The Chosen Key Word in this Chapter is “Forgive” it comes from the Greek Word “aphiemi” which means “to forgive, to let go, to release.”
Jesus answers a question about greatness with a child, and a question about forgiveness with a debt too large to repay. Welcome to Bible Life Basics Chapter Reviews, I am Chris and this is Matthew 18.
When the disciples ask who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven, Jesus calls a small child to stand among them and says that unless they become “as little children,” humble and dependent, they cannot even enter the kingdom. He warns severely against causing “one of these little ones” to stumble, and teaches that offending causes of sin should be dealt with radically, better to lose a hand or an eye than to be led into destruction.
Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep, a shepherd leaving ninety-nine sheep to search for the one that wandered off, rejoicing more over that one recovered sheep than over the ninety-nine that never strayed. He then gives practical instructions for confronting sin within the community, first privately, then with witnesses, and finally before the whole church, showing that reconciliation should always be pursued patiently before any final separation.
When Peter asks how many times he must forgive someone who sins against him, suggesting seven times, Jesus answers, “until seventy times seven,” essentially removing any limit at all. He illustrates this with the parable of a servant forgiven an enormous, unpayable debt by his king, who then turns around and violently demands a small debt from a fellow servant. The Greek word for this kind of release from debt or sin is “aphiemi.” When the king learns of this, he hands the unforgiving servant over to be tormented, and Jesus warns that God will do the same to anyone who refuses to forgive others “from your hearts.”
The unforgiving servant forgot how much he himself had been forgiven the moment someone else owed him something small. Genuine forgiveness always flows out of remembering our own enormous debt, cancelled completely. Holding onto a grudge becomes far harder once we truly grasp how much grace we have already received.
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