Matthewchapter 18
35 verses · Matthew, by tradition · AD 50 to 65 · The Gospels
Key verse
Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
It stands in Greatest in the Kingdom; the One Sheep That Wandered, verses 1 to 14.
The chapter
Chapter summary
Discourse 4. Community in the kingdom. Who is the greatest. The child received. Offense and the cutting off of the hand. The lost sheep. Church discipline. Between two, before witnesses, before the church. Peter's question and the parable of the unforgiving servant: 'until seventy times seven.'
Context
Gospel · Matthew · Matthew overview
The world of this chapter
- Who
- Jewish believers who had to work out how to hold a community together
- Where
- Capernaum, indoors, with the disciples arguing about rank
- When
- The Galilean ministry. c. AD 29
Historical context
Children had no standing to lose. They were loved, but they were legally and socially at the bottom, no rank, no rights, no honour to trade on. Setting one in the middle of a rank dispute was not sentimental; it was deliberately deflating.
The procedure for handling an offence follows Jewish legal practice closely. The requirement of two or three witnesses comes straight from Deuteronomy, and the final step of treating the unrepentant as an outsider mirrors the synagogue's own discipline, which could exclude a member from the congregation.
The debt in the parable is calculated to be absurd. Ten thousand talents was an unimaginable sum, Josephus records that the entire annual tax revenue of Galilee and Perea together ran to a small fraction of it. No servant could ever have owed it, and that is the joke.
The second debt is real and small: a hundred denarii, about a hundred days' wages for a labourer. Debt slavery was legal, a man, his wife, and his children could be sold to recover what he owed, and the jailers handed the debtor to at the end were expected to squeeze payment out of his family.
Significance
Peter's offer to forgive seven times was generous by the standards of his day; the usual teaching suggested three. The answer effectively removes the counter.
For scattered congregations already fracturing over grievances, this chapter was the working constitution. Go to the brother privately first. Bring witnesses only if you must. And remember which debt in the story is yours.
Where the chapter sits
Matthew 18 falls in Community in the Kingdom (chapters 18). Discourse 4: greatness, forgiveness.
Before it: Parables of the Kingdom, chapters 13. After it: Olivet Discourse, chapters 24–25.
The whole shape of Matthew→The structure of this chapter
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Greatest in the Kingdom; the One Sheep That Wandered
Who is the greatest: in the kingdom of heaven opens the discourse on the disciples' own ambition, likely still carrying the temple-tax episode and Peter's place among the twelve. Jesus answers not with an argument but with an object lesson, calling a little child and setting him in the midst of them, so the whole chapter teaches from a child standing where every eye can see him. The commentators note that a child in that culture had no status to claim and no rank to defend, which is exactly the point the disciples had missed.
Matthew 18:1
“At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus,.... When the receivers of the half shekel had spoke to Peter about his master's paying it, and Christ and he had conversed about it, by whose orders he had taken up a fish out of the sea, and from it a piece of money, which he had paid for them both; just at this time came the other eleven disciples to the house where Christ and Peter were: saying, who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
1 more voice on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Matthew 18:1
“See also Mar 9:33-41; Luk 9:46-50. Who is the greatest in the kingdom, of heaven? - By the kingdom of heaven they meant the kingdom which they supposed he was about to set up - his kingdom as the Messiah. They asked the question because they supposed, in accordance with the common expectation of the Jews, that he was about to set up a temporal kingdom of great splendor, and they wished to know who should have the principal offices, and posts of honor and profit. This was among them a frequent subject of inquiry and controversy.”
Matthew 18:2
And Jesus called a little child unto him,.... One, very likely, that was in the house, and might belong to the master of it, and which was big enough to come to him at his call. Some have thought that this was Ignatius the martyr, but without any foundation. His own words, in his epistle to the church at Smyrna (y), can give no countenance to it; where he says, "for I also know, that after his resurrection he was in the flesh, and I believe that he is."
