Teks -- Matthew 18:24-35 (NET)

18:24 As he began settling his accounts, a man who owed ten thousand talents was brought to him. 18:25 Because he was not able to repay it, the lord ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, children, and whatever he possessed, and repayment to be made. 18:26 Then the slave threw himself to the ground before him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you everything.’ 18:27 The lord had compassion on that slave and released him, and forgave him the debt. 18:28 After he went out, that same slave found one of his fellow slaves who owed him one hundred silver coins. So he grabbed him by the throat and started to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ 18:29 Then his fellow slave threw himself down and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you.’ 18:30 But he refused. refused. Instead, he went out and threw him in prison until he repaid the debt. 18:31 When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were very upset and went and told their lord everything that had taken place. 18:32 Then his lord called the first slave and said to him, ‘Evil slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me! 18:33 Should you not have shown mercy to your fellow slave, just as I showed it to you?’ 18:34 And in anger his lord turned him over to the prison guards to torture him until he repaid all he owed. 18:35 So also my heavenly Father will do to you, if each of you does not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per frasa)

Robertson: Mat 18:24 - Ten thousand talents

Ten thousand talents ( muriōn talantōn ).

A talent was 6,000 denarii or about a thousand dollars or 240 pounds. Ten thousand times this is about ten or twelve million dollars, an enormous sum for that period. We live today in the age of national debts of billions of dollars or even of pounds sterling. The imperial taxes of Judea, Idumea, and Samaria for one year were only 600 talents while Galilee and Perea paid 200 (Josephus, Ant. xi. 4). But oriental kings were free in the use of money and in making debts like the native kings of India today.

Robertson: Mat 18:25 - Had not wherewith to pay

Had not wherewith to pay ( mē echontos autou apodounai ).

There is no "wherewith"in the Greek. This idiom is seen in Luk 7:42; Luk 14:14; Heb 6:13. Genitive absolute though auton in the same clause as often in the N.T.

Robertson: Mat 18:25 - To be sold

To be sold ( prathēnai ).

First aorist passive infinitive of pipraskō . This was according to the law (Exo 22:3; Lev 25:39, Lev 25:47). Wife and children were treated as property in those primitive times.

Robertson: Mat 18:27 - The debt

The debt ( to danion ).

The loan. Common in the papyri for a loan. The interest had increased the debt enormously. "This heavy oriental usury is of the scenery of the parable"(McNeile).

Robertson: Mat 18:28 - A hundred pence

A hundred pence ( hekaton dēnaria ).

A denarius was worth about eight and a half pence. The hundred denarii here were equal to some "fifty shillings"(Bruce), "about 4 pounds"(McNeile), "twenty pounds"(Moffatt), "twenty dollars"(Goodspeed), "100 shillings"(Weymouth). These are various efforts to represent in modern language the small amount of this debt compared with the big one.

Robertson: Mat 18:28 - Took him by the throat

Took him by the throat ( epnigen ).

"Held him by the throat"(Allen). It is imperfect, probably inchoative, "began to choke or throttle him."The Roman law allowed this indignity. Vincent quotes Livy (iv. 53) who tells how the necks were twisted ( collum torsisset ) and how Cicero ( Pro Cluentio , xxi.) says: "Lead him to the judgment seat with twisted neck ( collo obtorto )."

Robertson: Mat 18:28 - What thou owest

What thou owest ( ei ti opheileis ).

Literally, "if thou owest anything,"however little. He did not even know how much it was, only that he owed him something. "The ‘ if’ is simply the expression of a pitiless logic"(Meyer).

Robertson: Mat 18:30 - And he would not

And he would not ( ho de ouk ēthelen ).

Imperfect tense of persistent refusal.

Robertson: Mat 18:30 - Till he should pay

Till he should pay ( heōs apodōi ).

This futuristic aorist subjunctive is the rule with heōs for a future goal. He was to stay in prison till he should pay. "He acts on the instinct of a base nature, and also doubtless in accordance with long habits of harsh tyrannical behaviour towards men in his power"(Bruce). On imprisonment for debt among the Greeks and Romans see Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East , pp. 270, 330.

Robertson: Mat 18:31 - Told

Told ( diesaphēsan ).

Made wholly clear to their own lord. That is the usual result in the long run. There is a limit to what people will put up with.

Robertson: Mat 18:33 - Shouldst thou not?

Shouldst thou not? ( ouk edei sė )

"Was it not necessary?"The king fits the cap on this wicked slave that he put on the poor debtor.

Robertson: Mat 18:34 - The tormentors

The tormentors ( tois basanistais ).

Not to prison simply, but to terrible punishment. The papyri give various instances of the verb basanizō , to torture, used of slaves and others. "Livy (ii. 23) pictures an old centurion complaining that he was taken by his creditor, not into servitude, but to a workhouse and torture, and showing his back scarred with fresh wounds"(Vincent).

Robertson: Mat 18:34 - Till he should pay all

Till he should pay all ( heōs [hou ] apodōi pan ).

Just as in Mat 18:30, his very words. But this is not purgatorial, but punitive, for he could never pay back that vast debt.

Robertson: Mat 18:35 - From your hearts

From your hearts ( apo tōn kardiōn hūmōn ).

No sham or lip pardon, and as often as needed. This is Christ’ s full reply to Peter’ s question in Mat 18:21. This parable of the unmerciful servant is surely needed today.

Vincent: Mat 18:24 - Which owed him

Which owed him ( ὀφειλέτης )

Lit., a debtor of ten thousand talents.

Vincent: Mat 18:24 - Ten thousand talents

Ten thousand talents

An enormous sum; about twelve millions of dollars.

Vincent: Mat 18:25 - To be sold

To be sold

According to the law of Moses: Exo 2:3; Lev 25:39, Lev 25:47.

Vincent: Mat 18:28 - Found

Found

Either went in search of him, as he himself had been sought out by his lord, or came upon him accidentally in the street.

Vincent: Mat 18:28 - A hundred pence

A hundred pence ( ἑκατὸν δηνάρια )

Less than a millionth part of his own debt.

