Forgiveness is Fundamental
Matthew 18:15-35 Outline
Forgiveness is Fundamental
Jesus commissions is to pursue reconciliation v15-20
Jesus commands us to persevere in forgiving v 21-22
Jesus compels us to proper forgiveness v 23-35
Matthew 18:5-14 Commentary
The prescription for church discipline in verses 15-17 must be read in light of the parable of the lost sheep in verses 12-14. The goal of this process is restoration. If successful, “You have gained your brother.”
Is it possible to confront others about their sin without them walking away?
We don’t/should not hide our commitment to holiness/righteousness/purity.
Church = the saved....not a place that accommodates the unsaved.
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.
Luke 17:3 3 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
James 5:19-20 - My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
BROTHER SINS AGAINST YOU – AKA – “offends you” – Minor sins are to be covered by grace and charity. This process is for serious matters....
BROTHER - tn The Greek term “brother” can mean “fellow believer” or “fellow Christian” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a) whether male or female. It can also refer to siblings, though here it is used in a broader sense to connote familial relationships within the family of God. Therefore, because of the familial connotations, “brother” has been retained in the translation here in preference to the more generic “fellow believer” (“fellow Christian” would be anachronistic in this context).1
AGAINST YOU - tc ‡ The earliest and best witnesses lack “against you” after “if your brother sins.” It is quite possible that the shorter reading in these witnesses (א B, as well as 0281 f1 579 pc sa) occurred when scribes either intentionally changed the text (to make it more universal in application) or unintentionally changed the text (owing to the similar sound of the end of the verb ἁμαρτήσῃ [hamartēsē] and the prepositional phrase εἰς σέ [eis se]). However, if the MSS were normally copied by sight rather than by sound, especially in the early centuries of Christianity, such an unintentional change is not as likely for these MSS. And since scribes normally added material rather than deleted it for intentional changes, on balance, the shorter reading appears to be original. NA27 includes the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.2
“Against you is missing in a few important early manuscripts (א,B,f1) but was mos tlikely omitted due to “homophony”—parts of different words that sound alike so that part of the text is accidentally omitted.3
GO AND TELL HIM HIS FAULT - tn Grk “go reprove him.” – go after the ONE and leave the 99 for the sake of the ONE.
LISTENS TO YOU - “Listens” means responds properly.4
“Church discipline” is commonly thought to refer only to those “official” cases in which the sin is
extremely serious and the entire church becomes formally involved in the effort to correct the sinning brother or sister. In reality, church discipline is more biblically understood as covering every effort by any individual or group of individuals in the church to turn a straying believer back to righteous living.5
This is the gentlest of the four steps of church discipline for several reason: (1) It is based on the foundation of a relationship between the confronter and the straying brother. This increases the likelihood that the confrontation will be perceived as a loving act. (2) It is done in private to preserve the dignity of the straying brother. The smaller the number of people involved, the more likely the brother’s embarrassment will not be a hindrance to his further growth. (3) The confronter’s main task is to show the straying brother his sin. We must go into every confrontation assuming the best—that what we might perceive is a willful sin is possibly a matter of negligence, or that we have wrongly perceived the person’s actions, and that the straying brother or sister will respond correctly. (4) Go is in the Greek present tense (imperative mood), implying a gentle, patient series of confrontations.6
We are to read into this statement all the joy of the Father over the rescued sheep in 18:13. And we are to assume that this is a much more likely outcome than many believers think possible. Done correctly in the environment of a trusting relationship, one-on-one confrontation will often result in a positive response.7
16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
TWO OR THREE - Deut. 19:15; 2 Cor. 13:1; [Num. 35:30; John 8:17; 1 Tim. 5:19; Heb. 10:28
QUOTE from DEUT 19:15 - 15 “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.8
The idea here is that by going to the one who has sinned against you with one or two others, he will be moved by the wisdom of multiple counselors. 9
The purpose of the additional witnesses is primarily: (1) to bring added loving persuasion to the straying brother so he will realize the seriousness of his sin; (2) to prepare for the possibility of the straying brother’s continued resistance (in this event, there would be third-party testimony concerning what happened in the confrontation); and (3) to provide one or two “referees” or moderators in the continued confrontation between the original confronter and the straying brother. It is possible the witnesses might conclude that the accuser was wrong. Again, the hope is that the two or three witnesses will be able to cooperate in the Father’s zealous pursuit of the straying brother in order to bring him back from the danger of destruction (18:12–14).10
17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
REFUSE TO LISTEN – Refuse to hear (παρακουσῃ [parakousēi]). Like Isa. 65:12. Many papyri examples for ignoring, disregarding, hearing without heeding, hearing aside (παρα- [para-]), hearing amiss, overhearing (Mark 5:36).11
CHURCH - This is the second time we see the word “church.” First in Matthew 16:18, where Jesus says “I will build my church.” - From ch. 16:18, the term ἐκκλησία must always be understood as referring to the Christian Church, or to the meeting of believers, whether it be large or small.12
If your brother refuses to repent, the matter is to be reported to the whole assembly so that all may lovingly pursue the sinning brother’s reconciliation. But failing that, the step four means that the offender must be excommunicated. The idea is not merely to punish the offender, or to shun him completely, but to remove him as a detrimental influence from the fellowship of the church, and then to regard him as an evangelistic prospect rather than as a brother. 13
GENTILE - tn Or “a pagan.”