Except ye be converted: , and become as little children states a condition, not a compliment, and the bench reads it against the disciples' ambition rather than as praise of childish innocence. A child's qualifying trait is dependence, not sinlessness, since he brings nothing to secure his place but trusts entirely to the one who receives him. Humbling himself as this little child, not merely resembling one, is what makes a man greatest in the kingdom, the standard exactly inverted from Rome's and from the disciples' own dispute on the road.
Matthew 18:3
“One whose tender age should express to them the innocence which they should have. But truly He set Himself in the midst of them, a little one who had come not to be ministered unto, but to minister; (Mat. 20:28.) that He might be a pattern of holiness. Others interpret the little one of the Holy Spirit, whom He set in the hearts of His disciples, to change their pride into humility. (Vid. Origen. in loc.) And he said.”
Jerome· written before 420· Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Matthew 18:4
“Or otherwise; Whoso shall humble himself as this little child, that is, whoso shall humble himself after My example, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. It follows, And whoso receiveth one such little one in my name, receiveth me.”
Jerome· written before 420· Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
4 more voices on this verse
Matthew 18:4
“Whosoever therefore shall humble himself - So great is the disparity between the kingdom of Christ and the kingdoms of this world, that there is no way of rising to honors in the former, but by humility of mind, and continual self-abasement.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Matthew 18:4
“Note, The humblest Christians are the best Christians, and most like to Christ, and highest in his favour; are best disposed for the communications of divine grace, and fittest to serve God in this world, and enjoy him in another.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Matthew 18:4
“The Lord teaches that we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven unless we revert to the nature of children, that is, we must recall into the simplicity of children the vices of the body and mind. He has called children all who believe through the faith of listening. For children follow their father, love their mother, do not know how to wish ill on their neighbor, show no concern for wealth, are not proud, do not hate, do not lie, believe what has been said and hold what they hear as truth.”
Hilary of Poitiers· written before 367· Commentary on Matthew 18.1patristic
Matthew 18:4
“Hyperichius said, 'The tree of life is high, and humility climbs it.'”
Desert Fathers· written before 500· The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monkspatristic
receiveth me: Whoso receiveth one such little child in my name receiveth me widens the child from the object lesson of verses 2 to 4 into the whole company of the little ones the chapter now names, a thread that runs to 25:40's least of these my brethren. Against that welcome stands the millstone saying, a heaviness Matthew's readers would have felt exactly, since a millstone hung about the neck and drowning in the sea was a punishment Rome itself did not use on citizens, reserved for slaves and traitors. The bench takes the severity as deliberate: causing one of these little ones to stumble is weighed by Jesus at the very highest penalty language available to him.
Matthew 18:5
“And whoso shall receive one such little child,.... Which is to be understood, not literally but metaphorically; meaning not such an one in age, but one, as the Syriac renders it, איך טליא דנא, "that is as this child": like unto it for modesty and humility; one, that is as that, free from pride, ambition, and envy.”
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 18:5
One such little child - As our Lord in the preceding verses considers a little child an emblem of a genuine disciple, so by the term in this verse he means a disciple only. “Whosoever will receive, i.e. show unto such a child-like, unambitious disciple of mine, any act of kindness for my sake, I will consider it as done to myself.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Matthew 18:6
“The sin is so heinous, and the ruin proportionably so great, that he had better undergo the sorest punishments inflicted on the worst of malefactors, which can only kill the body. Hell is worse than the depth of the sea; for it is a bottomless pit, and it is a burning lake.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Woe unto the world: because of offences holds two things together without softening either: it must needs be that offences come, a statement of certainty in a fallen world, and woe to that man by whom the offence cometh, a statement of personal responsibility that the certainty does not erase. The commentators read this as Jesus refusing both extremes, neither excusing the offender because temptation is inevitable nor pretending the world's brokenness removes anyone's culpability for adding to it. The Greek skandalon behind offence is a snare's trigger-stick, the very mechanism of a trap, naming precisely what causing a little one to stumble is.
