Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 18:23-35

"Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, who would make a reckoning with his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, that owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not [wherewith] to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And the lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. But that servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, who owed him a hundred shillings: and he laid hold on him, and took [him] by the throat, saying, Pay what thou owest. So his fellow-servant fell down and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay that which was due. So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were exceeding sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord called him unto him, and saith to him, Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou besoughtest me: shouldest not thou also have had mercy on thy fellow-servant, even as I had mercy on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due. So shall also my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not every one his brother from your hearts." — Matthew 18:23-35 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: So that no one would think the Lord had commanded something great and burdensome in saying that we must forgive until seventy times seven, He adds a parable.

St. Jerome: For it is customary for Syrians, especially those in Palestine, to add a parable to what they are saying. This is so that the example and comparison might help their hearers retain what they might not remember from the teaching alone.

Origen of Alexandria: The Son of God, as He is wisdom, righteousness, and truth, is also a kingdom. He is not one of the kingdoms below, but is entirely from above, reigning over those in whose souls justice and the other virtues reign. Such people are made of heaven because they bear the image of the heavenly One.¹

This kingdom of heaven—that is, the Son of God—was therefore like a king when He was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, uniting humanity to Himself.

Remigius of Auxerre: Or, the kingdom of heaven is reasonably understood to be the holy Church, in which the Lord accomplishes what He describes in this parable. The man sometimes represents the Father, as in the parable, "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son." At other times, the man represents the Son. Here, however, we may take it to mean both the Father and the Son, who are one God. God is called a King because He created and governs all things.

Origen of Alexandria: The servants in these parables are only those who are employed in dispensing the word and to whom this task is committed.

Remigius of Auxerre: Or, the servants of this King signify all mankind, whom He created for His own praise and to whom He gave the law of nature. He settles accounts with them when He examines each person’s conduct, life, and deeds, so that He may give to each according to what they have done. As it follows, "And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents."

Origen of Alexandria: The King takes account of our whole life at the time when we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10). We do not mean by this that anyone should think the process itself must require a long time.

For God, when He scrutinizes the minds of all, will by some indescribable power cause everything each person has ever done to pass swiftly before their mind.

He says, "And when he began to take account," because judgment begins at the house of God.ⁱ When He begins to settle accounts, one is brought to Him who owes many talents. This is one who had committed great evils; one on whom much had been commanded, but who had produced no gain.

Perhaps he had destroyed as many people as the talents he owed. He became a debtor of many talents because he had followed the woman sitting on a talent of lead, whose name is Iniquity (Zechariah 5:7).

St. Jerome: I know that some interpret the man who owed ten thousand talents to be the devil. They understand his wife and children, who were to be sold because he persisted in his wickedness, to be foolishness and harmful thoughts. For just as wisdom is called the wife of the righteous man, so the wife of the unrighteous and the sinner is called foolishness.

However, how the Lord could forgive the devil ten thousand talents, and how the devil would not forgive us, his fellow servants, ten denarii—for this there is no ecclesiastical interpretation, nor should it be accepted by thoughtful people.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Therefore, let us say that because the Law is set forth in ten precepts, the ten thousand talents he owed denote all sins that can be committed under the Law.²

Remigius of Auxerre: A person who has sinned by their own will and choice has no power to rise again by their own effort and has nothing with which to pay. This is because they find nothing in themselves by which they can be freed from their sins. From this it follows, "And when he had not the means to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made." The fool’s wife is folly, and the pleasure or lust of the flesh.

St. Augustine of Hippo: This signifies that the transgressor of the Decalogue deserves punishment for his lusts and evil deeds, and that is his price. For the price for which they sell is the punishment of the one who is damned.³

St. John Chrysostom: This command was not issued out of cruelty, but out of unspeakable tenderness. For the lord seeks by these terrors to bring the servant to plead that he not be sold, which is exactly what happened, as he shows by adding, "The servant therefore fell down and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'"

Remigius of Auxerre: That he says "falling down" shows how the sinner humbled himself and offered to make amends. "Have patience with me" expresses the sinner’s prayer, begging for a delay and time to correct his error. The bounty of God and His mercy to converted sinners are abundant, seeing He is always ready to forgive sins by baptism or penitence, as it follows: "But the lord of that servant had mercy on him, and released him, and forgave him the debt."