Vincent: Mat 18:28 - Took him by the throat

Took him by the throat ( αὐτὸν ἔπνιγεν )

Lit., throttled. Wyc., strangled. Compare were choked, Mar 5:13. Creditors often dragged their debtors before the judge, as the Roman law allowed them to do, holding them by the throat. Thus Livy ( 4: 53), relates how, a difficulty having arisen between the consul Valerius and one Menenius, the tribunes put an end to the contest, and the consul ordered into prison ( collum torsisset , twisted the neck ) the few who appealed. And Cicero (" Pro Cluentio," xxi.) " Lead him to the judgment-seat with twisted neck ( collo obtorto ) . " Compare Cicero, " In C. Verrem," 4:10.

Vincent: Mat 18:28 - What thou owest

What thou owest ( εἴ τι ὀφείλεις )

Lit., If thou owest anything. Not that the creditor is uncertain about the fact of the debt, though some uncertainty about the exact amount may be implied. This would agree with found, in the sense of coming upon accidentally. Compare Mat 13:44. He came suddenly upon him and recognized him as a debtor, though not certain as to the amount of his debt. Meyer remarks, " The if is simply the expression of a pitiless logic. If thou owest anything (as thou dost) pay!" The word pay (ἀπόδος ) is emphatic in position.

Vincent: Mat 18:29 - Besought

Besought ( παρεκαίλει )

The imperfect has the force of earnestly besought.

Vincent: Mat 18:30 - Went

Went ( ἀπελθὼν )

Lit. went away: dragging the other with him to judgment.

Vincent: Mat 18:31 - Told

Told ( διεσάφησαν )

More than merely narrated. The verb is from διά , throughout, and σαφέν , to explain. They explained the circumstances throughout.

Vincent: Mat 18:31 - Their Lord

Their Lord ( τῷ κυρίῳ ἑαυτῶν )

Lit., " their own Lord;" as befitted their position, and as a mark of their confidence in him.

Vincent: Mat 18:34 - To the tormentors

To the tormentors ( βασανισταῖς )

Livy pictures an old centurion complaining that he was taken by his creditor, not into servitude, but to a workhouse and torture, and showing his back scarred with fresh wounds (ii., 23).

Wesley: Mat 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. If they were talents of silver, it must have been four millions, four hundred thousand pounds. Hereby our Lord intimates the vast number and weight of our offences against God, and our utter incapacity of making him any satisfaction.

Wesley: Mat 18:25 - As he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold

Such was the power which creditors anciently had over their insolvent debtors in several countries.

Wesley: Mat 18:30

Went with him before a magistrate, and cast him into prison, protesting he should lie there, till he should pay the whole debt.

Wesley: Mat 18:34 - His lord delivered him to the tormentors

Imprisonment is a much severer punishment in the eastern countries than in ours. State criminals, especially when condemned to it, are not only confined to a very mean and scanty allowance, but are frequently loaded with clogs or heavy yokes, so that they can neither lie nor sit at ease: and by frequent scourgings and sometimes rackings are brought to an untimely end.

Wesley: Mat 18:34 - Till he should pay all that was due to him

That is, without all hope of release, for this he could never do. How observable is this whole account; as well as the great inference our Lord draws from it: The debtor was freely and fully forgiven; He wilfully and grievously offended; His pardon was retracted, the whole debt required, and the offender delivered to the tormentors for ever. And shall we still say, but when we are once freely and fully forgiven, our pardon can never be retracted? Verily, verily, I say unto you, So likewise will my heavenly Father do to you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

JFB: Mat 18:24 - And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents

If Attic talents are here meant, 10,000 of them would amount to above a million and a half sterling; if Jewish talents, to a much larger sum.

JFB: Mat 18:25 - But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made

(See 2Ki 4:1; Neh 5:8; Lev 25:39).

JFB: Mat 18:26 - The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him

Or did humble obeisance to him.

JFB: Mat 18:26 - saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all

This was just an acknowledgment of the justice of the claim made against him, and a piteous imploration of mercy.

JFB: Mat 18:27 - Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt

Payment being hopeless, the master is first moved with compassion; next, liberates his debtor from prison; and then cancels the debt freely.

JFB: Mat 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. (See Mat 18:33).

JFB: Mat 18:28 - which owed him an hundred pence

If Jewish money is intended, this debt was to the other less than one to a million.

JFB: Mat 18:28 - and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat

He seized and throttled him.

JFB: Mat 18:28 - saying, Pay me that thou owest

Mark the mercilessness even of the tone.

JFB: Mat 18:29 - And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all

The same attitude, and the sam words which drew compassion from his master, are here employed towards himself by his fellow servant.

JFB: Mat 18:30 - And he would not; but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt, &c.

Jesus here vividly conveys the intolerable injustice and impudence which even the servants saw in this act on the part of one so recently laid under the heaviest obligation to their common master.

JFB: Mat 18:32-33 - 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.

JFB: Mat 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.

JFB: Mat 18:35 - So likewise

In this spirit, or on this principle.

shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

Clarke: Mat 18:24 - Ten thousand talents

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.

Clarke: Mat 18:25 - He had not to pay

He had not to pay - That is not being able to pay. As there could not be the smallest probability that a servant, wholly dependent on his master, who was now absolutely insolvent, could ever pay a debt he had contracted of more than 67 millions! - so is it impossible for a sinner, infinitely indebted to Divine justice, ever to pay a mite out of the talent

Clarke: Mat 18:25 - Commanded him to be sold - his wife - children, etc.

Commanded him to be sold - his wife - children, etc. - Our Lord here alludes to an ancient custom among the Hebrews, of selling a man and his family to make payment of contracted debts. See Exo 22:3; Lev 25:30, Lev 25:47; 2Ki 4:1. This custom passed from among the Jews to the Greeks and Romans. I have already remarked (see Gen 47:19) that in the Burman empire the sale of whole families, to discharge debts, is very common.

