ACC ~ Matthew 18 v21 - 35

OVERVIEW:

The beautiful mystery of seventy-seven is this: in that special number all sins of all generations were symbolized as having been forgiven. Since no generation was omitted, no generation misses out on the full gift of divine forgiveness in the cross. So also should we learn to forgive each other to the same extent that God has fully forgiven us. The frequency of pardon shows us there is never a time for anger, since God pardons us for all sins in their entirety by his gift rather than by our merit (HILARY OF POITIERS). The number six is full of toil and labor, reflecting the work of creation, but seven encompasses rest, which points to forgiveness (ORIGEN).

In the parable, the unmerciful servant had lost a vast amount. Much had been loaned and entrusted to him, but he had brought no gain to his master (ORIGEN). The master’s teaching purpose was to show him with all justice precisely how much debt he was going to free him from. In this way at least he might in due time become more gentle toward his fellow servant. Yet, even having learned of the weight of his debt and the greatness of the forgiveness, he continued to seize his fellow servant by the throat (CHRYSOSTOM). The forced sale of his wife and family portrays metaphorically utter separation from the joys of God (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). God created us from nothing and made the whole visible world for us. To us alone he breathed a living soul. Yet after all this, when humanity proved ungrateful toward its benefactor, God thought us worthy of an even greater gift: forgiveness (CHRYSOSTOM). God forgives our immense debt of ten thousand talents on the proviso that we ourselves release our fellow servants from the paltry hundred denarii, from the few minor faults they have committed against us (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). The king in the parable is the Son of God, and the kingdom belongs to the one who incomparably defines kingship itself and makes it possible (ORIGEN). Compare the two servants: one was indebted for ten thousand talents, the other for a pittance. One was merely dealing with his fellow servant, while the other was dealing with his lord. The one received entire forgiveness, the other asked for delay (CHRYSOSTOM). The story demands two things of us: to remember our own faults and not to bear a grudge against one who stumbles (APOLLINARIS).

18:21-22 | How Often Shall I Forgive?

NO TIME FOR ANGER

HILARY OF POITIERS: When Peter asked him whether he should forgive his brother sinning against him up to seven times, the Lord replied, “Not up to seven times but up to seventy times seven times.” In every way he teaches us to be like him in humility and goodness. In weakening and breaking the impulses of our rampant passions he strengthens us by the example of his leniency, by granting us in faith pardon of all our sins. For the vices of our nature did not merit pardon. Therefore all pardon comes from him. In fact, he pardons even those sins that remain in one after confession.

The penalty to be paid through Cain was established at sevenfold, but that sin was against a man, against his brother Abel, to the point of murder. [1] But in Lamech the penalty was established at seventy times seven times, [2] and, as we believe, the penalty was established on those responsible for the Lord’s Passion. [3] But the Lord through the confession of believers grants pardon for this crime. By the gift of baptism he grants the grace of salvation to his revilers and persecutors. How much more is it necessary, he shows, that pardon be returned by us without measure or number. And we should not think how many times we forgive, but we should cease to be angry with those who sin against us, as often as the occasion for anger exists. Pardon’s frequency shows us that in our case there is never a time for anger, since God pardons us for all sins in their entirety by his gift rather than by our merit. Nor should we be excused from the requirement of giving pardon that number of times [i.e., seventy times seven], since through the grace of the gospel God has granted us pardon without measure. ON MATTHEW 18.10. [4]

[1] Gen 4:8.

[2] Gen 4:24.

[3] It did not miss the eye of rabbinic interpreters that Cain would be avenged seven times and Lamech seventy-seven. Lamech lived 777 years. Lamech boasted of his vengeful killing of a young man, so it is pride that is being corrected. Such pride was attributed by Hilary of Poitiers to those who killed the Savior (cf. Gen 4:18-24).

[4] SC 258:84-86.