TAX COLLECTOR - sn The tax collectors would bid to collect taxes for the Roman government and then add a surcharge, which they kept. Since tax collectors worked for Rome, they were viewed as traitors to their own people and were not well liked.14
TREAT HIM LIKE A GENTILE AND A TAX COLLECTOR = sn To treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector means not to associate with such a person. 15
The Jews regarded heathens and publicans as excommunicated persons. As such we are to consider a Christian who perseveres in his offence: he is no longer to be acknowledged as belonging to the fellowship of saints.16
To treat a person as a “pagan or a tax collector” means to treat him or her as unredeemed and outside the Christian community. Such treatment resembles the Old Testament practice of “cutting” someone “off” from the assembly of Israel
Genesis 17:14
Exodus 12:15, 19
Exodus 30:33, 38
This is not about making the sin and the refusal to repent public knowledge in the church. Rather it means taking the matter to the elders, who have responsibility for administering discipline in such cases. ....might need to ban him from participating in the Lord’s Supper....in the end there is only one sin for which a person can be excommunicated – contumacy, which is an obstinate refusal to repent of the sin that involved him in church discipline in the first place. Excommunication is a very serious matter ...the person is put out of the church and symbolically delivered into the hands of Satan. 17
EXAMPLE – 1 Cor 5 – church practiced church discipline...and man repented but church did not receive him back.
Christian disfellowshiping must have two components to it. Primarily, it means not allowing someone to participate in public, corporate fellowship with the church, even as orthodox Jews shunned the “traitorous” tax collectors or “unclean” Gentiles. But in light of Jesus’ consistent compassion for pagans and tax collectors, surely he must also want Christians, individually, to continue to reach out to these people and call them to repentance.18
Second Thessalonians 3:14–15 makes these twin themes clear, and if 2 Cor 2:5–11 forms the sequel to 1 Cor 5:1–5, then we may have at least one specific illustration within Scripture itself of how excommunication led to repentance and restoration.