Clarke: Mat 18:26 - Fell down and worshipped him

Fell down and worshipped him - Προσεκυνει αυτω, crouched as a dog before him, with the greatest deference, submission, and anxiety

Clarke: Mat 18:26 - Have patience with me

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

A sinner may be said, according to the economy of grace, to pay all, when he brings the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus to the throne of justice, by faith; thus offering an equivalent for the pardon he seeks, and paying all he owes to Divine justice, by presenting the blood of the Lamb.

Clarke: Mat 18:27 - Moved with compassion

Moved with compassion - Or with tender pity. This is the source of salvation to a lost world, the tender pity, the eternal mercy of God.

Clarke: Mat 18:28 - A hundred pence

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

Clarke: Mat 18:28 - Took him by the throat

Took him by the throat - Κρατησας αυτον επνιγε . There is no word I am acquainted with, which so fully expresses the meaning of the original, επνιγε, as the Anglo-saxon term throttle: it signified (like the Greek) to half choke a person, by seizing his throat.

Clarke: Mat 18:29 - Fell down at his feet

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

Clarke: Mat 18:29 - Pay thee all

Pay thee all - Παντα, all, is omitted by a multitude of MSS., versions, and fathers.

Clarke: Mat 18:30 - And he would not, etc.

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? Reader, if thou art of this unmerciful, unforgiving cast, read out the chapter

"All the souls that are were forfeit once

And he who might the ‘ vantage best have took

Found out the remedy. How would you be

If He, who is the top of judgment, shoul

But judge you as you are? O! think on that

And mercy then will breathe within your lip

Like man new mad

Though justice be thy plea, consider this

That, in the course of justice, none of u

Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy

And that same prayer doth teach us all to rende

The deeds of Mercy. - "

Clarke: Mat 18:31 - His fellow-servants saw what was done

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.

Clarke: Mat 18:32 - His lord, after that he had called him

His lord, after that he had called him - Alas! how shall he appear! Confounded. What shall he answer? He is speechless!

Clarke: Mat 18:33 - Shouldest not thou also have had compassion

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.

Clarke: Mat 18:34 - Delivered him to the tormentors

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. Now, as he has increased his debt, so he has increased his punishment; he is delivered to the tormentors, to the horrors of a guilty conscience, and to a fearful looking for of fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. But if this refers to the day of judgment, then the worm that dieth not, and the fire that is not quenched, are the tormentors.

Clarke: Mat 18:35 - So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you

So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you - The goodness and indulgence of God towards us is the pattern we should follow in our dealings with others. If we take man for our exemplar we shall err, because our copy is a bad one; and our lives are not likely to be better than the copy we imitate. Follow Christ; be merciful as your Father who is in heaven is merciful. You cannot complain of the fairness of your copy. Reader, hast thou a child, or servant who has offended thee, and humbly asks forgiveness? Hast thou a debtor, or a tenant, who is insolvent, and asks for a little longer time? And hast thou not forgiven that child or servant? Hast thou not given time to that debtor or tenant? How, then, canst thou ever expect to see the face of the just and merciful God? Thy child is banished, or kept at a distance; thy debtor is thrown into prison, or thy tenant sold up: yet the child offered to fall at thy feet; and the debtor or tenant, utterly insolvent, prayed for a little longer time, hoping God would enable him to pay thee all; but to these things thy stony heart and seared conscience paid no regard! O monster of ingratitude! Scandal to human nature, and reproach to God! If thou canst, go hide thyself - even in hell, from the face of the Lord

Clarke: Mat 18:35 - Their trespasses

Their trespasses - These words are properly left out by Greisbach, and other eminent critics, because they are wanting in some of the very best MSS. most of the versions, and in some of the chief of the fathers. The words are evidently an interpolation; the construction of them is utterly improper, and the concord false

In our common method of dealing with insolvent debtors, we in some sort imitate the Asiatic customs: we put them in prison, and all their circumstances there are so many tormentors; the place, the air, the company, the provision, the accommodation, all destructive to comfort, to peace, to health, and to every thing that humanity can devise. If the person be poor, or comparatively poor, is his imprisonment likely to lead him to discharge his debt? His creditor may rest assured that he is now farther from his object than ever: the man had no other way of discharging the debt but by his labor; that is now impossible, through his confinement, and the creditor is put to a certain expense towards his maintenance. How foolish is this policy! And how much do such laws stand in need of revision and amendment! Imprisonment for debt, in such a case as that supposed above, can answer no other end than the gratification of the malice, revenge, or inhumanity of the creditor. Better sell all that he has, and, with his hands and feet untied, let him begin the world afresh. Dr. Dodd very feelingly inquires here, "Whether rigour in exacting temporal debts, in treating without mercy such as are unable to satisfy them - whether this can be allowed to a Christian, who is bound to imitate his God and Father? To a debtor, who can expect forgiveness only on the condition of forgiving others? To a servant, who should obey his Master? - and to a criminal, who is in daily expectation of his Judge and final sentence?"Little did he think, when he wrote this sentence, that himself should be a melancholy proof, not only of human weakness, but of the relentless nature of those laws by which property, or rather money, is guarded. The unfortunate Dr. Dodd was hanged for forgery, in 1777, and the above note was written only seven years before

The unbridled and extravagant appetites of men sometimes require a rigour even beyond the law to suppress them. While, then, we learn lessons of humanity from what is before us, let us also learn lessons of prudence, sobriety, and moderation. The parable of the two debtors is blessedly calculated to give this information.

Calvin: Mat 18:25 - His master ordered him to be sold

25.His master ordered him to be sold It would be an idle exercise of ingenuity to examine here every minute clause. For God does not always display severity at first, till, constrained to pray, we implore pardon, but rather meets us with undeserved goodness. But Christ only shows what will become of us, if God shall treat us with the utmost severity; and again, if He shall choose to demand from us what we owe, how necessary it is for us to betake ourselves to prayer, because this is the only refuge that remains for transgressors. We must also attend to the wide difference of the sums; for, since one talent is worth more than a hundred pence, what proportion will a hundred pence bear to ten thousand talents?