THE SEVENTY-SEVEN GENERATIONS FROM ADAM TO CHRIST

AUGUSTINE: What then does “seventy times seven” mean? Listen, my friends, to this great mystery, this wonderful gift. When the Lord was baptized, Luke the holy Evangelist there noted down his ancestry, in what order, series and stems that generation had been reached in which Christ was born. Matthew began from Abraham and came as far as Joseph in descending generations. [1] But Luke began to count by going back up in ascending order. Why does the one reckon in a descending and the other in an ascending order? Because Matthew set forth the generations of Christ by which he came down to us, and so he began to reckon when Christ was born from a descending order. [2] Luke begins to reckon in reverse from when Christ was baptized. In this is the beginning of an ascension, for he begins to reckon in an ascending order. Note that in his account he enumerates seventy-seven generations! [3] With whom did he begin his reckoning? Note carefully! He began to reckon from Christ up to Adam himself, who was the first sinner and who parented us into bondage to sin. Luke reckoned up to Adam, and so there are enumerated in toto seventy-seven generations—from Christ up to Adam and from Adam up to Christ. Note seventy-seven! So then if no generation was omitted, there is no exemption of any trespass that ought not to be forgiven. For therefore did he reckon up his seventy-seven generations, which number the Lord mentioned as to the forgiveness of sins; since he begins to reckon from the baptism, where all sins are remitted. [4] SERMON 83.5. [5]

[1] Mt 1:1.

[2] Cf. NPNF 1 6:257-58.

[3] Lk 3:23.

[4] Augustine followed Hilary of Poitiers and others in assuming that Jesus’ word about unlimited forgiviness may be a conscious allusion to the song of Lamech (Gen 4:24).

[5] PL 38:516-17; NPNF 1 6:364* (Sermon 33).

18:23 | A King Settling Accounts

WHICH KING?

WHOSE KINGDOM?

ORIGEN: If the comparison is to a king like this—and to one who acts like this—of whom must we be speaking if not the Son of God? For he is the king of the heavens. Just as he is wisdom itself and justice and truth, is he not kingship itself? The kingdom does not belong to any of those below, nor a part of those above, but to all those above, whatever is called the heavens. If you are curious about the beatitude “theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” [1] you can just as well say “theirs is Christ,” since Christ is the kingdom. COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 14.7. [2]

[1] Mt 5:3-10.

[2] GCS 40:289; ANF 9:498.

SETTLING ACCOUNTS WITH HIS SERVANTS

ORIGEN: The servants in this case are the dispensers of the word. [1] When he demands an account of the servants, the king also asks those who have borrowed from the servants, whether a hundred measures of grain or a hundred jars of oil or whatever those outside the king’s stewardship have received. For the fellow servant of the unjust steward, according to the parable, will not be found to be the one who owes a hundred measures of grain or a hundred jars of oil, as is clear from the words “How much do you owe my master?” Consider that each good and fitting deed is like a profit and a gain, but each bad one is like a loss. And just as one gain can be a gain of more money and another of less and there is a difference between the more and the less, so in the case of good deeds there is a kind of valuing of greater or lesser gains. COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 14.8. [2]

[1] Word means the Christian message, which is identified with Christ himself, the divine Word (Logos).

[2] GCS 40:293-94; ANF 9:499.

DEGREES OF SIN

CHRYSOSTOM: Do you see how great a difference there is between sins against humanity and sins against God? As much a difference as between ten thousand talents and a hundred denarii; no, much greater in fact. This comes about from the difference of the persons and from the frequency of the sins. For when someone is watching, we hold off and do not dare to sin. But God is watching all the time, and yet we are not afraid; in fact, we even say and do everything quite brazenly. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 61.1. [1]

[1] PG 58:589-90; NPNF 1 10:376.

