicing its teachings, which brings less of human wisdom and more of God's wisdom and saves time and strength.Ms 34, 1900, par. 1–2 Those in responsibility in the publishing work must first reform with hearts broken before God, united as branches in the same vine under Christ, with Christ formed within, hearing with sanctified ears and seeing with sanctified eyes and speaking with sanctified tongues, so that the softening influence of Jesus becomes as natural as breath in showing perfect love and compassion while reforming youth with deep interest, earnest prayer, and training as Christ's property, with educating lessons of compassion, tenderness, and love especially toward youth.Lt 37a, 1900, par. 18–20 When followed, this instruction brings a different spirit into families, schools, and churches.Ms 107, 1903, par. 8–10 In the home it means that a hardhearted husband who blames his wife and his brethren for trials resulting from his own unconverted heart owes his erring wife the same pity, love, and long-suffering patience God and Christ have shown his many sins, a love that suffers long and is kind, tender, and pitiful, and unless the heart is melted by falling upon the Rock and becoming broken, dying to self and becoming renewed as a new man, the Lord will repay neglect, faultfinding, and cruelty, for such a spirit could never dwell in heaven.Lt 30, 1895, par. 7–8

The parable of the king and his servants is introduced as a declaration about the kingdom of heaven in connection with a warning against judging and ruling others.SPBC 170.3–4