Matthew 18:31
in Matthew 18When his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and recounted all of this to their master.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were exceeding sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
KJV
So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
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This verse in Matthew 18
Commentary
14 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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.
This site's exposition
were very sorry
on Matthew 18:31-35
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.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
(Quæst. Ev. i. 25.) By the fellow-servants is understood the Church, which binds one and looses another.
Or perhaps they represent the Angels, or the preachers of the holy Church, or any of the faithful, who when they see a brother whose sins are forgiven refusing to forgive his fellow-servant, they are sorrowful over his perdition. And they came, and told their lord, what was done. They came not in body, but in spirit. To tell their Lord, is to show the woe and sorrow of the heart in their carriage.
A commentator
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 61 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
Wherefore also He went on to say, "The Kingdom of Heaven is likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, he commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and his children, and all that he had." Then after this man had enjoyed the benefit of mercy, he went out, and "took by the throat his fellow-servant, which owed him an hundred pence;" and having by these doings moved his lord, he caused him to cast him again into prison, until he should pay off the whole. Seest thou how great the difference between sins against man and against God? As great as between ten thousand talents, and a hundred pence, or rather even much more. And this arises both from the difference of the persons, and the constant succession of our sins. For when a man looks at us, we stand off and shrink from sinning: but when God sees us every day, we do not forbear, but do and speak all things without fear. But not hereby alone, but also from the benefit and from the honor of which we have partaken, our sins become more grievous.
A commentator
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 61 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
"For there was brought unto Him," it saith, "one which owed ten thousand talents, and when he had not to pay, He commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and his children." Wherefore, I pray thee? Not of cruelty, nor of inhumanity (for the loss came back again upon himself, for she too was a slave), but of unspeakable tenderness. For it is His purpose to alarm him by this threat, that He might bring him to supplication, not that he should be sold. For if He had done it for this intent, He would not have consented to his request, neither would He have granted the favor. Wherefore then did He not do this, nor forgive the debt before the account? Desiring to teach him, from how many obligations He is delivering him, that in this way at least he might become more mild towards his fellow servant. For even if when he had learnt the weight of his debt, and the greatness of the forgiveness, he continued taking his fellow-servant by the throat; if He had not disciplined him beforehand with such medicines, to what length of cruelty might he not have gone? What then saith the other? "Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And his Lord was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt." Seest thou again surpassing benevolence? The servant asked only for delay and putting off the time, but He gave more than he asked, remission and forgiveness of the entire debt. For it had been his will to give it even from the first, but he did not desire the gift to be his only, but also to come of this man's entreaty, that he might not go away uncrowned. For that the whole was of him, although this other fell down to him and prayed, the motive of the forgiveness showed, for "moved with compassion" he forgave him. […]
The Medieval Church1 voice
So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorrowful, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. The fellowservants are the angels, who are shown here to be haters of evil and lovers of good. They do not tell …
7 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
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.
And his fellow servants seeing. Here four things are touched upon. First, the reprobation of this sin is presented; secondly, the reproach of the sin on the part of God, at then his lord called him; thirdly, the punishment, and his lord being angry, delivered …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
So when his fellow servants saw what was done,....
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.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
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?”
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.
His fellow-servants saw what was done - An act of this kind is so dishonorable to all the followers of Christ, and to the spirit of his Gospel, that through the respect they owe to their Lord and Master, and through the concern they feel for the prosperity of his cause, they are obliged to plead against it at the throne of God.
The words behind it
18 Greek wordsEvery 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.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ἰδόντες | idontes | Having seen | G1492 → | 374 times |
| οὖν | oun | therefore | G3767 → | 497 times |
| οἱ | hoi | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| σύνδουλοι | sundouloi | fellow servants | G4889 → | 10 times |
| αὐτοῦ | autou | of him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| τὰ | ta | the [things] | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| γενόμενα | genomena | having taken place | G1096 → | 667 times |
| ἐλυπήθησαν | elupethesan | they were grieved | G3076 → | 26 times |
| σφόδρα, | sphodra | deeply, | G4970 → | 11 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἐλθόντες | elthontes | having gone | G2064 → | 628 times |
| διεσάφησαν | diesaphesan | they narrated | G1285 → | |
| τῷ | to | to the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κυρίῳ | kurio | master | G2962 → | 711 times |
| ἑαυτῶν | he'auton | of themselves | G1438 → | 322 times |
| πάντα | panta | all | G3956 → | 1235 times |
| τὰ | ta | that | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| γενόμενα.¶ | genomena | having taken place. | G1096 → | 667 times |
ἸδόντεςHaving seen
idontesG1492 →374 times
οὖνtherefore
ounG3767 →497 times
οἱthe
hoiG3588 →19766 times
σύνδουλοιfellow servants
sundouloiG4889 →10 times
αὐτοῦof him
autouG846 →5565 times
τὰthe [things]
taG3588 →19766 times
γενόμεναhaving taken place
genomenaG1096 →667 times
ἐλυπήθησανthey were grieved
elupethesanG3076 →26 times
σφόδρα,deeply,
sphodraG4970 →11 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἐλθόντεςhaving gone
elthontesG2064 →628 times
διεσάφησανthey narrated
diesaphesanG1285 →
τῷto the
toG3588 →19766 times
κυρίῳmaster
kurioG2962 →711 times
ἑαυτῶνof themselves
he'autonG1438 →322 times
πάνταall
pantaG3956 →1235 times
τὰthat
taG3588 →19766 times
γενόμενα.¶having taken place.
genomenaG1096 →667 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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 12:15Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 12:26
If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 13:3
Remember those in prison as if you were bound with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering with them.
- Psalms 35:13–14
Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered.
- John 11:33–36
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
- Job 30:25
Have I not wept for those in trouble? Has my soul not grieved for the needy?
- 1 Corinthians 12:26
Through
Hebrews 13:3Remember those in prison as if you were bound with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering with them.
it leads to
- Matthew 25:36
I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’
- Hebrews 10:34
You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, knowing that you yourselves had a better and permanent possession.
- Romans 12:15
Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
- Matthew 25:36
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Matthew
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 61; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Rabanus Maurus, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Remigius of Rheims, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Matthew and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew.