Matthew 18
BSASBJesus answers a question about greatness by setting a child in front of His disciples. The chapter then teaches how members of His community must treat one another: protect the weak, seek the lost, correct a sinning brother gently, and forgive without limit. The parable of the unforgiving servant shows that those forgiven an enormous debt by God must forgive others.
Matthew 18:1
The disciples are still thinking in terms of rank. They ask who will hold the highest place in God’s kingdom. It is a natural question, but it comes from pride. Jesus will answer by turning their idea of greatness upside down.
BSA: greatest (“most important, having the most authority”): They are asking about status and power, which is exactly what Jesus will redefine.
Matthew 18:2
Jesus does not argue. He calls a small child over and sets the child in the middle of the circle. A child in that world had no rank, no influence and no rights. The child is His living answer.
BSA: invited (“called to or summoned, to come near”): Jesus personally draws the child close, treating the least important person in the room as worth His attention.
Matthew 18:3
Before they can ask about greatness, they must ask whether they are in the kingdom at all. Jesus says entry requires a turning around. We must give up the climb for status and become simple, dependent and trusting like a child.
BSA: change (“turn, be converted”): This is a real change of direction, away from self-importance and toward humble trust.
Greek: στραφῆτε (straphēte, G4762) — “turn around.” It is the picture of a person turning on the spot to face the opposite way. Jesus asks for a complete reversal of direction, not a slight adjustment.
See also: Mark 10:15.
Matthew 18:4
Greatness in the kingdom is measured by humility. A child does not pretend to be important or demand a place. Whoever lowers himself in that way, and does not promote himself, is counted great by God.
BSA: humbles (“humbles themselves, makes themselves low”): The humbling is chosen. It is a deliberate lowering of oneself, not something forced on us.
See also: Philippians 2:3-8.
Matthew 18:5
Jesus ties Himself to the least. To welcome a child, or any lowly believer, for His sake is to welcome Jesus Himself. How we treat the small and overlooked is how we treat Him.
BSA: name (“authority, character”): To receive someone in Jesus’ name is to receive them because of who He is and on His behalf.
See also: Matthew 25:40.
Matthew 18:6
Jesus now warns sternly against leading a humble believer into sin or away from faith. The punishment He pictures is terrible: a huge millstone and the deep sea. Better to die than to ruin someone’s trust in Christ.
BSA: causes (“causes to stumble, offends”): The danger is tripping up a believer so that their faith falls.
Greek: σκανδαλίσῃ (skandalisē, G4624) — “cause to stumble, trip up.” The root word means the trigger of a trap. To cause someone to stumble is to set a snare that springs on their faith.
See also: Mark 9:42.
Matthew 18:7
The world is full of temptations and traps, and Jesus grieves over that. Such things are sure to come in a fallen world, yet that does not excuse the person who sets them. Each person answers for what he does.
BSA: stumbling blocks (“offenses, traps”): These are the things that trap people and trip them into sin.
Matthew 18:8
Jesus speaks in strong, deliberate exaggeration. Whatever leads us into sin, even something as precious as a hand or foot, must be dealt with ruthlessly. Nothing is worth losing eternal life. He is not asking for literal self-injury, but for utter seriousness about sin.
BSA: cut it off (“sever all ties, completely remove”): The point is a clean, complete break with whatever draws us into sin.
See also: Matthew 5:29-30.
Matthew 18:9
The same teaching is repeated for the eye, which stands for what we look at and desire. Jesus says it is better to enter life with something lost than to keep everything and face judgment. Hell is the final loss.
Greek: γέενναν (geennan, G1067) — “Gehenna, the valley of Hinnom.” This was the name of a valley outside Jerusalem. Jesus uses it as a picture of God’s final judgment on sin.
Matthew 18:10
God’s care for the lowly is so great that heaven itself takes notice of them. Their angels have constant access to the Father. So we must never treat any believer as unimportant. The Father does not.
BSA: angels (“messengers of God”): These are God’s own messengers, who are set to serve and watch over His people.
See also: Hebrews 1:14.
Matthew 18:12
Jesus asks His listeners to judge the case for themselves. A shepherd with a hundred sheep who loses one goes after it. The one animal matters to him, and the shepherd’s concern is for what is missing, not for the flock as a whole.
BSA: astray (“is led astray, wanders away”): Sheep drift off on their own, and they cannot find their way home without the shepherd.
See also: Luke 15:4-7.