In our society today, many relationships—even within the church—are superficial. Especially in larger churches, there may be situations that would warrant a public announcement only to the segment of the local church that needs to know about the brother’s sin and that is in a position to respond to it... The primary goal of church discipline is not public embarrassment but the recruitment of the entire church to help in the Father’s pursuit of the straying believer.19
18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Matthew 16:19
Verse 18 repeats 16:19b almost verbatim, but this time Jesus gives authority to all the disciples, not just Peter. On the imagery and grammar of this verse, see under 16:19. In this context Jesus is almost certainly referring to the procedures of vv. 15–17 involving the withholding or bestowing of forgiveness and fellowship. As in 16:19, “binding” and “loosing” are more likely parallel to John 20:23 than to the rabbinic maxims on permitting or prohibiting certain behavior. Verse 18 also presupposes that the church is acting according to Jesus’ guidelines given in vv. 15–17 and is generally seeking and sensitive to God’s will. Then the church’s loosing and binding—forgiving or refusing to forgive—carries the very authority of God 20
while ver. 17 lays down the rule for the conduct of the Church, ver. 18 shows that the Church is warranted in this conduct. This right is again solemnly confirmed by the amen in ver. 19. 21
In 16:19, Jesus’ comments about “binding” and “loosing” related to the church’s authority to open doors through the wielding of God’s revealed Word. The issue here was the fellowship of believers in the local church. Jesus was emphasizing the church’s authority to shut the door to the community of faith in the face of the sinning brother who resisted every effort the believers made to restore him to holy character. Just as the church has authority to close that door, it also has authority to open it again, should the believer repent.22
In other words, the church discipline decisions the church makes—when it follows Jesus’ guidelines carefully and maintains a right attitude—are in keeping with what has already been decided by God in heaven. This does not imply that the Lord communicates his decisions to the believers in every situation. As we follow Jesus’ guidelines and pursue the brother with the loving heart of the pursuing Father, we can rest assured that our decisions on earth are in keeping with his in heaven.23
19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
AGREE - Agree is from sumphoneo (literally, “sound out together”), meaning “harmonize.”24
ANYTHING - The word for any “thing” (pragma) is a term frequently limited to judicial matters. Here Jesus reiterates that actions of Christian discipline, following God’s guidelines, have his endorsement25
πρᾶγμα,(a)adeed,action;(b)usedmorevaguely,amatter,anaffair;πρᾶγμαἔχεινπρόςτινα,to have something against one, to have ground for a lawsuit against one (where πρᾶγμα = causa), 1 Cor. 6:1: ἐν τῷ πράγματι, in the matter in hand (i.e. sins of the flesh), rather than generically, in business, 1 Thess. 4:6.26
Anything you ask for in this context means an appeal to God for support of the witnesses’ actions to
restore the sinning brother or to excommunicate him.27
18:19–20. These two verses are among the most misunderstood in the Bible. They are traditionally taken
to mean that God pays special attention to the prayers of believers when two or more gather or agree together. But such an interpretation is wrong for two reasons: (1) it takes the statements out of the context of church discipline and the pursuit of the straying brother; and (2) the conclusions that it leads to regarding prayer is contrary to Scripture....Nowhere in the Bible does God imply that he listens any differently to one person praying than he does to two, ten, or five hundred28
This promise guarantees guidance for the two or three (actually a figure of speech recognizing the part for the whole) who confront a straying believer. This is also a promise to the church to claim wisdom and act with authority in the restoration process toward the sinning person. In other words, when this process is pursued as Christ outlined it, his presence and power are assured.29
“The condition upon which God will base his endorsement of your disciplinary activity is your pursuit of your brother, with the zealous love of the Father in your hearts, and with careful attention to the guidelines I have given.”30
20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
Vs. 19-20 are often misunderstood. Simply finding two people who agree on something does NOT
guarantee that God will make it happen. ...and while it is true that the Lord is present/with us in small gatherings....The context is the teaching on church discipline...he is basically restating verse 18, saying that church discipline carried out according to biblical procedures is recognized in heaven. Confronting sin can be intimidating...this in an encouragement to church leaders that the Lord is with them and will help them.31
21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”
BROTHER - tn Here the term “brother” means “fellow believer” or “fellow Christian” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a), whether male or female. Concerning the familial connotations, see also the note on the first occurrence of this term in v. 15.32
Peter thinks he is being magnanimous. The rabbis, citing several verses from Amos (1:3, 6, 9, 11, 13), taught that since God forgave Israel’s enemies only three times, it was presumptuous and unnecessary to forgive anyone more than three times. 33
Peter assumed he was being generous.
AGAINST ME - “Against me” parallels “against you” in v. 15.34
Rabbi Jose ben Hanina said, “He who begs forgiveness from his neighbor must not do so more than
three times.” Rabbi Joseph ben Yehuda said, “If a man commits an offense once, they forgive him. And if he commits an offense a second time, they forgive him. If he commits an offense a third time, they forgive him. The fourth time, they do not forgive.”
22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
SEVENTY SEVEN - tn Or “seventy times seven,” i.e., an unlimited number of times.35
an unusually large number with symbolic significance of being totally adequate or complete36
Innumerable times. 37
Forgiveness is to be a way of life for Christians.