Matthew 18:7
“Woe unto the world because of offences - That is, offences will be the cause of woe or of suffering. Offences, here, mean things that will produce sin: that will cause us to sin, or temptations to induce others to sin. See the notes at Mat 5:29. It must needs be ... - That is, such is the depravity of man that there will be always some who are attempting to make others sin; some people of wickedness endeavoring to lead Christians astray, and rejoicing when they have succeeded in causing them to fall.”
cut them off: repeats language Jesus already gave in the Sermon at 5:29-30, and the bench reads both occurrences the same way, as hyperbole aimed at the seriousness of sin rather than a command to literal mutilation, since a man who plucked out one eye would still lust with the other. What the hand or foot or eye pictures is anything a man values as his own member, however close, that leads him into sin, and the everlasting fire and hell fire named here are the chapter's plainest words on the reality of final loss. The point sits directly against verse 6, hand in hand with it: the severity Jesus applies to causing a little one to offend, he applies with equal force to guarding one's own soul from the same snare.
Matthew 18:8
“So all affection, our whole kindred, are severed from us; lest under cover of duty any believer should be exposed to offence. If, He says, he be united to thee as close as is thy hand, or foot, or eye, and is useful to thee, anxious and quick to discern, and yet causes thee offence, and is by the unmeetness of his behaviour drawing thee into hell; it is better for thee that thou lack his kindred, and his profitableness to thee, than that whilst thou seekest to gain thy kindred or friends, thou shouldest have cause of fallings.”
Jerome· written before 420· Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 18:8
“Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot,.... The same words are repeated here on occasion of offences, as are spoken by Christ, Mat 5:29 on account of unchaste looks, desires and lusts: giving offence to Christ's disciples, or endeavouring, by any means whatever, to cause them to stumble and fall, is equally gratifying the flesh, and no more to be indulged, than the other, on pain of eternal damnation. See Gill on Mat 5:29, Mat 5:30.”
Matthew 18:9
If somebody, in the whole body of the congregations of the church, is industrious and handy for practical action and he changes and his hand causes him to sin, the eye should say to this hand, "I have no need of you." And after it has said it, let him cut it off and throw it from him. All will still be well if his head is still blessed and his feet worthy of his blessed head, so that the head, doing its duty, may not be able to say to the feet, "I have no need of you."
Origen of Alexandria· written before 253· COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 13.24patristic
despise not one of these little ones: grounds the warning in heaven's own regard for them, their angels do always behold the face of my Father, a phrase the bench connects to the ancient picture of attending angels who stand in the divine presence on behalf of those they are given to watch. Verse 11, for the Son of man is come to save that which was lost, is absent from a number of early manuscripts and most modern translations bracket it as likely drawn in from Luke 19:10; the KJV floor carries it and the exposition notes its manuscript standing honestly rather than silently. Either way the thought fits the chapter exactly, since what heaven guards, the Son of man came to seek.
Matthew 18:10
“Probably our Lord means that, in virtue of their charge over His disciples (Heb 1:13; Joh 1:51), the angels have errands to the throne, a welcome there, and a dear familiarity in dealing with "His Father which is in heaven," which on their own matters they could not assume.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Note on the text · Matthew 18:11
A much-loved sentence that the earliest manuscripts of Matthew do not contain, because it belongs, word for word, to Luke 19:10.
The witnesses, and what each reads here
- Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus · 4th centuryNo verse 11, verse 10 is followed directly by the parable in verse 12.
- The Byzantine majority of Greek manuscripts · 9th, 15th centuries"For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost."
- Latin and Syriac witnesses · 4th, 7th centuriesDivided; several of the earlier ones lack it.
- Luke 19:10, in every witness · All periods"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." The sentence is unquestioned there.
