The Motley Crew – August 25, 2010

Matthew 18:21-35

The Questions

Read Matthew 18:21-35

1. What do you think of Peter’s offer?

2. What do you think of Jesus’ answer?

3. Did you notice Peter didn’t say the brother had asked for forgiveness. What does this mean?

4. How are verses 24-27 like the Kingdom of God ?

5. How are verses 28-30 not like the Kingdom of God ?

6. Have you noticed how sin makes us do stupid things?

7. So what is the answer?

8. How does verse 35 fit into our proclamation of the Gospel?

9. Could this be one of the reasons people are turned off by churches today?

The Motley Crew – August 25, 2010

Matthew 18:21-35

Some Suggested Answers

Read Matthew 18:21-35

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"

22 Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.[f]

23 "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents[g] was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

26 "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27 The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

28 "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.[h] He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.

29 "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'

30 "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

32 "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

35 "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

Footnotes:

f. Matthew 18:22 Or seventy times seven

g. Matthew 18:24 That is, millions of dollars

h. Matthew 18:28 That is, a few dollars

We opened with prayer.

1. What do you think of Peter’s offer?

The old Jewish teaching was to forgive someone up to 3 times. So Peter was going way above what he thought was necessary.

People's New Testament

The Lord had just spoken of the duty of seeking reconciliation with those who trespassed against us (Mt 18:15-17), and there seems to have been some doubt in the mind of Peter how far this principle should be carried.

Till seven times? It is stated that the Jewish Rabbis held that forgiveness must be extended to one who confessed his fault, but this was limited to three repetitions of the offense. Peter had an idea that the Savior's rule would insist on still greater forbearance.

Concerning Matthew 18:22 – “Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” – Dr. Harold H. Buls writes:

The commentaries point out that the Rabbis, on the basis of Amos 1:3; 2:6 and Job 33:29.30, limited forgiveness to three times, a plain misapplication of these passages. Peter was more generous than the Rabbis but his generosity amounted to limitation which destroys it all. This passage [Matthew 18:22] involves no limitation.

Amos 1:6 (New International Version)
 6 This is what the LORD says:
       "For three sins of Gaza,
       even for four, I will not turn back my wrath .
       Because she took captive whole communities
       and sold them to Edom,

2. What do you think of Jesus’ answer?

Who can even keep up with 7, much less 7 X 70! Obviously, Jesus means to forgive all wrongs against us.

People's New Testament

18:22 Until seventy times seven. That is, there should be no limit at which it shall be refused if it is asked in the spirit of sincere penitence.

3. Did you notice Peter didn’t say the brother had asked for forgiveness. What does this mean?

“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”

For health and well-being, and to follow this teaching, we must forgive whether the brother asks for it or not. Gene reminded us forgiveness is a choice not a feeling.

Dr. Lenski wrote:

This remission on the part of the wronged brother is an entirely separate thing and is not to be confused with the remission God may grant. We must at once forgive every wrong, whether the wrongdoer repents and makes acknowledgment to us or not. That clears us. We hold nothing against the man who has wronged us. But he has his sin to settle with God. It is to help him settle it aright with God, so that God, too, will remit and dismiss his sin, that Jesus orders the procedure outlined in verse 15 etc.

Dr. Buls, however, does not agree with Dr. Lenski:

In vs. 21 Jesus is speaking about a repentant sinner, a person who commits many sins of weakness. In vss. 15-18 Jesus had spoken of an impenitent sinner. Neither God nor the Christian should forgive an impenitent sinner. His impenitence keeps an impenitent sinner from being forgiven. In vss. 26-27 the wicked servant at first is penitent, confessing and begging for mercy. But in vss. 28-34 the wicked servant became impenitent. His fellow servants grieved over his impenitence. And the Lord refused to forgive his debt.

Luke also records our Lord speaking about forgiveness.

Luke 17:3-4 (New International Version)

3 ... "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4 If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him."