Jesus no doubt stuns Peter with his reply. The famous “seventy times seven” (NIV marg.) is probably
better translated “seventy-seven times,” based both on the most common rendering of the Greek hebdomēkontakis hepta and on Genesis 4:24... We dare not keep track of the number of times we grant forgiveness. Jesus takes Peter’s number of completeness and multiplies it considerably. Few people ever have to forgive the same person this often, at least not over a short period of time. But Jesus’ point is not to withhold forgiveness after the seventy-eighth (or 491st) offense. As with the principles in vv. 15–16, Jesus’ advice may work well with unbelievers too, but his primary focus remains on believers. And genuine repentance, which includes changed behavior, must occur, or the principles of vv. 15–18 come into play instead. The subsequent parable (vv. 23–35) will illustrate both the incredible generosity believers should demonstrate in forgiving fellow believers who do beg for mercy and promise to change as well as the severe judgment awaiting those who refuse to forgive or respond properly to forgiveness38
There is some debate over whether Jesus’ response should read “seventy times seven” (490) or seventy- seven, but the exact number is not important. The numbers involved are presented for emphasis only. “Keep on forgiving endlessly; don’t carry a grudge” is what Jesus was saying.39
Seventy times seven (ἑβδομηκοντάκις ἑπτά).* It was a settled rule of Rabbinism that forgiveness should not be extended more than three times. Christ is not specifying a number of times greater than the limit of seven. He means that there is to be no limit. “Forgiveness is qualitative, not quantitative.”40
23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.
SERVANTS Because of the large amount of money involved here, it is likely these “servants” would have been provincial governors who owed the king money from taxation.
Jesus uses a parable to explain the rationale for his previous commands. In a nutshell his teaching is this: God eternally and unconditionally forgives those who repent of so immense a debt against him that it is unconscionable for believers to refuse to grant forgiveness to each other for sins that remain trivial in comparison41
This parable mirrors the most common form of rabbinic parable—a story involving a king with servants or sons. The king almost always stands for God; the servants, for God’s people. Often obedient and disobedient servants provide a contrast between righteous and wicked behavior. Settling accounts is a natural metaphor for judgment.42
24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
TALENT - sn A talent was a huge sum of money, equal to 6,000 denarii. One denarius was the usual day’s wage for a worker. L&N 6.82 states, “a Greek monetary unit (also a unit of weight) with a value which fluctuated, depending upon the particular monetary system which prevailed at a particular period of time (a silver talent was worth approximately six thousand denarii with gold talents worth at least thirty times that much).”43
600 denarri (roughly two years of wages) = 1 Talent.
TEN THOUSAND TALENTS – This amount of money is nearly incomprehensible. The talent was the largest denomination of currency, and “ten thousand” in common parlance signified an infinite number.44
Literally = “myriad of talents”
Ten thousand talents would have been an enormous debt, on the borderline of what the ancient mind-set could have conceived (cf. NIV marg.). Estimates in modern currency range from several million to one trillion dollars. The “talent” was the highest known denomination of currency in the ancient Roman Empire, and ten thousand was the highest number for which the Greek language had a particular word (myrias; cf. our myriad). One might conceive of this first servant as an extremely wealthy governor or satrap, a very powerful official in his own right. Since he is unable to repay his debts, he and his family must be sold, along with all their assets, in order to raise at least some funds for the king. He will obviously recoup nothing anywhere close to the amount owed, but something is better than nothing. Selling people into slavery to pay their debts was extremely common in the ancient world. The man begs for mercy and makes a promise he almost certainly will not be able to keep. To the astonishment of Jesus’ original audience, the king pities the man and cancels his debt. Not only will he not sell him into slavery, but he will not require repayment of any kind. Sheer grace is at work here. “Took pity” is the same word for the compassion that characterizes Jesus’ emotions and behavior in 9:36; 14:14; 15:32; and 20:34.45
25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.
The King could recover some of this loss by selling family members into slavery.
26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’
27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.
FORGAVE HIM – This pictures the generous compassionate forgiveness of God extended to a pleading sinner who owes him and unpayable debt.
Colossians 2:13-14 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
It amounted to an incredible act of mercy and compassion.
