Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 18:27
Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
27. forgave him the debt ] With the almost reckless generosity of an Eastern Court that delights to exalt or debase with swift strokes. The pardon is free and unconditional.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The lord of that servant was moved with compassion … – He had pity on him. He saw his distressed condition. He pitied his family. He forgave him the whole debt. This represents the mercy of God to people. They have sinned. They owe to God more than can be paid. They are about to be cast off; but God has mercy on them, and, in connection with their prayers, forgives them. We are not to interpret the circumstances of a parable too strictly. The illustration taken from selling the wife and children Mat 18:25 is not to be taken literally, as if God would punish a man for the sins of his father; but it is a circumstance thrown in to keep up the story – to make it consistent – to explain the reason why the servant was so anxious to obtain a delay of the time of payment.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 27. Moved with compassion] Or with tender pity. This is the source of salvation to a lost world, the tender pity, the eternal mercy of God.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
27. Then the lord of that servantwas moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him thedebtPayment being hopeless, the master is first moved withcompassion; next, liberates his debtor from prison; and then cancelsthe debt freely.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion,…. Or had compassion on him, showed pity to him, and extended mercy towards him; not that he was moved hereunto by any actions of his, as his prostrating himself before him, and his worshipping him, nor by his cries and entreaties, nor by his promises, which were not at all to be depended on, but by his own goodness, and will; for not to anything that this man said, or did, nor to any deserts of his, but to the pure mercy, and free grace of God, is to be ascribed what is after related:
and loosed him; from obligation to punishment, and from a spirit of bondage, through the guilt of sin, and work of the law upon his conscience:
and forgave him the debt; the whole debt of ten thousand talents: for when God forgives sin, he forgives all sin, original and actual, secret and open, sins of omission and commission, of heart, lip, and life, of thought, word, and deed, past, present, and to come; and that freely, according to his abundant mercy, and the riches of his grace; without any regard to any merits, motives and conditions in the creature; though not without respect to the satisfaction of Christ, which no ways detracts from the grace and mercy of God, since this is owing to his gracious provision and acceptation. It was grace in God that provided, sent, and parted with his Son to be the propitiatory sacrifice for sin, and accepted the satisfaction when made, in the room, and stead of sinners: it was grace in Christ to become a surety for them, to assume their nature, to shed his precious blood, and give himself an offering, and a sacrifice for them; and it is distinguishing grace that this satisfaction should be provided, made, and accepted, not for angels, but for men; and though it is at the expense of Christ’s blood and life that this satisfaction is made, and remission of sins obtained, yet the whole is entirely free to those who are partakers of it; they have it without money; and without price. So, that though the satisfaction of Christ is not expressly mentioned in this parable, and forgiveness of sin, which lies in a non-remembrance, and non-imputation of it, in a covering, and blotting it out, and in remitting the obligation to punishment for it, is ascribed to the compassion and mercy of God, yet it is implied; since these two involve each other: the special mercy of God, in the forgiveness of sins, streams only through the blood, righteousness, and sacrifice of Christ; and the sacrifice and satisfaction of Christ largely display the grace and mercy of God.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The debt ( ). The loan. Common in the papyri for a loan. The interest had increased the debt enormously. “This heavy oriental usury is of the scenery of the parable” (McNeile).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
(27) Was moved with compassion.The teaching of the parable deals tenderly even with that impotent effort at justification. It touches the heart of the lord of that servant, and is met with more than it asked fornot with patience and long-suffering only, but with the pity that forgives freely. The sinner is absolved, and the vast debt which he could never pay is forgiven freely. So far as he believes his Lords assurance, he is now justified by faith.
Forgave him the debt.The Greek noun in this case expresses a debt contracted through a loan, and in the interpretation of the parable suggests a thought like that in the parables of the Pounds, the Talents, and the Unjust Steward. What we call our ownlife, with all its opportunitiesis really lent to us, and God requires repayment with interest.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
“And the lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.”
But his lord was a compassionate man. And when he saw his servant’s repentance he forgave him his debt and released him. It may of course be that his hope from this was that his servant had learned his lesson and would now out of gratitude be his servant for life. But that was only secondary. The prime grounds for the forgiveness of the debt was the compassionate nature of the king.
Not the emphasis on the relationship. ‘The lord of that servant.’ The one was supremely superior to the other. He had total rights. Jesus clearly intends us to see him as signifying the Lord of all.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mat 18:27. Then the Lordwas moved with compassion See ch. Mat 15:32. It is plain that the Lord forgave the servant his debt conditionally, as is strongly implied by the revocation of the pardon afterwards, Mat 18:34.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
Ver. 27. Loosed him and forgave him the debt ] Every sin is a debt; and the breach of the ten commandments set us in debt to God ten thousand talents. He requires no more but to acknowledge the debt, and to come before him with a Non sum solvendo, tendering him his Son our all-sufficient surety, and he will presently cancel the handwriting that was against us: he will cross the black lines of our sins with the red lines of Christ’s blood, and we shall be acquitted for ever.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Mat 18:27 . : touched with pity, not unmixed perhaps with contempt, and associated possibly with rapid reflection as to the best course, the king decides on a magnanimous policy. , : two benefits conferred; set free from imprisonment, debt absolutely cancelled, not merely time given for payment. A third benefit implied, continuance in office. The policy adopted in hope that it will ensure good behaviour in time to come (Psa 130:4 ); perfectly credible even in an Eastern monarch.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
loosed = released.
debt = loan. Greek. daneion. Occurs only here.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Mat 18:27. [843] , loosed) as the servant had besought him to do. , forgave) which the servant had not dared to ask. He had prayed for one kindness; and he obtained two.
[843] ) To forgive and remit constitute the highest work of compassion.-V. g.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
moved: Jdg 10:16, Neh 9:17, Psa 78:38, Psa 86:5, Psa 86:15, Psa 145:8, Hos 11:8
Reciprocal: Neh 10:31 – the exaction Eze 18:17 – hath taken Luk 6:30 – and
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
8:27
It was compassion and not financial justice that caused this lord to forgive the debt. He did not deny the existence and justice of the debt his servant owed him, but was willing to forget about it because it was so great.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 18:27. Forgave him the loan. It was the lords money entrusted to him, not an ordinary debt. The mercy in its greatness, fulness, and freeness is the single point; the ground of it is not stated.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 27
Loosed him; released him;