Matthew 18:11
“For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost--or "is lost." A golden saying, once and again repeated in different forms. Here the connection seems to be, "Since the whole object and errand of the Son of man into the world is to save the lost, take heed lest, by causing offenses, ye lose the saved." That this is the idea intended we may gather from Mt 18:14.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 18:11
“This is a reason, First, Why the little ones' angels have such a charge concerning them, and attend upon them; it is in pursuance of Christ's design to save them. Note, The ministration of angels is founded in the mediation of Christ; through him angels are reconciled to us; and, when they celebrated God's goodwill toward men, to it they annexed their own.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
ninety and nine: The shepherd leaving the ninety and nine on the mountains to seek one strayed sheep is the chapter's own parable of verse 10's regard, and the bench notes the shepherd does not merely wait for the sheep to return but goes into the mountains after it, at real risk to the flock left behind. He rejoiceth more of that sheep than of the ninety and nine which went not astray states the emotional weight of recovery without diminishing the ninety and nine's worth, a distinction the parable of Luke 15 makes at greater length. It is not the will of your Father that one of these little ones should perish, closing the unit on the same note verse 6 opened it, the Father's own will standing behind the warning against causing offense.
Matthew 18:12
“Doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains - So our common translation reads the verse; others, Doth he not leave the ninety and nine Upon The Mountains, and go, etc. This latter reading appears to me to be the best; because, in Luk 15:4, it is said, he leaveth the ninety and nine In The Desert. The allusion, therefore, is to a shepherd feeding his sheep on the mountains, in the desert; not seeking the lost one On the mountains.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 18:12
“Observe the gradation of the argument; the angels of God are their servants, the Son of God is their Saviour, and, to complete their honour, God himself is their Friend.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Matthew 18:13
“And when he finds the sheep, he lays it on his shoulders rejoicing. He placed the sheep on his shoulders because by taking on human nature he himself bore our sins. And coming home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them: "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost." Having found the sheep, he returns home because our Shepherd, having restored man, returned to the heavenly kingdom. There he finds friends and neighbors, namely those choirs of angels who are his friends because they continuously guard his will in their steadfastness.”
Gregory the Dialogist· written before 604· Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 34patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 18:13
“He rejoiceth more - It is justly observed by one, on this verse, that it is natural for a person to express unusual joy at the fortunate accomplishment of an unexpected event.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Matthew 18:14
“It is not the will of your Father - If any soul be finally lost, it is not because God’s will or counsel was against its salvation, or that a proper provision had not been made for it; but that, though light came into the world, it preferred darkness to light, because of its attachment to its evil deeds.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
When Your Brother Sins Against You
tell him his fault: If thy brother shall trespass against thee lays out the chapter's process for church discipline in three widening stages, private correction between thee and him alone, then one or two more witnesses on the pattern of Deuteronomy 19:15, then the matter told unto the church. The bench reads the order as protective of both parties, the smallest possible circle first so a fault might be resolved without exposure, escalating only as reconciliation is refused. Let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican does not command cruelty; the commentators note Jesus himself ate with publicans, so the phrase marks a changed relationship, treated as outside the fellowship's discipline rather than as an object of contempt.
Matthew 18:15
“These words of the Lord Jesus contain an expression which has often been misapplied. The command to “hear the church” has been so interpreted as to contradict other passages of God’s Word. It has been falsely applied to the authority of the whole visible church in matters of doctrine, and so been made an excuse for the exercise of much ecclesiastical tyranny. But the abuse of Scripture truths must not tempt us to neglect the use of them. We must not turn away altogether from any text, because some have perverted it and made it poison.”
J.C. Ryle· Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew (1856)Reformed Evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 18:15
“We should not go to a brother who has offended us until we have decided to forgive him from our hearts—no matter how he responds to us.”
Matthew 18:15
“Next, If this fail, take two or three to witness how just your complaint is, and how brotherly your spirit in dealing with him. Again, If this fail, bring him before the Church or congregation to which both belong. Lastly, If even this fail, regard him as no longer a brother Christian, but as one "without"--as the Jews did Gentiles and publicans.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Cross references
Matthew 18:16
- QuotingDeuteronomy 19:15“A lone witness is not sufficient to establish any wrongdoing or sin against a man, regardless of what offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”
'in the mouth of two or three witnesses' (church discipline)
Matthew 18:17
“If yet he will not hear them, then it must be told to many, that he may be held in abhorrence; so that he who could not be saved by his own sense of shame, may be saved by public disgrace; whence it follows, If he will not hear them, tell it to the Church. That He says, As a heathen and a publican, shows that he is to be more abhorred, who under the name of a believer does the deeds of an unbeliever, than those that are openly gentiles.”
