Matthew 18:30

It is one thing to give pardon to a brother when he seeks it, that he may live with us in social charity, as Joseph to his brethren; and another to a hostile foe, that we may wish him good, and if we can do him good, as David mourning for Saul. Allegorically; The servant here who owed the ten thousand talents, is the Jewish people bound to the Ten Commandments in the Law. These the Lord oft forgave their trespasses, when being in difficulties they besought His mercy; but when they were set free, they exacted the utmost with great severity from all their debtors; and of the gentile people which they hated, they required circumcision and the ceremonies of the Law; yea, the Prophets and Apostles they barbarously put to death. For all this the Lord gave them over into the hands of the Romans as to evil spirits, who should punish them with eternal tortures.

But nothing availed him; hence it says but he would not. Prov 12:10: the bowels of the wicked are cruel. And he cast him into prison, i.e., into tribulation, till he paid the debt, i.e., for the purpose of paying the debt. Prov 6:34: the …

But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, who owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and …

And while they remained in Galilee. The nearer that the time of his death approached, the more frequently did Christ warn his disciples, lest that melancholy spectacle might give a violent shock to their faith.

), where it especially refers to seventh-commandment sins; here it is taken more generally. Note, Those hard sayings of Christ, which are displeasing to flesh and blood, need to be repeated to us again and again, and all little enough. Now observe, (1.) What it is that is here enjoined.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

And he would not,....

So the disciples here did, when they asked, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? They suppose that all who have a place in that kingdom are great, for it is a kingdom of priests. Note, Those are truly great who are truly good; and they will appear so at last, when Christ shall own them as his, though ever so mean and poor in the world.

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?

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?”

Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, &c.--Before bringing down his vengeance upon him, he calmly points out to him how shamefully unreasonable and heartless his conduct was; which would give the punishment inflicted on him a double sting.

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?” He received answer: “I say, not unto thee till seven times, but until seventy times seven.” The rule here laid down must of course be interpreted with sober-minded qualification. Our Lord does not mean that offenses against the law of the land and the good order of society are to be passed over in silence; he does not mean that we are to allow people to commit thefts and assaults with impunity. All that he means is that we are to study a general spirit of mercy and forgivingness towards our brethren. We are to bear much, and to put up with much, rather than quarrel; we are to overlook much, and submit to much, rather than have any strife; we are to lay aside everything like malice, strife, revenge and retaliation. Such feelings are only fit for heathens: they are utterly unworthy of a disciple of Christ. What a happy world it would be if this rule of our Lord’s was more known and better obeyed! How many of the miseries of mankind are occasioned by disputes, quarrels, lawsuits, and an obstinate tenacity about what men call “their rights”! How many of them might be altogether avoided if men were more willing to forgive, and more desirous for peace! Let us never forget that a fire cannot go on burning without fuel; just in the same way it takes two to make a quarrel. Let us each resolve, by God’s grace, that of these two we will never be one.