Calvin: Mat 18:31 - When his fellow-servants saw what was done

31.When his fellow-servants saw what was done Though we ought not to search for mystery in these words — because they contain nothing but what nature teaches, and what we learn by daily experience — we ought to know that the men who live among us will be so many witnesses against us before God; for it is impossible but that cruelty shall excite in them displeasure and hatred, more especially, since every man is afraid that what he sees done to others will fall upon his own head. As to the clause which immediately follows, it is foolish to inquire how God punishes those sins ⁵⁷⁶ which he has already forgiven; for the simple meaning is this: though he offers mercy to all, yet severe creditors, from whom no forgiveness can be obtained, are unworthy of enjoying it.

Calvin: Mat 18:34 - Delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that he owed

34.Delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that he owed The Papists are very ridiculous in endeavoring to light the fire of purgatory by the word till; for it is certain that Christ here points out not temporal death, by which the judgment of God may be satisfied, but eternal death.

Defender: Mat 18:33 - compassion

The words "compassion" and "pity" are translations of the same Greek word, meaning "mercy." Thus we should show mercy toward others just as Christ did toward us."

TSK: Mat 18:24 - owed // ten thousand // talents

owed : Luk 7:41, Luk 7:42, Luk 13:4 *marg. Luk 16:5, Luk 16:7

ten thousand : Μυριων [Strong’ s G3461], ταλαντων [Strong’ s G5007], a myriad of talents, the highest number known in Greek arithmetical notation. According to Prideaux, the Roman talent was equal to 216£; ten thousand of which would amount to 2,160,000£. If the Jewish talent of silver be designed, which is estimated by the same learned writer at 450£, this sum amounts to 4,500,000£; but if the gold talent is meant, which is equal to 7,200£, then the amount is 72,000,000£. This immense sum represents our boundless obligations to God, and our utter incapacity, as sinners infinitely indebted to Divine justice, of paying one mite out of the talent. 1Ch 29:7; Ezr 9:6; Psa 38:4, Psa 40:12, Psa 130:3, Psa 130:4

talents : ""A talent is 750 ounces of silver, which after five shillings the ounce is 187£. 10s.""

TSK: Mat 18:25 - commanded

commanded : Lev 25:39; 2Ki 4:1; Neh 5:5, Neh 5:8; Isa 50:1

TSK: Mat 18:26 - worshipped him // have

worshipped him : or, besought him

have : Mat 18:29; Luk 7:43; Rom 10:3

TSK: Mat 18:27 - moved

moved : Jdg 10:16; Neh 9:17; Psa 78:38, Psa 86:5, Psa 86:15, Psa 145:8; Hos 11:8

TSK: Mat 18:28 - an hundred // pence // and took

an hundred : Rather, ""a hundred denarii,""as our penny does not convey one seventh of the meaning. This would amount to about 3£. 2s. 6d. English; which was not one six hundred thousandth part of the 10,000 talents, even calculating them as Roman talents.

pence : ""The Roman penny is the eighth part of an ounce, which after five shillings the ounce is sevenpence halfpenny.""Mat 20:2

and took : Deu 15:2; Neh 5:7, Neh 5:10,Neh 5:11, Neh 10:31; Isa 58:3; Eze 45:9

TSK: Mat 18:29 - Have

Have : Mat 18:26, Mat 6:12; Phm 1:18, Phm 1:19

TSK: Mat 18:30 - but

but : 1Ki 21:27-29, 1Ki 22:27

TSK: Mat 18:31 - they // and came

they : Psa 119:136, Psa 119:158; Jer 9:1; Mar 3:5; Luk 19:41; Rom 9:1-3, Rom 12:15; 2Co 11:21; Heb 13:3

and came : Gen 37:2; Luk 14:21; Heb 13:17

TSK: Mat 18:32 - O thou

O thou : Mat 25:26; Luk 19:22; Rom 3:19

TSK: Mat 18:33 - even

even : Mat 5:44, Mat 5:45; Luk 6:35, Luk 6:36; Eph 4:32, Eph 5:1, Eph 5:2; Col 3:13

TSK: Mat 18:34 - and delivered

and delivered : Mat 5:25, Mat 5:26; Luk 12:58, Luk 12:59; 2Th 1:8, 2Th 1:9; Rev 14:10,Rev 14:11

TSK: Mat 18:35 - do // from

do : Mat 6:12, Mat 6:14, Mat 6:15, Mat 7:1, Mat 7:2; Pro 21:13; Mar 11:26; Luk 6:37, Luk 6:38; Jam 2:13

from : Pro 21:2; Jer 3:10; Zec 7:12; Luk 16:15; Jam 3:14, Jam 4:8; Rev 2:23

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per Ayat)

Poole: Mat 18:23-35 - So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses // The kingdom of heaven // Ten thousand talents // commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had // And delivered him to the tormentors // An hundred pence

Ver. 23-35. All these verses (except the last) are but a parable, which (as I before showed) is a similitude brought from the usual actions of men, and made use of to open or apply some spiritual doctrine. The main scope, or the proposition of truth, which our Saviour designs to open or press, is that which is first and principally to be considered and intended; and that, as I before showed, is to be known, either by the particular explication given by our Saviour, or by what went immediately before, or followeth immediately after. The scope of this parable is plainly expressed, Mat 18:35 ,

So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses Nor is it obscurely hinted to us in what went before, where our Saviour was instructing Peter in the great duty of forgiving men their trespasses. This being agreed, as we use to say, that similitudes run not on four feet, so we are not to expect that all the actions of men, mentioned in the parable, should be answered by some correspondent actions of God: As similitudes always halt, so never more than when by them God’ s actions are expressed and represented to us. The main points which this parable instructs us in are;

1. That it is our duty, especially theirs who have received forgiveness from God, to forgive their brethren.

2. That if they do not, they may justly question whether God hath forgiven them, and expect the same severity from him which they show unto their brethren.

These being the main things for instruction in which this parable is brought, and which we ought chiefly to eye as the things taught us by this parable, nothing hindereth but that it may also instruct us in some other things, though we cannot raise a proposition of truth from every branch of the parable, and some things be put in according to the passions and usual dealings of men, which possibly are in them unrighteous actions, and may follow from their ungoverned passions, which will by no means agree to the pure and holy nature of God. I will first open such terms in the parable as may be less intelligible to vulgar readers.

