Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 18:23

"Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, who would make a reckoning with his servants." — Matthew 18:23 (ASV)

Since Jesus requires his followers to forgive, he goes on to tell a parable about the present kingdom. The reign of God establishes certain kinds of personal relationships, portrayed by this parable, whose point is spelled out in v.35. Jesus has just been discussing the question of repeated, personal forgiveness (vv.21–22) and the reasons for it. Those in the kingdom serve a great king who has invariably forgiven far more than they can ever forgive one another. Therefore failure to forgive excludes one from the kingdom, whose pattern is to forgive.