Jerome· written before 420· Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 18:17
“Tell it to the church - See the notes at Mat 16:18. The church may here mean the whole assembly of believers, or it may mean those who are authorized to try such cases - the representatives of the church, or these who act for the church. In the Jewish synagogue there was a bench of elders before whom trials of this kind were brought. It was to be brought to the church in order that he might be admonished, entreated, and, if possible, reformed. This was, and is always to be, the first business in disciplining an offending brother.”
bind on earth: Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven repeats the binding and loosing Jesus first gave Peter alone at 16:19, now given to the gathered disciples corporately in the setting of church discipline, and the bench divides honestly on the scope: the rabbinic sense of binding and loosing was declaring forbidden or permitted, so some read this as authority to declare, ratified in heaven, what the church determines about a professed brother's standing, while others extend it further toward a wider governing authority; the exposition names both without a verdict. Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them stands at the book's own center seam, answering 1:23's God with us and anticipating 28:20's I am with you alway, and the bench reads its placement here as deliberate: the smallest gathering, even two disciples agreeing in prayer, carries the same presence the whole book opens and closes on.
Matthew 18:18
“Whatsoever ye shall bind, etc. - Whatever determinations ye make, in conformity to these directions for your conduct to an offending brother, will be accounted just, and ratified by the Lord. See on Mat 16:19 (note); and, to what is there said, the following observations may be profitably added. Οσα εαν δησητε - και οσα εαν λυσητε. Binding and loosing, in this place, and in Mat 16:19, is generally restrained, by Christian interpreters, to matters of discipline and authority.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 18:18
“Verily I say unto you,.... To them all, what he had said before to Peter; See Gill on Mat 16:19, what is said here, refers to things and not persons, as there also.”
Matthew 18:19
“Again I say unto you, That if two of you ... - This is connected with the previous verses. The connection is this: The obstinate man is to be excluded from the church, Mat 18:17. The care of the church - the power of admitting or excluding members - of organizing and establishing it - is committed to you, the apostles, Mat 18:18. Yet there is not need of the whole to give validity to the transaction.”
Matthew 18:20
“Where two or three are gathered together in my name - That is, to worship me. I am in the midst of them - By my Spirit, to quicken their prayers, guide their counsels, and answer their petitions.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
Matthew 18:20
“For where two - are gathered together in thy name - There are many sayings among the Jews almost exactly similar to this, such as, Wherever even two persons are sitting in discourse concerning the law, the Divine presence is among them. See much more in Schoettgen.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Matthew 18:20
“For if "in the mouth of three witnesses every word shall stand: " -while, through the benediction, we have the same (three) as witnesses of our faith whom we have as sureties of our salvation too-how much more does the number of the divine names suffice for the assurance of our hope likewise!”
Tertullian· written before 220· On Baptismpatristic
Matthew 18:20
“WE have, in the verses preceding, the text a mention of the first Church Meeting of which I remember to have found mention in the New Testament. The Savior declares of His assembled people, "Verily I say unto you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven: and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven." A few Believers, gathered out of the world, have met in the name of the Lord Jesus to attend to the affairs of His household here below. It is a case of discipline.”
Seventy Times Seven and the Unforgiving Servant
how oft shall my brother sin: Till seven times, Peter asks, likely thinking himself generous, since the rabbis of the period commonly taught a limit of three pardons for the same offense; Jesus answers until seventy times seven, a number the bench reads not as a new arithmetic ceiling to count toward but as the deliberate abolition of counting altogether. The phrase echoes Lamech's boast of seventy-and-sevenfold vengeance at Genesis 4:24, and the commentators note the reversal is exact: where the old song multiplied revenge without limit, the kingdom multiplies forgiveness without limit. The parable that follows in verse 23 answers Peter's question with a story rather than a number.