It is important to keep in mind here that we are not dealing with forensic forgiveness (justification, salvation), but family forgiveness. This deals with sin committed since entering into the family of the king. The issue is brother-to-brother forgiveness.46
All of a Christian’s sins are forgiven and forgotten forever (see Ps. 103:12; Jer. 31:34). What this parable reinforces, therefore, is the Christian’s duty to forgive others (Matt. 6:12, 14–15; 2 Cor. 2:10; Eph. 4:32) in the same way he has been forgiven. This entire passage addresses forgiveness within the family of God.47
28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’
A HUNDRED DENARII - tn Grk “one hundred denarii.” The denarius was a silver coin worth about a day’s wage for a laborer; this would be about three month’s pay.48
This was about three months wages. This amount was not negligible by normal standards, but it was a pittance in comparison to what the “servant” had been forgiven. 49
29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’
FELL DOWN AND PLEADED - tn Grk “falling therefore the slave bowed down to the ground.” The redundancy of this expression signals the desperation of the slave in begging for mercy.50
The forgiven man hears the same pleading he has given before his master but is utterly without
compassion.
30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.
“He refused” is literally he was not willing, showing that the servant made a conscious choice to harden his heart. Needless to say, the other servants are outraged and report the matter to the king.51
31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.
GREATLY DISTRESSED – A lack of forgiveness offends fellow believers. Most of all it offends God, who chastens His unforgiving children severly. 52
The other servants of the household recognized the cruelty of the first servant toward the second. This grieved them deeply. How deeply do we grieve when we see bitterness and grudges between fellow believers? Such discord in the family of God causes great sorrow to the Father. As we share his heart, we will not be able to stand by and watch indifferently. 53
TOLD / REPORTED - Told is a strong verb which means “explained in complete detail.” These servants reported the matter to the king.54
32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.
33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’
34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.
ANGERED HIS MASTER – His master was angry because he is holy and just. God is always angry at sin, including the sins of his children.
Hebrews 12:5-11 -
JAILERS - Torturers
DELIVERED HIM TO THE JAILERS - tn Grk “handed him over to the torturers,” referring specifically to guards whose job was to torture prisoners who were being questioned. According to L&N 37.126, it is difficult to know for certain in this instance whether the term actually envisions torture as a part of the punishment or is simply a hyperbole. However, in light of the following verse and Jesus’ other warning statements in Matthew about “fiery hell,” “the outer darkness,” etc., it is best not to dismiss this as mere imagery.55
The parable reveals the anger of the king and his refusal to tolerate an arrogant lack of forgiveness among his family. But notice there is nothing said here about eternal damnation. These are family issues. Family forgiveness restores what was lost (relational intimacy) and is unrelated to what can never be lost (imputed righteousness and therefore eternal salvation).56
35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
Jesus’ conclusion reminds us of what v. 23 made clear—that the purpose of the story is to communicate a spiritual lesson about the kingdom of heaven. It also points out that, at least on this occasion, Jesus was not trying primarily to conceal truth from the crowds but to clarify it for his disciples. The reference to a “brother” ties Jesus’ conclusion in with Peter’s original question (v. 21). The following three themes emerge from the main characters and episodes of the parable: God’s boundless grace, the absurdity of spurning that grace, and the frightful fate awaiting the unforgiving.57
EVERY ONE OF YOU - Each of you brings the focus to the level of individual responsibility. We can imagine Jesus scanning the faces of the disciples as he closed his discourse. We can also imagine him looking out through the words of Matthew into our hearts with his warning lingering in our conscience. Jesus insisted that his servants be characterized by forgiveness.58
This is Christ’s full reply to Peter’s question in 18:21. This parable of the unmerciful servant is surely needed today.59
For never are you more like God than when you forgive, never. Never are you less like God than when you will not forgive. And that comes straight from Jesus who said, “Forgive your enemies and demonstrate that you are children of your Father.” Never are you more like God than when you forgive. – John MacArthur
Unforgiveness is a sin.
Ephesians 4:32 –
Colossians 3:13
We are to forgive, because we understand that we are weak, and we fail, and we sin, and we are ever and always in need of forgiveness. We are to forgive, because it is the noblest thing we do. We are to forgive, because God in Christ has forgiven us.
Genesis 50 - Joseph forgiving his brothers for the horrific deed of selling him into slavery.
1 Samuel 24:7 - David forgiving his enemy Saul.
1 Samuel 25 you have David forgiving Nabal.
2 Samuel 19, David forgiving Shimei who cursed him.
The greatest illustration of forgiveness is God in Christ.