The kingdom of heaven my administration of my kingdom: I am come to purchase remission of sins, and to dispense out remission of sins to those who are indebted to the justice of my Father; but in the application of my blood to men and women for the remission of their sins, both my Father and myself will do as a king, that took account of his servants, &c. Men must look for pardon from my Father, and benefit from me as their Redeemer, upon the following terms: see Mat 6:15 .

Ten thousand talents a certain for an uncertain number; a very great sum. Those who have computed it, say it amounts to a million eight hundred and seventy-five thousand pounds. He

commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had a thing which our law will not suffer, but in use amongst other nations, and amongst the Jews in particular, as may be learned from 2Ki 4:1 .

And delivered him to the tormentors that is, to the keepers of the prison; so the next words teach us, and the Greek word often signifieth no more, though it doth indeed sometimes.

An hundred pence Mat 18:28 , signifieth a small sum, hardly exceeding in our money fifty shillings. This parable excellently instructs us in these truths:

1. That as men, by the law of nature and God, and the laws of men, may be debtors to us, to our reputation, to our estate; so we are all debtors to the glory, honour, and justice of God.

2. That it is a vast debt we owe to God’ s honour and justice, to which no debt owing by any to us can bear any proportion.

3. That we have nothing to pay to God, in satisfaction for our debt.

4. That God hath a right to demand a full satisfaction of us.

5. That God, for Christ’ s sake, upon our application to him for mercy, will forgive us our debts.

6. That we are not so ready to forgive our brethren their little injuries, as God is to forgive us.

7. That our difficulty to forgive our brethren, after God’ s liberality in forgiving us, is a great charge, or will be a great charge against us in the court of heaven.

8. That we ought to set before us God’ s compassion towards us, and free love in forgiving us, potently to move us to forgive those who have done us injury, and to forgive them out of that consideration.

9. That we ought from our hearts to forgive men their trespasses; that is, so as not to hate them, bear them any grudge or malice, seek any private revenge upon them, or public satisfaction, beyond what they are able to give, but be ready to do them what common offices of kindness in their straits are in our power.

10. That the not doing of this will be an ill evidence to our souls, that God hath not indeed forgiven us, as well as a bar against such forgiveness; and an ill omen, that some punishment from God expects us in this life, to bring us to a temper more conformable to the gospel, and if not, this life, yet in the life which is to come.

Poole: Mat 18:28 - See Poole on "Mat 18:35"

See Poole on "Mat 18:35" The Roman penny is the eighth part of an ounce, which after five shillings the ounce is seven pence half penny. (Mat 20:2 ).

PBC: Mat 18:26

If you translate the amount of money this man owed, it is the equivalent of approximately 52,800,000 dollars.

We can’t imagine owing that much. Much less can we imagine owing it and someone forgiving the whole debt.

A common laborer could not repay such a debt in his lifetime. Although the man pledged to repay the whole debt, he promised far more than he could deliver. The greater surprise to us appears in the man’s reaction against his fellow-servant. He refused to forgive a trivial debt of 44 dollars. If you were just forgiven 53 million dollars, would you dare to hold your hand to someone’s throat who owes you 44 dollars and demand that they pay or go to jail? Jesus’ warning to this unforgiving man who had just been forgiven the unpayable debt frames the lesson for us. We cannot measure, much less repay, the full debt of our sins against our holy God. How shall we respond to the trivial debts that others occasionallly owe to us? Forgiveness is not an option for the faithful believer in Christ; it is a solemn obligation.

Haydock: Mat 18:24 - Ten thousand talents

Ten thousand talents. It is put as an example for an immense sum. It is not certainly agreed what was the value of a talent. A talent of gold is said to be 4900 lb.; of silver 375 lb. See Walton's Prologomena, Dr. Harris's Lexicon, &c. (Witham) ---

The 10,000 talents, according to some authors, amount to £1,875,000 sterling, i.e., 740,000 times as much as his fellow-servant owed him; the hundred pence amounting to not more than £3 2s. 6d.

Haydock: Mat 18:35 - So also shall my heavenly Father do to you

So also shall my heavenly Father do to you. In this parable the master is said to have remitted the debt, and yet afterwards to have punished the servant for it. God doth not in this manner with us. But we may here observe, once for all, that in parables, diverse things are only ornamental to the parable itself; and a caution and restriction is to be used in applying them. (Witham) ---

Not that God will revoke a pardon once granted; for this would be contrary to his infinite mercy, and his works are without repentance. It means that God will not pardon, or rather that he will severely punish the ingratitude and inhumanity of the man, who, after having received from God the most liberal pardon of his grievous transgressions, refuses to forgive the slightest offence committed against him by his neighbour, who is a member, nay a son of his God. This ingratitude may justly be compared with the 10,000 talents, as every grievous offence committed against God, exceeds, in an infinite degree, any offence against man. (Tirinus) ---

This forgiveness must be real, not pretended; from the heart, and not in word and appearance only; sacrificing all desire of revenge, all anger, hatred and resentment, at the shrine of charity.