Matthew 18:21
In these verses the Lord Jesus deals with a deeply important subject, the forgiveness of injuries. We live in a wicked world, and it is vain to expect that we can escape ill-treatment, however carefully we may behave. To know how to conduct ourselves when we are ill-treated is of great moment to our souls. In the first place, the Lord Jesus lays it down as a general rule that we ought to forgive others to the uttermost. Peter put the question, “How oft shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Till seven times?”
J.C. Ryle· Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew (1856)Reformed Evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 18:21
“Then came Peter ... - The mention of the duty Mat 18:15 of seeing a brother when he had offended us, implying that it was a duty to forgive him, led Peter to ask how often this was to be done. Forgive him - To forgive is to treat as though the offence was not committed - to declare that we will not harbor malice or treat unkindly, but that the matter shall be buried and forgotten.”
Matthew 18:21
“And as such insinuations were perhaps made once and again, he wished to know how often and how long he was to stand it. till seven times?--This being the sacred and complete number, perhaps his meaning was, Is there to be a limit at which the needful forbearance will be full?”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Matthew 18:22
“Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times; but, Until seventy times seven--that is, so long as it shall be needed and sought: you are never to come to the point of refusing forgiveness sincerely asked.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 18:22
“Who, moreover, was able to forgive sins? This is His alone prerogative: for "who remitteth sins but God alone? " and, of course, (who but He can remit) mortal sins, such as have been committed against Himself, and against His temple? For, as far as you are concerned, such as are chargeable with offence against you personally, you are commanded, in the person of Peter, to forgive even seventy times sevenfold.”
Tertullian· written before 220· On Modestypatristic
Matthew 18:22
“Seventy times seven - There is something very remarkable in these words, especially if collated with Gen 4:24, where the very same words are used - “If any man kill Lamech, he shall be avenged seventy times seven.” The just God punishes sin in an exemplary manner. Sinful man, who is exposed to the stroke of Divine justice, should be abundant in forgiveness, especially as the merciful only shall find mercy. See the note on Mat 5:7, and on Mat 6:14, Mat 6:15 (note). The sum seventy times seven makes four hundred and ninety.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
likened unto a certain king: Ten thousand talents is the largest sum named anywhere in the parables, and the bench does the arithmetic plainly: a talent was worth roughly the wages of a laborer for fifteen to twenty years, so ten thousand of them exceeded the annual tax revenue of an entire province, a debt no servant could conceivably repay by any honest means. The king's command to sell him, his wife, his children and all that he had was standard ancient practice for defaulted debt, and the bench notes the sentence would not have come near covering the sum, making the servant's plea in verse 26 all the more desperate. The debt's scale is the parable's whole argument, since it stands for what no man could ever pay God on his own account.
Matthew 18:23
“Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened ... - The phrase, “the kingdom of heaven,” here has reference to the church, or to the way in which God will deal with his people. “It shall be in my church as it was with a certain king; or God will deal with the members of his church as a certain king did with his servants.” See the notes at Mat 3:2. This parable (see Mat 13:3) is related to show the duty of forgiving others.”
Matthew 18:24
“And when he had begun to reckon,.... To open the book of conscience, and to bring to account by some awakening providence, and strong conviction: one was brought unto him; whether he would or no, through the force of an awakened conscience, under guilt and terror; which owed him ten thousand talents; which must be understood, either of gold, or silver: a talent of silver contained 3,000 shekels, as appears from Exo 38:25, and was in value of our money 375l. but a talent of gold was equal to 4,500l. of our (f) money.”
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 18:24
“Ten thousand talents - Μυριων ταλαντων, a myriad of talents, the highest number known in Greek arithmetical notation. An immense sum, which, if the silver talent be designed, amounts to 4,500,000 sterling; but if the gold talent be meant which is by far the most likely, then the amount is 67,500,000 sterling, a sum equal to the annual revenue of the British empire! See the note on Exo 25:39.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Matthew 18:24
“One was brought who owed him ten thousand talents - According to the usual computation, if these were talents of gold, this would amount to seventy-two millions sterling.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Matthew 18:25
“His lord commanded him to be sold ... - By the laws of the Hebrews they were permitted to sell debtors, with their wives and children, into servitude for a time sufficient to pay a debt. See 2Ki 4:1; Lev 25:39-46; Amo 8:6.”