18:24 | One Who Owed Ten Thousand Talents

WHEN HE BEGAN THE RECKONING

ORIGEN: The moment of beginning the reckoning starts with the household of God, as is it written in Ezekiel: “Begin at my sanctuary.” [1] This judgment begins as quickly as the twinkling of an eye. [2] In thinking of the demanding of accounts, let us not forget what we have said before, that these accounts are spiritually conceived. And the moment of demand begins understandably with those who owe the most. This is why the passage does not begin generally with a reckoning of all accounts but a specific one: one was brought to him. Here is the moment. He is beginning to demand an account of one who owed him ten thousand talents! It is as if the servant had lost a vast amount and much had been loaned and entrusted to him but had brought no gain to his master. Rather, he ended up losing a vast sum so as to owe him an incredible debt of talents. Remembering the prophet Zechariah, it may be that he owed so many talents for this reason: he had often sought out the woman hidden in a barrel with a lead cover, whose name is Iniquity. [3] COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 14.10. [4]

[1] Ezek 9:7.

[2] 1 Cor 15:52.

[3] Zech 5:7-8, a vision in which wickedness was personified as a woman entrapped in a measuring barrel with a heavy lead cover.

[4] GCS 40:298-99; ANF 9:520.

18:25 | His Lord Ordered Payment to Be Made

HE ORDERED HIM SOLD WITH HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN

CHRYSOSTOM: “His lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children.” Why? Not out of cruelty or inhumanity, for the punishment concerned the steward—his wife was already trapped like a slave to his folly. Rather, this discipline occurred in order to effect his transformation. His purpose is to frighten him by this threat so that he may come to supplication, and not merely that they all be sold. For if the lord had done this with unmitigated punishment in mind, he would not have granted his request, nor would he have bestowed upon him a special favor. He did not dismiss the debt, and he called for an accounting. Why? His teaching purpose was to show him with all justice precisely how much debt he was going to free him from! In this way at least he might in due time become more gentle toward his fellow servant. Yet, even having learned of the weight of his debt and the greatness of the forgiveness, he continued to take his fellow servant by the throat. If the master had not disciplined him beforehand with such attempted medicines, how much worse might his cruelty have been than the shocking extent that it actually turned out to be? THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 61.3. [1]

[1] PG 58:592; NPNF 1 10:378.

FORCED SALE

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: The sale of his wife and the rest of his family shows the complete and utter separation from the joys of God. For the sale shows quite clearly alienation from God. Those alienated from God are those who hear those bitter, fearful words, “Depart from me, you workers of iniquity, for I do not know you.” [1] FRAGMENT 217. [2]

[1] Mt 7:23; Lk 13:27.

[2] MKGK 225.

18:26-27 | The Servant’s Plea, the Lord’s Mercy

THE REDEMPTIVE MOTIVE OF THE MASTER

CHRYSOSTOM: Do you see again how generous he was? The servant asked only for an extension of time, but he gave him more than he asked for, remission and forgiveness of the entire debt. He wanted to give him this from the start, but he did not want the giving to be on his side only. He wanted the servant to learn from it and to ask for mercy, in order than he not be under an illusion of innocence. For that the whole was the Lord—even if the servant fell on his knees and implored—is demonstrated by the motive for the remission, for it says, “Out of pity the lord released him.” In this way he also wanted the servant to take some responsibility, to prevent him being too much put to shame, and so that he might learn from his own case and be lenient to his fellow servant, and schooled in his own calamities. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 61.3. [1]

[1] PG 58:592-93; NPNF 1 10:378.

THE LORD FORGAVE THE DEBT

CHROMATIUS: So we recognize that in the person of this king is signified the Son of God, who held the whole human race guilty in the infinite debt of sin, since through the original sin we were all debtors of sin and death. In the ten thousand talents the serious sins of the human race are signified. And though all men by natural law were debtors to this heavenly king and guilty—since the apostle says about the same natural law that “all men, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin” [1] —yet in this debt of sin the people of the Jews were particularly held guilty. After so many great benefits they could not keep the law received through Moses. Since they did not have the wherewithal to repay such debt, that is, how to make it good, the lord had ordered them to be tormented, along with their wives and children. That is, this same people along with their synagogue and all their offspring were to be thrashed, to the point of death. But in no way could either the people of the Jews, who had received the law, nor the Gentiles, that is, we ourselves, pay off such a great debt of sin. Hence the heavenly King, moved by pity and mercy, forgave us all our sins. And what are these sins? Those that every day in our prayers we ask to be forgiven, saying, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Therefore, since in no way—that is, with no satisfaction and no worthy penitence—could we pay off this debt of sin and eternal death, that eternal King came down from heaven and by remitting the human race its sins forgave all the debt of every one who believes in him. How he forgave it the holy apostle clearly shows when he says, “having canceled the bond which stood against us with its legal demands; this he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” [2] For we are held in sin-guilt as if under the debt of some creditor note. The Son of God has annulled this note written against us by the water of baptism and the drops of his blood. TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 59.5. [3]

[1] Rom 3:9.