Matthew 18:13
When the shepherd finds the sheep, his joy is great. The rescue of one lost person fills heaven with a gladness the safe ninety-nine do not stir in the same way. This shows the heart of God toward those who wander.
BSA: rejoices (“is glad, feels joyful”): God’s response to a found sinner is real delight, not mere duty.
Matthew 18:14
Jesus gives the point of the parable. It is not the Father’s will that even one of His little ones be lost. That is why we must care for them and never despise them. We share the Father’s concern for each person.
BSA: perish (“be destroyed, lost”): To perish is to be ruined and lost for good, which is the very outcome the Father works to prevent.
Matthew 18:15
Now Jesus gives practical steps for when a fellow believer wrongs you. Do not gossip or brood. Go to him alone and speak plainly. The aim is not to win an argument but to win your brother back.
BSA: won (“gained, restored”): Success here means restoring the relationship and bringing the brother back, not proving yourself right.
Greek: ἐκέρδησας (ekerdēsas, G2770) — “you have gained.” This is a word from business, meaning to make a profit. A brother restored is counted as a real gain, something precious recovered.
See also: Galatians 6:1; Leviticus 19:17.
Matthew 18:16
If he will not listen, the next step is to bring one or two others. They can confirm the facts, help you see clearly, and add weight to the appeal. This follows the old rule of Scripture about witnesses.
See also: Deuteronomy 19:15.
Matthew 18:17
If that fails, the matter goes to the whole congregation. If he still refuses to listen, he is to be treated as an outsider, as one outside the fellowship. Even then the goal is his return. Christians differ on how this is carried out in practice.
BSA: church (“assembly, community of believers”): It is the gathered community of Jesus’ people that speaks as the last step.
Greek: ἐκκλησίᾳ (ekklēsia, G1577) — “assembly, those called together.” The word means a gathering of people called out and assembled. Jesus is speaking of a real community of believers, with responsibility for one another.
Matthew 18:18
Jesus gives His people serious authority in dealing with sin and its forgiveness. What they rightly decide on earth in line with His word is ratified by heaven. Christians understand the details of this in different ways, but the weight of it is clear.
BSA: bind (“tie or fasten, restrict”): To bind is to hold something fast, to treat it as forbidden or unforgiven.
Greek: δήσητε (dēsēte, G1210) — “you bind.” Binding and loosing were familiar terms for declaring something forbidden or permitted. They also suggest holding a person’s sin fast or setting him free from it.
See also: Matthew 16:19.
Matthew 18:19
In this setting of dealing with sin and restoring a brother, Jesus promises that prayer made in true agreement is heard. The Father responds to His people when they pray together in line with His will.
BSA: agree (“be in harmony, have a unified mind”): It describes real harmony between those who pray, not mere words that happen to match.
Greek: συμφωνήσωσιν (symphōnēsōsin, G4856) — “sound together, be in harmony.” Our word symphony comes from it. The picture is of voices and hearts sounding together as one.
Matthew 18:20
Wherever even a few believers gather around Jesus, He is truly present among them. This is a great comfort for small, ordinary gatherings. They need no special size or setting, because Jesus Himself is there.
BSA: name (“character, authority, reputation”): To gather in His name is to meet under His authority and for His sake.
See also: Matthew 28:20.
Matthew 18:21
Peter hears about dealing with a brother’s sin and asks how far forgiveness must go. He thinks seven times is generous, since the usual teaching of his day was less. He wants a limit, a number at which he could stop.
BSA: forgive (“release, let go of the debt”): Forgiving means letting go of what someone owes us, as if cancelling a debt.
Matthew 18:22
Jesus answers that forgiveness has no practical limit. Seventy-seven times, or seventy times seven, means we should stop counting. The point is not a new, larger number but a heart that does not keep score.
BSA: seventy-seven times (“seventy times seven, implying an unlimited or boundless quantity”): The number is meant to suggest forgiveness without end.
Greek: ἑβδομηκοντάκις ἑπτά (hebdomēkontakis hepta, G1441) — “seventy-seven times, or seventy times seven.” The Greek can be read either way. Either reading is meant to make counting absurd.
Matthew 18:23
Jesus tells a parable about God’s kingdom. A king decides to settle accounts with those who serve him. The story shows how God deals with us, and how that should shape the way we deal with each other.
BSA: settle accounts (“to reckon or compute together, to take account of”): The king calls for a full reckoning of what is owed.
