Gospel Notes by Michael Whelan SM
Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
“For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” (Matthew 18:21-35 – NRSV)
Introductory notes
General
The parable is found only in Matthew.
“This chapter (18) forms the fourth of Matthew’s great collections of Jesus’ sayings (after 5–7, 10 and 13); there is one more to go (23–25). It is every bit as challenging as the rest. Its central and sharpest point is just this: that Jesus is establishing God’s ‘new covenant’ with Israel and the world. As the prophet Jeremiah saw half a millennium earlier (Jeremiah 31:34), the way of life which will mark out that new covenant is forgiveness. Jesus has already taught his followers to pray for it (6:12), and has specified clearly that if you want forgiveness you’ve got to be prepared to give it (6:14–15). Now he returns to the theme.
“Peter’s question and Jesus’ answer say it all (verses 21–22). If you’re still counting how many times you’ve forgiven someone, you’re not really forgiving them at all, but simply postponing revenge. ‘Seventy times seven’ is a typical bit of Jesus’ teasing. What he means, of course, is ‘don’t even think about counting; just do it’.” (N T Wright, Matthew for Everyone (Part 2: Chapters 16-28), London: SPCK, 2004, 40.)
Henry Wansbrough OSB writes: “The chapter on relations between brethren, is summed up by a parable on forgiveness …. Underlying is the Jewish doctrine of the two measures by which judgement may be exercised, justice or mercy; it is the latter which Jesus constantly demands.” (Henry Wansbrough OSB, “St Matthew” in A New Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, edited by Reginal Fuller et al, 1969, 924.)
We are reminded of the earlier teaching, when the disciples are picking corn on the Sabbath and the religious authorities challenge this – see 12:1-8. Jesus tells the Pharisees: “But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:7-8).
Specific
Lord: The Greek word by which Peter addresses Jesus, is Kyrios, a very respectful form of address. Peter is here speaking as spokesman for the group.
member of the church: The Greek word, here translated as “member of the church,” is adelphos, literally meaning “brother”. NRSV endeavours at all times to use inclusive language.
How often?: This is a crucial question in the whole drama. Jesus’ response suggests something like: “Don’t even ask, Peter!” “The number hebdomēkontakis hepta can be translated also as seventy-seven times. Whether it be 77 or 490 times, the point is that there can be no limits to the willingness to forgive. The numbers allude to Gen 4:24: ‘If Cain is avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy-sevenfold.’ … The parable illustrates not the quantity of forgiveness (how often?) but the quality by giving the reason for ‘no limits’: If God places no limits, humans cannot place a limit. On the other hand, those who place limits on forgiving others will have limits placed on their forgiveness by God” (Daniel J Harrington, The Gospel of Matthew, Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2007, 269).
Forgiveness is a theme to which Matthew returns several times – see for example, 6:12 and 7:2. One scholar writes: “Peter has learned that it is important to forgive, so he has made some progress. But surely, he apparently reasons, there must be a limit? How long must one keep on forgiving? He talks about a brother (see on 1:2 for Matthew’s interest in brotherhood) sinning against him, so he is thinking primarily about what happens within the circle of Jesus’ followers (brother can mean “brother-man,” but that does not seem to be the meaning here). This accords with the fact that a few verses back Jesus has been talking about one brother sinning against another (v. 15). Peter asks whether forgiving such offenses seven times is sufficient. There was a rabbinic view that one need forgive only three times: ‘If a man commits a transgression, the first, second and third time he is forgiven, the fourth time he is not forgiven’ (Yoma 86b). Peter more than doubled this quota of forgivenesses. Peter has clearly learned something from Jesus. He understands now that retaliation is not the right path for a disciple; rather, forgiveness is a quality to be prized. But he sees this as something that should be practiced in moderation. Surely forgiving the same person seven times would be enough?” (Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1992, 471.)
Slaves: “Despite the term douloi (“slaves”) these are high officials in the king’s bureaucracy (see 18:28, 31)” (Harrington, op cit, 270).
ten thousand talents: The sums of money mentioned are meant to shock. Ten thousand talents is a sum six hundred thousand times one hundred denarii. A hundred denarii represents the wages for about four months casual labour! And so the debtor’s plea – “Give me time and I will repay the whole debt” – is an empty promise. He could never repay this debt. He is in no position to appeal for justice. He needs mercy. “The implications of Matt 18:15–35 for life within the Church today are great. The text outlines a clear procedure designed to help the sinner recognize the sin and return to the community. It roots reconciliation and forgiveness of sins in God’s mercy, and thus reveals the foolishness of those who try to set limits on their willingness to forgive others” (Harrington, op cit, 272). “The sum simply represents the largest monetary unit (talent) multiplied by the largest unit of measurement (10,000). The resultant sum would represent more than the annual produce of most of the Eastern provinces of the Roman empire combined. In the present day context it is is difficult not to think of the vvast international debts under which the economies of developing countries labour” (Brendan Byrne, Lifting the Burden: Reading Matthew’s Gospel in the Church Today, Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2004, Footnote 17, 144).
out of pity for him: The Greek word is splanchnizomai meaning “to be moved as to one’s inwards (splanchna), to be moved with compassion, to yearn with compassion” (W E Vine, M F Unger, & W White, Jr., Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Vol. 2), Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 1996, 117). Matthew generally uses this word in reference to Jesus, describing his attitude to the multitudes and to individuals who are suffering – see 9:36; 14:14; 15:32; 18:27; 20:34.
The forgiven debtor who refuses to forgive is rebuked for his lack of mercy: ‘Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’
Forgiveness
In today’s Gospel – Matthew 18:21-35 – a parable of forgiveness is told by Jesus in response to Peter’s question: “‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’” One commentator writes: “Peter’s question and Jesus’ answer say it all (verses 21–22). If you’re still counting how many times you’ve forgiven someone, you’re not really forgiving them at all, but simply postponing revenge. ‘Seventy times seven’ is a typical bit of Jesus’ teasing. What he means, of course, is ‘don’t even think about counting; just do it’” (N T Wright, Matthew for Everyone (Part 2: Chapters 16-28), London: SPCK, 2004, 40).
Peter’s question concerns forgiveness within the community. However, Jesus’ response is core teaching of his. For example: “‘I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven’” (5:43-45); “‘Pray then in this way, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. … And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (6:9-12). At the beginning of his ministry Jesus proclaims the kingdom: “‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near’” (4:17).
We must avoid simplistic advice here, like “forgive and forget.” Forgiveness is complex and profound, both gift and task.
Think of forgiveness firstly as an invitation rather than a commandment. God is the source of all forgiveness. When we speak of forgiveness therefore, we are speaking of participation in God’s forgiveness. If we think we must be the source of forgiveness, we are exposing ourselves to despair. Here is the wonderful paradox: The forgiveness that is asked of us is already given! Saying “Yes!” to the gift is our first task.
Life is not dictated by what happens but by our response to what happens. When we are hurt by another person, something has happened. Part of that “happening” is our reaction – we may get angry and resentful and so on. But our response can include choosing to face the reaction, listening to the feelings non-judgmentally, maybe getting some help to process that reaction. We have little control over how we react, we do have more or less control over how we respond.
Deep within, we have the capacity to choose an attitude. In practice, our first movement in accepting the gift of forgiveness is expressed in an intention. Whilst we may never be completely free of painful feelings such as anger and resentment, we can choose to intend good rather than evil or at least not intend evil. This choice may be made whilst there is still a reaction happening within us and that reaction may include some dark thoughts and painful feelings. We may carry such thoughts and feelings to our death! Forgiveness is not in the reaction but the response, not in the thoughts and feelings but in the chosen intention.