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 18:25
“But forasmuch as he had not to pay,.... Every sinner is insolvent; sinful man has run out the whole stock of nature, and is become a bankrupt, and has nothing to offer by way of composition; nor has he any righteousness to answer for him, nor any works of righteousness which deserve that name: and if he had, these are nothing in point of payment: for a debt of sin cannot be discharged by a debt of obedience; since God has a prior right to the latter; and in paying it, a man does but what is his duty.”
Matthew 18:25
The sale of his wife and the rest of his family shows the complete and utter separation from the joys of God. For the sale shows quite clearly alienation from God. Those alienated from God are those who hear those bitter, fearful words, "Depart from me, you workers of iniquity, for I do not know you."
Cyril of Alexandria· written before 444· FRAGMENT 217patristic
fell down, and worshipped him: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all is a promise the servant could not possibly keep, given the sum just named, and the bench reads his plea as sincere but self-deceived, the desperate bargaining of a man who does not yet grasp the size of his own debt. The lord was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt, granting far more than the servant asked, not a delay but a full release; the commentators take this as the parable's picture of grace, exceeding the request rather than merely answering it. Everything that follows in the parable turns on whether the forgiven servant carries that same compassion forward.
Matthew 18:26
“Fell down and worshipped him - Προσεκυνει αυτω, crouched as a dog before him, with the greatest deference, submission, and anxiety. Have patience with me - Μακροθυμησον επ’ εμοι, be long-minded towards me - give me longer space. The means which a sinner should use to be saved, are, 1. Deep humiliation of heart - he fell down. 2. Fervent prayer. 3. Confidence in the mercy of God - have patience. 4. A firm purpose to devote his soul and body to his Maker - I will pay thee all.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Matthew 18:27
“The lord of that servant was moved with compassion ... - He had pity on him. He saw his distressed condition. He pitied his family. He forgave him the whole debt. This represents the mercy of God to people. “They have sinned.” They owe to God more than can be paid. They are about to be cast off; but God has mercy on them, and, in connection with their prayers, forgives them. We are not to interpret the circumstances of a parable too strictly.”
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 18:27
“Abundant is the bounty of God, and His clemency to sinners converted, seeing He is ever ready to forgive sins by baptism or penitence, as it follows, But the lord of that servant had mercy upon him, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.”
Remigius of Rheims· written before 533· Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
an hundred pence: , a debt of perhaps three or four months' common wages, stands beside ten thousand talents as a deliberate contrast the bench measures at roughly six hundred thousand to one, a real but genuinely small sum next to the debt just forgiven. Took him by the throat is a vivid physical detail Matthew alone preserves, and the commentators read the violence as the parable's turning point, the forgiven man demanding by force what he himself had just been released from owing. The fellowservant's plea, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all, repeats the forgiven servant's own words back to him almost exactly, making his refusal in verse 30 the parable's plain indictment.
Matthew 18:28
“A hundred pence - Rather denarii. The denarius was a Roman coin, worth about seven-pence halfpenny English. The original word should be retained, as our word penny does not convey the seventh part of the meaning. A hundred denarii would amount to about 3l. 2s. 6d. British, or, if reckoned as some do, at seven-pence three farthings, the sum would be 3l. 4s. 7d. Took him by the throat - Κρατησας αυτον επνιγε.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 18:28
“The God of all releases us from the difficulties of our faults, according to the parable. This is what is signified by the ten thousand talents. But this happens on the proviso that we ourselves release our fellow servants from the hundred denarii, that is, from the few minor faults they have committed against us. The angels who stand over us and are under the same yoke of service as we are make accusations before God. They do not speak to God as if God does not know—for God knows everything.”
Cyril of Alexandria· written before 444· FRAGMENT 216patristic
Matthew 18:28
“But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants--Mark the difference here. The first case is that of master and servant; in this case, both are on a footing of equality.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Matthew 18:29
“And his fellow servant fell down at his feet,.... In the most humble and submissive manner, just as he himself had done a little before at the feet of his Lord: and besought him, saying, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all; using the very same words, in which he had expressed himself to his Lord, and had succeeded.”