[2] Col 2:14.

[3] CCL 9a:495-96.

18:28 | Pay What You Owe

TEN THOUSAND TALENTS OWED, A HUNDRED DENARII COLLECTED

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: The God of all releases us from the difficulties of our faults, according to the parable. This is what is signified by the ten thousand talents. [1] But this happens on the proviso that we ourselves release our fellow servants from the hundred denarii, that is, from the few minor faults they have committed against us. The angels who stand over us and are under the same yoke of service as we are make accusations before God. They do not speak to God as if God does not know—for God knows everything. Rather, in the interest of justice, they demand the proper punishment for those who choose to despise and dishonor the command that we love one another. When we meet our proper deserts, either we receive punishment in our present life, such as being visited with some pain or trouble or infirmity, or if not, we will certainly be punished in the future life. God punishes the obstinate, intractable person with a view to improving and changing him for the better. This is easy to see. Holy Scripture is pertinent here, in these wisely spoken words: “the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son,” [2] and again: “Abide instruction.” [3] FRAGMENT 216. [4]

[1] Mt 18:24.

[2] Heb 12:6; Prov 3:12.

[3] Prov 4:13; cf. Prov 19:20, Sir 41:14.

[4] MKGK 225.

18:29 | His Fellow Servant Pleads

I WILL PAY YOU

CHRYSOSTOM: And so our sins become greater, and not only from this but also from the benefits and honor which we enjoy from them. If you want to learn how our sins against God are like ten thousand talents, or more in fact, and even much more, I will try to show you briefly. But I fear, lest to those who are inclined to wickedness and love continually to sin, I should appear to provide them with still greater security; or that I might drive the meeker sort to despair, and that they should repeat the despairing question of the disciples: “Who then can be saved?” [1] But nevertheless I will continue on in the hope that I may make those who pay attention more secure and more amenable. For those who suffer an incurable disease and feel no pain are untouched by these words and do not change from their natural wickedness and inertia. And even if in the future they derive from my words greater occasion for contempt, that should be attributed not to this kind of argument but to their own insensibility. What I will say ought to be able to arouse them if only they attend to it and let it prick their hearts. But the meeker sort, when they see the profusion of their sins and learn the power of repentance, will of themselves pay more attention, I hope. And so it is necessary that I speak.

In speaking of our sins, I will distinguish between those we commit against God and against other persons. I will set forth not each person’s own but what are common. But then I will ask individuals to add their own sins according to an examination of their conscience. I will do this, having first set forth the good deeds of God to us. What then are God’s good deeds? He created us from nothing; he made the whole visible world for us, the heaven, the sea, the earth, animals, plants and seeds. I must be brief because of the infinite number of his works. Into us alone of all that are on earth he breathed a living soul. He planted a garden for us. He gave us a helpmate and set us over all the brute species, and he crowned us with glory and honor.

And yet after all this, when humanity turned out ungrateful toward its benefactor, he thought us worthy of an even greater gift—forgiveness. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 61.1. [2]

[1] Mt 19:25.

[2] PG 58:589-90; NPNF 1 10:376.