St. John Chrysostom: See the abundance of heavenly love! The servant asked only for a brief delay, but the lord gives him more than he had asked: a full remittance and cancellation of the entire debt. He intended to forgive him from the very beginning, but He did not want it to be of His own initiative alone, but also from the servant's plea, so that the man would not depart without a gift.

But he did not forgive the debt until he had settled the account, because he wanted the servant to know how great a debt he was being freed from. In this way, at the very least, the servant would be made more merciful to his fellow servants.

Indeed, based on what had happened so far, he was worthy of acceptance. For he made a confession, promised he would pay the debt, fell down and begged, and acknowledged the greatness of his debt. But his later actions were unworthy of his former ones, for it follows, "But that same servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii."

St. Augustine of Hippo: That He says he "owed him a hundred denarii" is taken from the same number, ten, which is the number of the Law. For a hundred times a hundred is ten thousand, and ten times ten is a hundred. Both the ten thousand talents and the hundred denarii relate to the number of the Law; in both of them, you find sins. Both men are debtors, and both are petitioners for forgiveness. So every person is a debtor to God and also has their brother as a debtor.⁴

St. John Chrysostom: But there is as great a difference between sins committed against people and sins committed against God as there is between ten thousand talents and a hundred denarii; indeed, the difference is even greater. This is apparent from the difference in the persons involved and from the frequency of the offenses.

For when we are seen by other people, we hold back and are reluctant to sin. Yet we do not cease sinning daily even though God sees us; instead, we act and speak all things fearlessly. Our sins against God are shown to be more heinous not only by this, but also by reason of the benefits we have received from Him.

He gave us being, has done all things on our behalf, has breathed into us a rational soul, has sent His Son, has opened heaven to us, and has made us His children. If we were to die for Him every day, could we make any worthy return? By no means; it would instead result in our own advantage. But on the contrary, we offend against His laws.

Remigius of Auxerre: So the one who owed ten thousand talents represents those who commit greater crimes, while the debtor of a hundred denarii represents those who commit lesser ones.

St. Jerome: To make this plainer, let us use some examples. If any one of you has committed adultery, homicide, or sacrilege, these greater sins of ten thousand talents will be forgiven when you beg for it, provided that you also forgive the lesser offenses of those who trespass against you.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But this unworthy, unjust servant would not grant what had been granted to him, for it follows, "And he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay what you owe.'"

Remigius of Auxerre: That is, he pressed him harshly, so that he might exact vengeance from him.

Origen of Alexandria: Therefore, I suppose, he took him by the throat because he had just come from the king's presence; for he would not have handled his fellow servant so harshly if he had not gone out from the king.

St. John Chrysostom: By saying "as he went out," He shows that it was not after a long time, but immediately. While the favor he had received still echoed in his ears, he abused the liberty his lord had granted him for wickedness. What the other did is added: "And his fellow servant fell down and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'"

Origen of Alexandria: Observe the precision of Scripture: the servant who owed many talents fell down and worshiped the king; the one who owed a hundred denarii fell down but did not worship, instead begging his fellow servant, saying, "Have patience." But the ungrateful servant did not even respect the very words that had saved him, for it follows, "but he would not."

St. Augustine of Hippo: That is, he harbored such thoughts toward him that he sought his punishment. "But he went away."⁵

Remigius of Auxerre: That is, his wrath was instead inflamed to exact vengeance on him: "And he cast him into prison, until he should pay the debt." This means he seized his brother and exacted vengeance on him.

St. John Chrysostom: Observe the Lord's tenderness and the servant's cruelty. One owed ten thousand talents, the other a hundred denarii. One was a petitioner to his lord, the other to his fellow servant. The first obtained complete forgiveness, while the other sought only a delay but did not get it. Those who owed nothing grieved with him: "his fellow servants, seeing what was done, were very sorry."

