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Matthew 18:23

in Matthew 18

Because of this, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, who would make a reckoning with his servants.

KJV

Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.

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This verse in Matthew 18

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Matthew · Written before 420.

(Verse 23.) Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is likened to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. It is customary for the Syrians and especially the Palestinians to connect all their speech with parables, so that what cannot be understood by the listeners through a simple commandment may be understood through similarity and examples. Therefore, he instructed Peter using the comparison of a king and master, and servants. The servant, who owed ten thousand talents, begged the master for forgiveness and obtained it; so he also should forgive his fellow servants for their lesser sins.

This site's exposition

likened unto a certain king

on Matthew 18:23-25

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.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century2 voices
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.

on Matthew 18:21-35

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?”

The words behind it

17 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

16 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Romans 14:12So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.7 worksMatthew 13:24Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.7 worksMatthew 3:2and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”5 worksMatthew 13:44–45The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field.4 worksMatthew 13:47Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea and caught all kinds of fish.3 worksLuke 16:1–2Jesus also said to His disciples, “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.3 works
The other 10 cross-references, with their words ▾
Luke 19:12–27So He said, “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to lay claim to his kingship and then return.3 worksMatthew 13:31He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field.2 worksMatthew 13:52Then He told them, “For this reason, every scribe who has been discipled in the kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”2 works2 Corinthians 5:10–11For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.2 worksMatthew 13:33He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.”2 works1 Corinthians 4:5Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.2 worksMatthew 25:14For it is just like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted them with his possessions.2 worksDaniel 6:2and over them three administrators, including Daniel, to whom these satraps were accountable so that the king would not suffer loss.2 worksMatthew 25:19–30After a long time the master of those servants returned to settle accounts with them.1 worksMatthew 25:1“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Romans 14:12

    So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

    it leads to

    • Matthew 12:36

      But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.

    • 1 Peter 4:5

      But they will have to give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

    • Matthew 16:27

      For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.

    • Galatians 6:5

      For each one should carry his own load.

    • Ecclesiastes 11:9

      Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes,…

  • Through

    Matthew 3:2

    and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

    it leads to

    • Matthew 4:17

      From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

    • Mark 1:15

      “The time is fulfilled,” He said, “and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in the gospel!”

    • 2 Corinthians 7:10

      Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

Where this verse is studied

About Matthew

John the Baptist Baptizes Jesus — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)
John the Baptist Baptizes Jesus — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)
Matthew: the study guide →Read Matthew 18 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Gospels; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and Jerome, Commentary on Matthew.

Read on in Matthew 18 →