One possible solution to the apparent conflict between Luke and Matthew is the difference between the mandatory (Luke) and the permissive (Matthew). From Luke's Gospel, we are required to forgive the sinner who repents. From Matthew's Gospel, we are given the permission to forgive whether or not the sinner repents. Luke's Gospel, of course, does not forbid this.

Why would we want to forgive the unrepentant sinner? This act of forgiveness helps me to leave the sin in the dust behind me, and to think about it no more. In the alternative, not forgiving can be like a burr under a saddle blanket or a small stone in a shoe – a constant, background irritation that prevents me from getting on with life, and fully embracing God's love and forgiveness of me. We must forgive whether they ask or not, or else it will kill us. Thus, the forgiveness is not a gift to the unrepentant sinner, it is a gift to ourselves.

Finally, it is important to distinguish between the forgiveness granted by an individual and the forgiveness granted by the church through the Office of the Keys. In the former case, the forgiveness is granted to afford me peace of mind. In the case of the church, however, the pastoral office has a different responsibility to bind on earth in the name of Christ. But even then the pastor is doing it for the church, not as an individual.

4. How are verses 24-27 like the Kingdom of God ?

Verses 23-27

23 "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents [that is, millions of dollars] was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

26 "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27 The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

People's New Testament

Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened. The Lord next enforces the great doctrine of forgiveness to our fellow-man in a parable.

Unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. The king is the Lord, the servants those who profess to serve him as King; the kingdom is his church on earth, but reaching beyond the earth.

a. There is no way we could pay our sin debt.

People's New Testament (1891)

Which owed him ten thousand talents. An immense sum. The talent was a weight, not a coin, and its value would depend on the purity of the precious metal used in the coinage. If the Greek silver talent is meant, the ten thousand talents would about to about USD7,500,000. What is meant is that the sum was beyond human ability to pay.

John Wesley: “Hereby our Lord intimates the vast number and weight of our offences against God, and our utter incapacity of making him any satisfaction.”

b. When we fall on our knees before God He cancels our debt through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ!

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown Bible Commentary

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.

John 3.

16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

5. How are verses 28-30 not like the Kingdom of God ?

Verses 28-30.

28 "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.[that is, a few dollars] He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.

29 "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'

30 "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.

This man was certainly not thankful and most likely not repentant. He was a sinner who was ultimately not saved. Gene also pointed out that he was collecting on a debt that was probably canceled in the generosity of the master.

This man – who had just been forgiven a debt of millions of dollars – has just refused to forgive a debt of just a few dollars. He certainly didn't learn much from his master's generosity.

People's New Testament

An hundred denarii. The denarius ... was a silver coin equal to from sixteen to eighteen cents. The whole debt would therefore be from sixteen to eighteen dollars. Its smallness compared with his debt to his lord is intended to show that our neighbors' sins against us are insignificant when contrasted with ours towards God. We need such boundless mercy that we ought to be prepared to give mercy freely.

Also note that the fellow servant used exactly the same language that the first servant used.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown Bible Commentary

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 same words which drew compassion from his master, are here employed towards himself by his fellow servant.

Finally, note the duration of this punishment:

People's New Testament

Till he should pay all. As, however, he never could pay, he was condemned to perpetual imprisonment.

John Wesley

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 willfully 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.

And we, too, would be condemned to perpetual punishment, but are saved only because Jesus paid the ransom for us all, something we could never have done for ourselves.

6. Have you noticed how sin makes us do stupid things?

See verse 30 – the man can’t pay his debt in prison. See Genesis 3:7 – after their eyes were open they put rough leaves on the most tender part of their body and they tried to hide from God. We concluded that sin causing us to do stupid things was a common malady among us.

7. So what is the answer?

Jesus and true repentance! Dr. Lenski, on page 714, quotes Luther

Before the king drew him to account, he has no conscience, does not feel the debt, and would have gone right along, made more debt, and cared nothing about it. … Such people cannot come to the forgiveness of sin, for they do not come to realize that they have sin … But now that the king reckons with him, he begins to feel the debt. So it is with us. … Such knowledge makes a real humble man, works contrition, so that one can come to the forgiveness of sins.

