Matthew 18:21-35 Luke 17:4
Matthew 18:21. Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me?
Peter made this objection according to the natural feelings and disposition
of the flesh. It is natural to all men to wish to be forgiven; and, therefore,
if any man does not immediately obtain forgiveness, he complains that he
is treated with sternness and cruelty. But those who demand to be treated
gently are far from being equally gentle towards others; and therefore,
when our Lord exhorted his disciples to meekness, this doubt occurred to
Peter: “If we be so strongly disposed to grant forgiveness, what will be
the consequence, but that our lenity shall be an inducement to offend?” He
asks, therefore, if it be proper frequently to forgive offenders; for,
since the number seven is taken for a large number, the force of the adverb,
(eJpta>kiv) seven times, is the same as if he had said, “How long, Lord,
dost thou wish that offenders be received into favor? for it is unreasonable,
and by no means advantageous, that they should, in every case, find us
willing to be reconciled.” But Christ is so far from yielding to this objection,
that he expressly declares that there ought to be no limit to forgiving; for
he did not intend to lay down a fixed number, but rather to enjoin us never
to become wearied.
Luke differs somewhat from Matthew; for he states the command of Christ
to be simply, that we should be prepared to forgive seven times; but the
meaning is the same, that we ought to be ready and prepared to grant forgiveness
not once or twice, but as often as the sinner shall repent. There is only
this difference between them, that, according to Matthew, our Lord, in
reproving Peter for taking too limited a view, employs hyperbolically a
larger number, which of itself is sufficient to point out the substance
of what is intended. For when Peter asked if he should forgive seven times,
it was not because he did not choose to go any farther, but, by presenting
the appearance of a great absurdity, to withdraw Christ from his opinion,
as I have lately hinted. So then he who shall be prepared to forgive seven
times will be willing to be reconciled as far as to the seventieth offense.
But the words of Luke give rise to another question; for Christ does
not order us to grant forgiveness, till the offender turn to us and give
evidence of repentance. I reply, there are two ways in which offenses are
forgiven. If a man shall do me an injury, and I, laying aside the desire
of revenge, do not cease to love him, but even repay kindness in place
of injury, though I entertain an unfavorable opinion of him, as he deserves,
still I am said to forgive him. For when God commands us to wish well to
our enemies, He does not therefore demand that we approve in them what
He condemns, but only desires that our minds shall be purified from all
hatred. In this kind of pardon, so far are we from having any right to
wait till he who has offended shall return of his own accord to be reconciled
to us, that we ought to love those who deliberately provoke us, who spurn
reconciliation, and add to the load of former offenses. A second kind of
forgiving is, when we receive a brother into favor, so as to think favorably
respecting him, and to be convinced that the remembrance of his offense
is blotted out in the sight of God. And this is what I have formerly remarked,
that in this passage Christ does not speak only of injuries which have
been done to us, but of every kind of offenses; for he desires that, by
our compassion, we shall raise up those who have fallen. This doctrine
is very necessary, because naturally almost all of us are peevish beyond
measure; and Satan, under the pretense of severity, drives us to cruel
rigor, so that wretched men, to whom pardon is refused, are swallowed up
by grief and despair.
But here another question arises. As soon as a man by words makes profession
of repentance, are we bound to believe him? Were this done, we must of
necessity go willingly and knowingly into mistake; for where will be discretion,
if any man may freely impose on us, even to the hundredth offense? I answer,
.first, the discourse relates here to daily faults, in which every man,
even the best, needs forgiveness.Since, then, amidst such infirmity of
the flesh, our road is so slippery, and snares and attacks so numerous
what will be the consequence if, at the second or third fall, the hope
of forgiveness is cut off? We must add, secondly, that Christ does not
deprive believers of the exercise of judgment, so as to yield a foolish
readiness of belief to every slight expression, but only desires us to
be so candid and merciful, as to stretch out the hand to offenders, provided
there be evidence that they are sincerely dissatisfied with their sins.
For repentance is a sacred thing, and therefore needs careful examination;
but as soon as the offender gives probable evidence of conversion, Christ
desires that he shall be admitted to reconciliation, lest, on being repulsed,
he lose courage and fall back.
Thirdly, It must be observed that, when any man, through his light and
unsteady behavior, has exposed himself to suspicion, we may grant pardon
when he asks it, and yet may do so in such a manner as to watch over his
conduct for the future, that our forbearance and meekness, which proceed
from the Spirit of Christ, may not become the subject of his ridicule.
For we must observe the design of our Lord himself, that we ought, by our
gentleness, to assist those who have fallen to rise again. And certainly
we ought to imitate the goodness of our heavenly Father, who meets sinners
at a distance to invite them to salvation. Besides, as repentance is a
wonderful work of the Spirit, and is the creation of the new man, if we
despise it, we offer an insult to God himself.
23. The kingdom of heaven is compared. As it is difficult to
bend us to mercy, and as we are quickly seized with weariness, particularly
when we have to bear with many faults of brethren, our Lord confirms this
doctrine by a most appropriate parable, the substance of which is, that
those who will not yield to pardon the faults of brethren judge very ill
for themselves, and subject themselves to a very hard and severe law; for
they will find God to be equally stern and inexorable towards themselves.
There are three parts in which the resemblance mainly consists; for the
master is contrasted with the servant, the large sum of money with small
or ordinary sums, and extraordinary kindness with extreme cruelty. By attending
to these three points, it will be easy to ascertain Christ’s meaning; for
what are we, if we are compared with God? And how large is the sum which
every one of us owes to God? Lastly, how inconsiderable are the offenses,
with which brethren are chargeable towards us, if we take into account
our obligation to God? How ill then does that man deserve the compassion
of God, who, though oppressed with an immense load, implacably refuses
to forgive even the smallest offenses to men like himself? So far as regards
the words, the kingdom of heaven here denotes the spiritual condition of
the Church; as if Christ had said, that the state of matters between God
and men, in regard to the soul and the nature of spiritual life, is the
same as between an ordinary or earthly master and his servants, in regard
to money and the affairs of the present life.
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?
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 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.
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.
