Matthew 18:21-19:1 NRSVue
21Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if my brother or sister sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” 22Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
23“For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him, 25and, as he could not pay, the lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions and payment to be made. 26So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. 28But 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.’ 29Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. 31When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. 32Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ 34And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt.
1When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.
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Reflection on Matthew 18:21-19:1
Inspiration from 2025-08-14 Daily Prayer
Jesus is saying here that there must be no limit to our forgiveness of others. In this, we are to try in our own poor way to imitate our God, who forgives endlessly. In this gospel, as in the Our Father, we are told that the reason we should forgive is because we ourselves are constantly being forgiven by God. Let us pray for this grace.
Our forgiveness is tied to the call never to judge others. We cannot judge others because we cannot get inside their minds to understand all that is going on in them. Only God can do this. So we have to make allowances for them and indeed for ourselves. Let us pray for generosity and greater understanding with this.
Further reflection
Jesus points out that forgiveness knows no limit.
The inability to forgive those who have offended us can be corrosive and the harbouring of hurts destructive. Are there people you can’t forgive? If so, devote time to pray for the ability to do so, and linger over the phrase in the ‘Our Father’: ‘forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors’. (Matthew 6:12).