Matthew 18:24
One servant owes ten thousand talents. That is an impossibly huge sum, more than an ordinary worker could earn in many lifetimes. Jesus makes the debt deliberately enormous to show how much sinners owe God.
BSA: talents (“units of weight, large sum”): A talent was a very large measure of money, so ten thousand of them was beyond reckoning.
Greek: μυρίων ταλάντων (myriōn talantōn, G3463) — “ten thousand talents.” Myrios was the largest number the Greeks had a single word for, and a talent was the largest unit of money. Together they make the biggest debt imaginable.
Matthew 18:25
The man cannot pay, so the master orders him, his family and his goods to be sold. This was a harsh but known practice. Selling everything would not come close to covering the debt. The servant is helpless.
BSA: sold (“to be disposed of as merchandise”): He and his family would be treated as goods to be sold off.
Matthew 18:26
The servant throws himself down and begs for time. His promise to repay everything is empty, since he could never do it. Yet it is the only thing a desperate debtor can say, and it shows his need.
BSA: patience (“be long-spirited and forbearing”): He asks for a long, slow patience from the master, one that keeps holding back anger.
Greek: μακροθύμησον (makrothymēson, G3114) — “be patient, be long-tempered.” It literally means to have a long fuse, to hold anger back for a long time. It is the same word used of God’s patience with us.
Matthew 18:27
The master gives far more than the servant asked. He asked for time, and he receives a full cancellation. The master moves from pity to action and wipes the whole debt away. This is a picture of God’s forgiveness of us.
BSA: compassion (“to pity”): The master was moved by the man’s plight, and that feeling led to action.
Greek: σπλαγχνισθείς (splanchnistheis, G4697) — “moved in the gut with pity.” The word speaks of the inward parts, the seat of deep feeling. The master was moved to the core, as Jesus often was.
Matthew 18:28
The forgiven man goes straight out and finds a fellow servant who owes him a small amount, about a hundred days’ wages. He seizes him by the throat and demands payment. Having just been shown mercy, he shows none.
BSA: choke (“throttle, strangle”): His violence shows how hard a heart can be when it has forgotten what it has been given.
Matthew 18:29
The second servant makes almost the same plea the first one had made, nearly word for word. The first man ought to have recognized it at once. His own cry for mercy was still fresh in his memory.
BSA: begged (“pleading with him, entreating him”): He pleads from a position of real weakness, just as the first servant had.
Matthew 18:30
The man refuses and has his fellow servant thrown into prison until the debt is paid. Having been freed himself, he binds another. Unforgiveness locks others away while pretending to be justice.
BSA: refused (“would not, was unwilling”): It is a settled unwillingness, a choice of will, not a mistake.
Matthew 18:31
The other servants see the injustice and are deeply upset, and they report it to the master. Those who share in God’s mercy cannot be indifferent when mercy is refused. They go to the one who can set it right.
BSA: distressed (“grieved, sorrowful”): They were truly grieved, not merely annoyed.
Matthew 18:32
The master calls the man wicked. The word is strong. He reminds him that the whole debt was forgiven simply because he asked. Having received so much mercy freely, the man had no excuse for refusing a little.
BSA: wicked (“evil, morally wrong”): Refusing to pass on mercy is called what it is, a moral wrong.
Matthew 18:33
The master asks the plain question that decides everything. Mercy received ought to become mercy given. The man had been shown great mercy, so he owed the same to another. Mercy is meant to flow on.
BSA: mercy (“shown compassion, felt pity”): Mercy is compassion that actually acts for another’s relief.
See also: Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13.
Matthew 18:34
The master now hands the man over to punishment, and the earlier cancellation no longer stands for him. Jesus warns that a heart which will not forgive shows it never truly took in the forgiveness it was given.
BSA: jailers (“tormentors, torturers”): The word shows how severe the consequence is for one who refuses mercy.
Greek: βασανισταῖς (basanistais, G930) — “torturers, tormentors.” The word is sharper than jailers. It points to those who inflict real suffering, which shows how serious Jesus considers unforgiveness.
Matthew 18:35
Jesus applies the parable directly. The Father will deal with each of us in the same way unless we forgive from the heart. Words alone are not enough. Forgiveness must be real and inward, a response to the great mercy God has shown us.
BSA: heart (“the seat of thoughts, feelings, and emotions, the inner being”): True forgiveness comes from the inner person and is more than outward politeness.
See also: Matthew 6:14-15.