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Gill: Mat 18:24 - And when he had begun to reckon // which owed him ten thousand talents

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. According to Dr. Prideaux ^g, a talent of silver was 450l. and a talent of gold, the proportion of gold to silver being reckoned as sixteen to one, was 7,200l. and according to Bishop Cumberland, a talent of silver was 353l. 11s. 10d. ob. and a talent of gold of the same weight, was 5,075l. 15s. 7d. ob. The whole, according to Dr. Hammond, was a thousand eight hundred seventy five thousand pounds, reckoning them silver talents; but if talents of gold are meant, what an immense sum must ten thousand of them be! According to some, seventy two millions sterling. The design of the phrase, is to set forth the exceeding greatness of the debt. Munster's Hebrew Gospel reads it, "ten thousand manehs", or pounds; and so the Persic version: now the value of a maneh of gold, was 75l. and of silver, 7l 10s. ^h take the sum in the least quantity and value, it was exceeding large. The Arabic version renders it a "sum of talents", without mentioning the number, and may mean an innumerable one. Mention is made of such a number of talents of silver, in Est 3:9, which Aben Ezra says is defective, and signifies ten thousand thousand talents. The "second" Targum on the place says, that the sum of six hundred thousand zuzim, drachms, or pence (i.e. Roman ones) is ten thousand talents of silver. These "ten thousand talents" intend sins, which are called debts, in Scripture; not that they are properly so, or owing to God, for then it would be right to pay them, but because they bind over to punishment. All men owe a debt of thankfulness to God, for their beings, the preservation of them, and all the mercies of life; and a debt of obedience to the whole law, in failure of which, they are obliged to punishment: hence every sin becomes a debt, and these are numerous; indwelling sin, and the lusts thereof, are innumerable; as are actual sins and transgressions, they are more than the hairs of a man's head, and are fitly expressed, both for the weight and quantity of them, by "ten thousand talents". In this light they appear to the conscience of an awakened sinner, who sees that he has been doing nothing but sin, all the days of his life; and that he has been continually breaking the law, one precept or another of it, in thought, word, or deed: which violations of the law, even in word and deed, are risen up to so great a sum, that he is not able to give it to any nearness, and with any exactness; he cannot understand all his errors, nor express the full number of them, or declare all their aggravated circumstances; besides the swarms of corruption of internal lusts and sins, which he observes dwelling in his heart, and are as innumerable as the motes and atoms in a sunbeam. The sins of God's people, which have been all made to meet upon Christ, have been laid upon him by his Father's imputation of them to him, with his own consent, are represented in this manner; see Psa 40:12. And indeed, if the debts of one of them amount to ten thousand talents, what must the sum of all be, put together! and how great must be the strength and power of Christ, to bear the weight of these sins, and not be broken or discouraged, and fail, as he did not! and what a rich virtue and efficacy must there be in his blood, to pay off all these debts, and make satisfaction for them, which could never have been done, if he had not done it! for, it is impossible that a person in such circumstances as here described, should ever be able to recover himself, or pay his debts, as follows.

Gill: Mat 18:25 - But forasmuch as he had not to pay // His Lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had // and payment to be made

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. Sin being committed against an infinite God, contracts the nature of an infinite debt, which cannot be paid off by a finite creature. Christ only was able to pay this debt, and he has done it for his people; and without an interest in his blood, righteousness, and satisfaction, every debtor is liable to be cast, and will be cast into the prison of hell, there to lie till the uttermost farthing of the ten thousand talents is paid, which will be to all eternity. We see what a sad condition sin has brought men into; it has stripped them of their estates and possessions; it has reduced them to want and beggary; it exposes them to a prison; to the just resentments of their creditor; to the wrath of God, and the curses of the law; and what little reason there is to think, yea, how impossible it is, that a man should be able to merit anything at the hands of God, to whom he is so greatly indebted: he must first pay his debts, which is a thing impracticable, before he can pretend to do anything deserving the notice of God; and even was he set free, and clear of all his debts, and entered upon a new life of obedience, and this strictly attended to, without contracting any debts for the future, yet all this would be but what is due to God, and could merit nothing of him; see Luk 17:10. We see also from hence, how much the saints are obliged to Christ Jesus, and how thankful they should be to him, who became a surety for such insolvent creatures; has paid all their debts for them, and procured for them every blessing of grace they stand in need of: but think, O sinner, what thou wilt be able to say and do, when God comes to reckon with thee, and thou hast nothing to pay, nor any to pay for thee, or be thy surety; a prison must be thy portion ever.

His Lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had; according to the Jewish laws, in such a case: of a man's being sold, or selling himself when poor, see Lev 25:47, for the law in Exo 22:3, referred to by some as an instance of this, respects the selling of a man for theft, and not for debt. Of the selling of a man's wife for the payment of his debts, I do not remember to have read any law concerning it, or instances of it; but of children being taken for bondmen by the creditor, for their father's debts, mention is made, 2Ki 4:1. These children, by the Jewish writers ⁱ, are said to be the children of Obadiah, who contracted the debt to feed the prophets in a cave, when they were persecuted by Jezebel; and the creditor, according to them, was Jehoram, the son of Ahab, who lent him money on usury for this purpose, in his father's time; and now Obadiah being dead, he takes his children for the debt, and makes them bondmen; see also Neh 5:5. There seems to be an allusion to this practice, in Isa 50:1, and it was not only the custom of the Jews to come upon children for the debts of parents, but of other nations: with the Athenians, if a father could not pay his debts, the son was obliged to pay, and in the mean while to be kept in bonds till he did ^k: and as Grotius, in 2Ki 4:1 proves from Plutarch and Dionysius Halicarnassensis, children were sold by the creditors of their parents, as in Asia, at Athens, and at Rome. Now this expresses the state of bondage, sin, as a debt, brings men into; they become slaves to their own lusts, vassals of Satan, and in bondage to the law; and also the ruin and destruction it exposes them to; as, the curse and condemnation of the law, the wrath of God, eternal death, even the destruction of body and soul in hell:

and payment to be made by punishment, which will always be making, and never finished. This order of the king was not intended to be executed, as the sequel shows; but declares the will of God, that the sad and woeful condition of man should be set before him by the ministers of the word; signifying what his state is, how deserving of vengeance, and what must be his portion, if grace prevent not: the view of which is to vindicate the rights of law and justice, to express the sinner's deserts, and move him to apply to the Lord for grace and mercy, which effect it had.