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 18:29
“Observe the exactness of Scripture; the servant who owed many talents fell down, and worshipped the king; he who owed the hundred denarii falling down, did not worship, but besought his fellow servant, saying, Have patience. But the ungrateful servant did not even respect the very words which had saved himself, for it follows, but he would not.”
Origen of Alexandria· written before 253· Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Matthew 18:29
“Fell down at his feet - This clause is wanting in several ancient MSS., versions, and fathers. Several printed editions also have omitted it; Griesbach has left it out of the text. Pay thee all - Παντα, all, is omitted by a multitude of MSS., versions, and fathers.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Matthew 18:30
“And he would not, etc. - To the unmerciful, God will show no mercy; this is an eternal purpose of the Lord, which never can be changed. God teaches us what to do to a fellow-sinner, by what He does to us. Our fellow-servant’s debt to us, and ours to God, are as one hundred denarii to ten thousand talents! When we humble ourselves before him, God freely forgives us all this mighty sum! And shall we exact from our brother recompense for the most trifling faults?”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
were very sorry: His fellowservants were very sorry and reported the matter to their lord, and the parable's closing turn hinges on the king's own words, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me, recalling exactly what had been granted before the sentence falls. Delivered him to the tormentors till he should pay all that was due, a debt the parable has already shown he could never pay, and the bench reads this as picturing not a temporary discipline that ends in release but the lasting consequence of refusing to extend forgiveness once received. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses closes the discourse on the same ground it opened, from your hearts ruling out mere outward reconciliation and tying the chapter's whole teaching on little ones, discipline, and forgiveness into a single demand answered only by grace already received.
Matthew 18:31
“So when his fellow-servants ... - This is a mere circumstance thrown into the story for the sake of keeping, or making a consistent narrative. It cannot be intended to teach that other Christians should go and tell God what a brother has done; for God well knows all the actions of his children, and does not need us surely to inform him of what is done. It is abusing the Bible, and departing from the design of parables, to press every circumstance, and to endeavor to extract from it some spiritual meaning.”
Matthew 18:32
“It follows, Then his lord called him. He called him by the sentence of death, and bade him pass out of this world, and said unto him, Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou prayedst me.”
Remigius of Rheims· written before 533· Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 18:32
“Then his Lord, after that he had called him,.... Or ordered him to be called, and brought before him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant!”
Matthew 18:32
“His lord, after that he had called him - Alas! how shall he appear! Confounded. What shall he answer? He is speechless!”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Matthew 18:33
“Shouldest not thou also have had compassion - Ουκ εδει και σε, Did it not become thee also? What a cutting reproach! It became Me to show mercy, when thou didst earnestly entreat me, because I am Merciful, It became thee also to have shown mercy, because thou wert so deep in debt thyself, and hadst obtained mercy.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 18:33
“He seeks to instruct us, that we should be ready to show clemency to those who have done us harm, especially if they offer amends, and plead to have forgiveness.”
Origen of Alexandria· written before 253· Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Matthew 18:34
“And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors--more than jailers; denoting the severity of the treatment which he thought such a case demanded. till he should pay all that was due unto him.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 18:34
“Delivered him to the tormentors - Not only continued captivity is here intended, but the tortures to be endured in it. If a person was suspected of fraud, as there was reason for in such a case as that mentioned here, he was put to very cruel tortures among the Asiatics, to induce him to confess. In the punishments of China, a great variety of these appear; and probably there is an allusion to such torments in this place. Before, he and all that he had, were only to be sold.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
This site records the readings below for this chapter. Spelling and word-order differences that change no meaning are passed over.
- "The Son of man is come to save that which was lost" Matthew 18:11, at the verse ↑
Keep studying
On this page
Studies10
On this verse
On this book
Words12
Subjects2
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Gospels; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Lightfoot, Horae Hebraicae et Talmudicae on Matthew and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.