Dr. Buls observes:

God does not forgive us because we forgive others. It's the other way around. Both Matthew 6:12 and 18:33 plainly show that our forgiveness should be commensurate with that of God toward us, not as to amount, but as to spirit. The mercy of God, in Christ, is the very heart of Scripture.

8. How does verse 35 fit into our proclamation of the Gospel?

Verse 35:"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

It is a moral monstrosity for one of us to receive God’s remission and then turn a blind eye to a brother. God will ultimately judge – correctly. Thank God for the cross and empty tomb of Jesus!

And thank God that not only can we read the Bible in our own language, but also that we are blessed with ministers who preach and teach God's Word to us.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown Bible Commentary

Verse 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.

People's New Testament

So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, etc. – Observe Christ says, My heavenly Father, not your. God will not be their heavenly Father unless they emulate his spirit of mercy, and are as ready to forgive others their trespasses as he is to forgive their own. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy (Mt 5:7). As ye mete to others it shall be measured to you (Mt 7:2). Forgive us our trespasses even as we forgive those who trespass against us (Mt 6:12). Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap (Ga 6:7). If we are hard and unforgiving to our fellow-men, we can never expect our heavenly Father to overlook our own sins. It is a vital doctrine that we, by our own mind towards others, determine what shall be the mind of God towards us.

Finally, such forgiveness must be made “from the heart.”

Harold H. Buls

"From your hearts" is a prepositional phrase denoting manner, meaning "genuinely" as opposed to "superficially." How easy to say: "I'll forgive but not forget." How easy to go through the motions of forgiveness but not to do it heartily!

Also from Dr. Buls:

People sometimes say: "I'll forgive but I won't forget." That is very, very dangerous. Then God forgives us for Jesus' sake, does He forget? Surely He does. At Jer. 31:34 God says: "I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more."

9. Could this be one of the reasons people are turned off by churches today?

Yup.

And this is all the more reason that we must tell everyone that churches are not the homes of saints, but of sinners.

Mark 2:17. “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Harold H. Buls

Doesn't a Christian sin daily? Of course he does. But he does not sin willingly. He repents and cries for mercy. And he shows mercy to other sinners.

We closed with prayer.

Rejoice in the Lord always.
Again I will say, rejoice!

Philippians 4:4

Parallel Verses

None.

For Additional Study

Online Resources

Book of Concord in PDF Format, The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod <http://www.lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/LCMS/TrigBOC.pdf> (2MB file)

These texts are in the public domain and may be copied and distributed freely. The source of these translations is Triglot Concordia: The Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921).

A number of important Lutheran texts can be found in the Belief and Practice section of the website of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod: http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=112

John S. C. Abbott and Jacob Abbott, Illustrated New Testament
http://www.studylight.org/com/ain/

Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament
http://www.studylight.org/com/bnn/

Harold F. Buls
http://www.pericope.org/buls-notes/index.html and
http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/wittenberg-bul.html
Adapted from Exegetical Notes, Series A, Festival Season Sundays, Gospel Texts, by Harold H. Buls, Concordia Theological Seminary Press: Ft Wayne IN, 1980

The Adam Clarke Commentary
http://www.studylight.org/com/acc/

Burton Coffman, Commentary on the Whole Bible
http://www.studylight.org/com/bcc/

John Darby, Synopsis of the Bible
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/darby/matthew1.htm

The Greek Interlinear Bible,
http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/Greek_Index.htm
Based on NA26/27. A word-by-word translation of the Greek New Testament.