Gill: Mat 18:26 - The servant therefore fell down // and worshipped him // saying, Lord have patience with me

The servant therefore fell down,.... At his feet, upon his knees, or on his face, to the ground; not being able to stand before him, or look him in the face, and much less to answer the demands of his law and justice; but owned the debt, and his present inability to pay,

and worshipped him: the Vulgate Latin reads it, "prayed", or entreated him,

saying, Lord have patience with me; give me but time, spare me a little longer, send me not to prison, and I will pay thee all: a very weak and foolish promise, but what is usual for men in such circumstances to make. Thus men, under guilt, and dreadful apprehensions of wrath and ruin, frequently promise, that if their lives are but spared, what they will do for God, and in a religious way; and very foolishly and ignorantly imagine, that by their humiliation and tears, their prayers and other services by their good lives and conversations, for the future, they shall be able to make compensation to God for all the iniquities they have been guilty of: which shows them to be exceeding ignorant of the nature of sin, which is committed against an infinite being, and therefore reconciliation for it cannot be made by finite creature; as also of the nature of their duties and services, which, when performed, in ever so good a manner, can never make satisfaction for past offences, these being duties they are obliged to perform; and would have been equally obliged thereunto if they had never offended; and likewise betrays great vanity, pride, boasting, and conceit of themselves, and abilities, as that they shall be able, in a little time to pay all, when they have nothing at all to pay with: and was patience to be exercised towards them ever so long, they would still be in the same condition, and in no better capacity to make payment; but, on the contrary, would still run a larger score, and be more and more in debt. Indeed, the patience and longsuffering of God to his people is salvation; not that by giving them time, and bearing with them, they discharge their debts, and work out their salvation; but waiting upon them to be gracious to them, he brings them to repentance, to a sense of themselves and sins, and to an acknowledgment of them, and leads them, by faith, to his Son for righteousness, forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life; but as for others, his patience towards them, and forbearance of them, issue in their everlasting destruction, which, by their iniquities, they are fitted for.

Gill: Mat 18:27 - Then the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion // and loosed him // and forgave him the debt

Then the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion,.... Or had compassion on him, showed pity to him, and extended mercy towards him; not that he was moved hereunto by any actions of his, as his prostrating himself before him, and his worshipping him, nor by his cries and entreaties, nor by his promises, which were not at all to be depended on, but by his own goodness, and will; for not to anything that this man said, or did, nor to any deserts of his, but to the pure mercy, and free grace of God, is to be ascribed what is after related:

and loosed him; from obligation to punishment, and from a spirit of bondage, through the guilt of sin, and work of the law upon his conscience:

and forgave him the debt; the whole debt of ten thousand talents: for when God forgives sin, he forgives all sin, original and actual, secret and open, sins of omission and commission, of heart, lip, and life, of thought, word, and deed, past, present, and to come; and that freely, according to his abundant mercy, and the riches of his grace; without any regard to any merits, motives and conditions in the creature; though not without respect to the satisfaction of Christ, which no ways detracts from the grace and mercy of God, since this is owing to his gracious provision and acceptation. It was grace in God that provided, sent, and parted with his Son to be the propitiatory sacrifice for sin, and accepted the satisfaction when made, in the room, and stead of sinners: it was grace in Christ to become a surety for them, to assume their nature, to shed his precious blood, and give himself an offering, and a sacrifice for them; and it is distinguishing grace that this satisfaction should be provided, made, and accepted, not for angels, but for men; and though it is at the expense of Christ's blood and life that this satisfaction is made, and remission of sins obtained, yet the whole is entirely free to those who are partakers of it; they have it without money; and without price. So, that though the satisfaction of Christ is not expressly mentioned in this parable, and forgiveness of sin, which lies in a non-remembrance, and non-imputation of it, in a covering, and blotting it out, and in remitting the obligation to punishment for it, is ascribed to the compassion and mercy of God, yet it is implied; since these two involve each other: the special mercy of God, in the forgiveness of sins, streams only through the blood, righteousness, and sacrifice of Christ; and the sacrifice and satisfaction of Christ largely display the grace and mercy of God.

Gill: Mat 18:28 - But the same servant went out // and found one of his fellow servants // which owed an hundred pence // and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, pay me that thou owest

But the same servant went out,.... From his Lord's palace and presence, immediately, directly, after he had got his pardon and liberty:

and found one of his fellow servants; a fellow creature and Christian; not only one of the same nature and species; but of the same profession of religion, and in the service of the same kind and generous master:

which owed an hundred pence; which, if understood of Roman pence, each penny being seven pence halfpenny of our money, amounted to no more than three pounds and half-a-crown; a small sum, in comparison of the ten thousand talents which had been just now forgiven him: for so sins committed against men, against fellow creatures, or fellow Christians; are but small, when compared with those which are committed against God. All which circumstances, as that it was immediately after he had been forgiven himself; that it was a fellow servant he found: and the sum he owed him so inconsiderable, greatly aggravate his inhuman carriage, next related:

and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, pay me that thou owest; he laid hold on him in a violent manner, and used him with great inhumanity: he took him by the collar, and shook him, and griped him so hard about the neck, that he almost throttled, and strangled, or choked him, as the word signifies, and is so rendered in most versions. It answers to the Hebrew word הנק, which is used by the Jews ^l in the same sense:

החניק, he that throttles anyone (who is indebted to him) in the streets, and his friend comes up and says, let him go, and I will pay thee, he is free, &c.''

This man insisted on payment of the whole debt; which expresses the rigour and severity used by some professors of religion to their fellow Christians; who, having offended them, in ever so small a matter, will not put up with the affront, nor forgive the injury, without having the most ample satisfaction, and avenging themselves upon them to the uttermost.

Gill: Mat 18:29 - And his fellow servant fell down at his feet // and besought him, saying, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all

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.

Gill: Mat 18:30 - And he would not // but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt

And he would not,.... Have patience with him, give him time for payment, and forbear severity at present, as he requested:

but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt; had him before a proper officer, and proved his debt, and got him sent to jail, there to lie till the whole debt was paid; which, as it discovered ill nature, severe usage, so, great ignorance and stupidity; for a prison will pay no debt: which sets forth the rigorous proceedings of some church members against their brethren, that have displeased them; who immediately bring the matter before the church, and will not be easy unless some censure is laid upon them, or they are cast out, until full satisfaction is given them, whereby oftentimes an useful member of a church is lost.