18:30 | He Refused to Show Mercy

UNJUST AND CRUEL

CHROMATIUS: When Peter asked this, the Lord commanded that the sinning brother should be forgiven not seven times but seventy times seven. He then added a parable, making the comparison of a king and his servant. The servant, though unworthy, had received such mercy from his master that even an immense debt was forgiven him. But he himself refused to show mercy to a fellow servant for his small debt. So, quite rightly, he was handed over to the torturers and received the just punishment of condemnation. For what would such a wicked servant not deserve to suffer? Though he had experienced such pity from his master, he was himself unjust and cruel to his fellow servant. By this example, we are clearly instructed and advised that if we do not forgive our fellow servants—that is, the brothers who sin against us—the debt of their sins, we will be condemned with like punishment. And though the comparison may seem to have been introduced for the present occasion, yet the parable itself has within it an integral logic and manifest truth. TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 59.4. [1]

[1] CCL 9a:495.

18:31-33 | Should Not You Have Had Mercy?

MERCY AND LACK OF MERCY

CHRYSOSTOM: Do you see the mercy of the lord? Do you see contrasted the lack of mercy of the servant? Listen, all you who do such things for money: one should not act like this because it is a sin. But it is much worse to act like this for money. How then does he plead? “Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” But he did not even respect the very words through which he had himself been saved. With these words he himself had been freed from a debt of ten thousand talents! He did not even recognize the harbor by means of which he had escaped shipwreck. Even the gesture of supplication did not remind him of his master’s kindness.

Casting all these out of his mind in his greed, cruelty and rancor, he was more brutal than any wild beast in seizing his fellow servant by the throat.

What are you doing, O my beloved? Do you not see that you are making such a demand upon yourself? You are deceiving yourself. You are thrusting a sword into yourself! You are revoking both the sentence and the gift. But he considered none of this, nor did he remember his own case, nor did he yield at all. Yet the requests were not on the same order. Compare them. One was for ten thousand talents, the other for a pittance: a hundred denarii. One was merely dealing with his fellow servant. But the other was dealing with his lord. The one received entire forgiveness; the other asked for delay, and not so much as this did he give him, for “he cast him into prison.” THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 61.4. [1]

[1] PG 58:593; NPNF 1 10:379.

18:34 | Delivered to the Jailers

TILL HE SHOULD PAY ALL HIS DEBTS

APOLLINARIS: When they do not tolerate our wickedness, our fellow servants are angels who accuse us before God. They do not accuse to God as to one who does not know of our sins but because of their anger at those who break the laws of human love. By “jailers” he means the angels entrusted with our punishment. “Till he should pay all his debts” means in effect that he has handed him over to be punished for all time. For he could never pay it back. For when he corrects a person in the present life, God hands him over to bonds, sickness and tortures, but in the future he hands him over to anguish without remission for all time. He did not say, “So also will your Father do to you,” but “my Father.” For such people are unworthy to be called sons of God. So the parable describes in summary the indescribable love of God. Anyone who does not imitate this love as far as he can will suffer severe punishment from the just Judge. Even though it has been said, “Not to be regretted are God’s blessings,” yet wickedness is so strong that it blocks out these words. So the story demands two things of us: to remember our own faults and not to bear a grudge on one who stumbles. FRAGMENT 92. [1]

[1] MKGK 29.

18:35 | If You Do Not Forgive

SO MY FATHER WILL DO TO YOU

CHRYSOSTOM: “In anger his lord delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt.” [1] This means forever, since he will never pay it. For since you did not become better by receiving blessings, it remains for you to be corrected by punishment. For since you have not become better by the kindness shown to you, it remains that you will be corrected only by vengeance. Although it is said that the blessings and gifts of God are irrevocable, [2] our recalcitrance may frustrate even this intention of God. For what, then, can be a more grievous thing than to be vengeful, especially when it appears to overthrow so great a gift of God. The text does not simply say they “delivered him” but “in anger delivered him.” For when he had earlier commanded him to be sold, his were not the words of wrath but, rightly understood, a moment of great mercy. He did not in fact show wrath at that point. But in this case it is a sentence of great anger, punishment and vengeance. So what does the parable mean? “So also my heavenly Father will do to you,” he says, “if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” Note that he did not say “your Father” but “my Father.” For it is not proper for God to be called the Father of one who is so wicked and malicious. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 61.4. [3]

[1] Mt 18:34.

[2] Rom 11:29.

[3] PG 58:594; NPNF 1 10:379-80.