David Guzik, Commentaries on the Bible
http://www.studylight.org/com/guz/

The Geneva Study Bible
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/geneva/matthew1.htm

John Gill, Exposition of the Bible
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/gill/matthew1.htm

Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (Complete)
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/mh/matthew1.htm

Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/mhc/matthew1.htm

Jamieson, Faussett and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/jfb/matthew1.htm

B.W. Johnson, People's New Testament
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/johnson/matthew1.htm

John Lightfoot, Bible Commentary
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/light/matthew1.htm

Martin Luther, Commentary on Galatians
http://www.studylight.org/com/mlg/

J. W. McGarvey, Original Commentary on Acts
http://www.studylight.org/com/oca/

J. W. McGarvey and Philip Y. Pendleton, The Fourfold Gospel (also known as "Harmony Of the Four Gospels")
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/four/matthew1.htm

Alexander Maclaren's commentaries on the books of the Bible (various titles)
http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/m#a2330

The NET Bible. <http://bible.org/netbible/> A completely new translation of the Bible with 60,932 translators’ notes. It was completed by more than 25 scholars – experts in the original biblical languages – who worked directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. Excellent notes, citing both the Greek and Hebrew, as needed. Greek and Hebrew fonts available without cost.

A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures of the New Testament
http://www.studylight.org/com/rwp/

C. I. Scofield, The Scofield Reference Notes (1917 Edition)
http://www.studylight.org/com/srn/

Charles H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David
http://www.studylight.org/com/tod/

R.A. Torrey, The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
http://www.studylight.org/com/tsk/

W.E. Vine, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words
http://www.antioch.com.sg/bible/vines/

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/wesley/matthew1.htm

Other Additional Resources:
http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/SPLC/Motley%20Crew%20Research%20Resources.html

Other Resources

Barker, Kenneth L., ed., TNIV Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006)

Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. Readers Edition. (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2006)

Davies, Benjamin, ed., Baker's Pocket Harmony of the Gospels (Baker Book House, 1975). Formerly printed as Harmony of the Four Gospels.

Goodrick, Edward W. and John R. Kohlenberger III, eds., The Strongest NIV Exhaustive Concordance (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999). This is the second edition, originally published as the Zondervan NIV Exhaustive Concordance. It was originally published as The NIV Exhaustive Concordance. It should be distinguished from The NIV Complete Concordance by the same authors.

Green, Jay P., ed., The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament. Vol. IV. Second Edition. (Hendrickson Publishers, 1985)

Halley, Henry H., Halley's Bible Handbook. New Revised Edition (24^th Edition). (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1965)

Hickie, W.J., Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1977). This is a reprint of an older edition, originally published by Macmillan, August. 1893. A contemporary review described this as "A handy little volume, compiled on sound principles from trustworthy authorities." The 1911 edition is available online and for download at http://openlibrary.org/b/OL17866849M/Greek-English_lexicon_to_the_New_Testament

Hoerber, Robert G., ed., Concordia Self-Study Bible. NIV (Great Rapids, Zondervan: 1973, 1984).

Lenski, R.C.H., The Interpretation of St. Matthew's Gospel (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1943, reprinted 1964)

The Lutheran Study Bible (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2009).

Nave, Orville J., ed., Nave's Topical Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1979)

New Bible Dictionary. Second Edition. (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1962)

Nicoll, W. Robertson, The Greek Expositor's Testament. Vol. 1. Five Volumes. (New York: George H. Doran Co., ca. 1910). Excellent notes on the Greek text and summaries of commentators. Available at Google Books ( www.books.google.com ) and the Internet Archive ( www.archive.org - easier to find here than at Google Books).

NIV Archeological Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005)

Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (Text from Project Gutenberg)

Robertson, A.T., Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville: Holman Reference, 2000). This “Concise Edition” is derived from the six-volume work by Robertson published in 1933. Robertson was also the author of 45 books, including numerous commentaries, a Harmony of the Gospels, etc. Also available online

Rogers, Cleon L. Jr., and Cleon L. Rogers III, eds., The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998). This is the second edition of the excellent work by Fritz Rienecker, A Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament, translated and edited by Cleon L. Rogers, Jr.

Strong, James, ed., The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990)

Vine, W.E., Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words: A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Original Greek Words with their Precise Meanings for English Readers (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, no date). Originally published circa 1940.