Gill: Mat 18:31 - So when his fellow servants saw what was done // they were very sorry // and came and told unto their Lord all that was done

So when his fellow servants saw what was done,.... What hard usage, and ill treatment, their fellow servant met with; the Syriac reads, "their fellow servants", being the fellow servants both of the creditor and the debtor:

they were very sorry; they were greatly grieved and troubled at the cruelty of the one, and the unhappiness of the other; being more tenderhearted, and of a more forgiving spirit than he:

and came and told unto their Lord all that was done; to their fellow servant, by one that had so lately received such favours from him: this may be expressive of the concern of some members of churches at such conduct: who, though they may not have strength and number sufficient to oppose such measures, yet being secretly grieved at such cruel methods, go to the throne of grace, and spread the case before the Lord, tell him all that is done by way of complaint; which, is no impeachment of his omniscience, only shows their trouble for such malpractices, and the sense they have, by whom only such grievances can be redressed.

Gill: Mat 18:32 - Then his Lord, after that he had called him // said unto him, O thou wicked servant // I forgave thee all that debt // because thou desiredst me

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! Munster's Hebrew Gospel reads, "thou servant of Belial"; thou cruel and hard hearted man to thy fellow servant, and ungrateful creature to me, on whom my goodness to thee has not made any impression, nor taken any effect:

I forgave thee all that debt: all that vast debt of ten thousand talents, and that freely:

because thou desiredst me: not to forgive the debt, but to have patience, and give time, and therefore unasked forgave the whole sum, every farthing of it; which was such an instance of pure goodness, as was enough to have wrought upon an heart of stone, and engaged the most tender concern and pity for a fellow creature, as well as filled with thankfulness to the kind benefactor. The favour so lately bestowed on him is justly observed as an aggravation of his wickedness.

Gill: Mat 18:33 - Shouldest not thou also have had compassion // on thy fellow servant // even as, I had pity on thee

Shouldest not thou also have had compassion..... It is but reasonable, what ought to be, and may be expected, that such who have received mercy, should show mercy; and as the Lord had compassion on this man, and had forgiven him such an immense sum, and saved him, his wife and children, from being sold for bondslaves, the least he could have done after this, would have been to have followed such an example, and have had mercy, as his Lord says to him,

on thy fellow servant; between whom, and him, there was not so great a distance, as between him, and his Lord; and the sum so small that was owing to him, as not to be mentioned with his:

even as, I had pity on thee; such an instance of pity and compassion did not only set him an example, worthy of his imitation, but laid him under an obligation to have acted such a part.

Gill: Mat 18:34 - And his Lord was wroth // and delivered him to the tormentors // till he should pay all that was due unto him

And his Lord was wroth,.... Very angry, greatly incensed, and justly provoked at such inhuman treatment:

and delivered him to the tormentors, or jail keepers. The Ethiopic version renders it, "to them that judge", or the judges; Munster's Hebrew Gospel, "to the punishers", or such that inflicted punishment according to the decree of the judge: from both, the sense may be, that he was delivered over to proper judges of his case, to be treated as the nature of it required, to be cast into prison, and there endure all the severities of law and justice:

till he should pay all that was due unto him; which being so vast a sum, and he but a servant, could never be done: but inasmuch as this man was fully and freely pardoned before, how comes it to pass, that full payment of debt is yet insisted on? It is certain, that sin, once pardoned by God, he never punishes for it; for pardon with him is of all sin; he forgives all trespasses, though ever so many, and remits the whole debt, be it ever so large; which act of his grace will never be revoked: it is one of his gifts which are without repentance; it proceeds upon, and comes through a plenary satisfaction for sin made by his own Son, and therefore it would be unjust to punish for it: by this act, sin is covered out of sight; it is blotted out, and entirely done away, and that for ever. Hence some think this man had only the offer of a pardon, and not that itself; but it is not an offer of pardon, that Christ, by his blood, has procured, and is exalted to give, but that itself; and this man had his debt, his whole debt forgiven him: others think, that this was a church forgiveness, who looked upon him, judged him, and received him as one forgiven; but for his cruel usage of a fellow member, delivered him to the tormentors, passed censures on him, and excommunicated him, till he should give full satisfaction, which is more likely: others, this forgiveness was only in his own apprehensions: he presumed, and hoped he was forgiven, when he was not; but then his crime could not have been so aggravated as is: rather, this forgiveness is to be understood of averting calamities and judgments, likely to fall for his iniquities, which is sometimes the sense of this phrase: see 1Ki 8:34 and so his being delivered to the tormentors may mean, his being distressed with an accusing guilty conscience, an harassing, vexing devil, many misfortunes of life, and temporal calamities. Though after all, this is not strictly to be applied to any particular case or person, but the scope of the parable is to be attended to; which is to enforce mutual forgiveness among men, from having received full and free pardon at the hands of God; and that without the former, there is little reason to expect the latter, as appears from what follows.

Gill: Mat 18:35 - So likewise shall my heavenly Father // he will do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

So likewise shall my heavenly Father,.... This is the accommodation and application of the parable, and opens the design and intent of it; showing that God, who is Christ's Father, that is in heaven, will act in like manner towards all such persons, who are cruel and hard hearted to their brethren, and are of merciless and unforgiving spirits; for so it is said,

he will do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. The phrase, "their trespasses", is omitted by the Vulgate Latin, the Arabic, and the Ethiopic versions, but is in all the Greek copies; and designs not pecuniary debts, though these are to be forgiven, and not rigorously exacted in some cases, and circumstances; but all injuries by word or deed, all offences, though ever so justly taken, or unjustly given; these should be forgiven fully, freely, and from the heart, forgetting, as well as forgiving, not upbraiding with them, or with former offences, and aggravating them; and should also pray to God that he would forgive also. It is certainly the will of God, that we should forgive one another all trespasses and offences. The examples of God and Christ should lead and engage unto it; the pardon of sin received by ourselves from the hands of God strongly enforces it; the peace and comfort of communion in public ordinances require it; the reverse is contrary to the spirit and character of Christians, is very displeasing to our heavenly Father, greatly unlike to Christ, and grieving to the Spirit of God.