St. Augustine of Hippo: By the fellow servants is understood the Church, which binds one and looses another.⁶

Remigius of Auxerre: Or perhaps they represent the Angels, the preachers of the holy Church, or any of the faithful. When they see a brother whose sins are forgiven refusing to forgive his fellow servant, they are sorrowful over his perdition. "And they came and told their lord what was done."

They did not come in body, but in spirit. To tell their Lord is to show the woe and sorrow of their hearts in their demeanor.

It follows, "Then his lord called him." He called him by the sentence of death, bidding him pass out of this world, and said to him, "You wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you prayed to me."

St. John Chrysostom: When he owed ten thousand talents, the lord did not call him wicked, nor did he scold him at all, but had mercy on him. But now, when he has been ungenerous to his fellow servant, he says to him, "You wicked servant." And this is why it is said, "Should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant?"

Remigius of Auxerre: And it should be noted that we read of no answer made by that servant to his lord. This shows us that on the day of judgment, and entirely after this life, all opportunity for making excuses will be cut off.

St. John Chrysostom: Because kindness had not mended him, it remains that he be corrected by punishment. From this it follows, "And the lord of that servant was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay the whole debt." He did not merely say "delivered him," but "was angry"—something he had not said before.

When his Lord commanded that he should be sold, it was not in wrath but in love, for his correction. This, however, is a sentence of penalty and punishment.

Remigius of Auxerre: For God is said to be angry when He takes vengeance on sinners. The torturers are understood to be the demons, who are always ready to take up lost souls and torture them in the pains of eternal punishment. Will anyone who is once sunk into everlasting condemnation ever find a time for repentance and a way to escape?

Never. The word "until" is used here to mean infinity. The meaning is, he will be forever paying and will never settle the debt, but will be forever under punishment.

St. John Chrysostom: This shows that his punishment will be increasing and eternal, and that he will never pay. And although the graces and callings of God are irrevocable, yet wickedness has such force that it seems to break even this law.

St. Augustine of Hippo: For God says, "Forgive, and you will be forgiven" (Luke 6:37). I have forgiven you first; therefore, you must forgive after Me. For if you do not forgive, I will call you back and will demand again all that I had forgiven you.⁷

For Christ neither deceives nor is deceived, and He adds here, "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart." It is better that you should cry out with your mouth and forgive in your heart, than that you should speak smoothly and be unrelenting in your heart.

For the Lord adds "from your hearts" so that even if, out of love, you must discipline someone, gentleness should not depart from your heart. What is more beneficial than the surgeon's knife? He is rough with the wound so that the person may be healed; if he were tender with the wound, the person would be lost.

St. Jerome: Also, the phrase "from your hearts" is added to rule out all false reconciliations. Therefore, the Lord's command to Peter, through this parable of the king and his servant who owed ten thousand talents and was forgiven by his lord upon his plea, is that he also should forgive his fellow servants their lesser trespasses.

Origen of Alexandria: He seeks to instruct us that we should be ready to show mercy to those who have harmed us, especially if they offer to make amends and plead for forgiveness.

Rabanus Maurus: Allegorically, the servant here who owed ten thousand talents is the Jewish people, bound to the Ten Commandments in the Law. The Lord often forgave their trespasses when, being in difficulties, they begged for His mercy.

But when they were set free, they exacted the utmost with great severity from all their debtors. From the Gentile people, whom they hated, they required circumcision and the ceremonies of the Law. Indeed, they barbarously put the Prophets and Apostles to death. For all this, the Lord gave them over into the hands of the Romans, as to evil spirits, who would punish them with eternal tortures.

1. (see 1 Cor 1:30)
2. Serm., 83, 6
3. Quaest. Ev., i, 25
4. Serm., 83, 6
5. Quaest. Ev., i, 21
6. Quaest. Ev., i, 25
7. Serm., 83, 7