Introductory remarks:
"The gospels are, in short, a record of what Jesus began both to do and to teach. In the forgoing chapter we had an account of his doings, in this, of his teachings: probably not all at the same time, in a continued discourse, but at several times, upon divers occasions, here put together, as near akin. We have here, 1. Instructions concerning humility (vss.1-6). II. Concerning offences in general (vs.7), particularly offences given. 1. By us to ourselves (vss. 8, 9). 2. By us to others (vss. 10-14). 3. By others to us, which are of two sorts. (1) Scandalous sins, which are to be reproved (vss. 15-20) (2) Personal wrongs, which are to be forgiven (vss. 21-35). See how practical Christ's preaching was; he could have revealed mysteries, but he pressed plain duties, especially those that are most displeasing to flesh and blood" (Matthew Henry).
The Greatest in the Kingdom
(Mark 9:33-37; Luke 9:46-48)
Verse 1, "At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
LGT "In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying Who then is [the] greater in the kingdom of the heavens?"
After Christ had conferred on Peter the honor of the 'keys' the other disciples had wondered what their place would be in the kingdom they believed Christ was about to set up.
Mark tells us (Mark 9:34) that the disciples were arguing over this among themselves. It seems that this lust for recognition has been an obvious weakness all through history, and is not just a Roman Catholic error, but it is just as common among Protestants; the only difference being the protestant minister usually doesn't outwardly claim infallibility, they do however, have it in their thinking.
McGee adds:
"I wonder if you detect a note of fleshly ambition here? It may be that I just have a critical mind, but it seems to me that these men have been talking about this subject, and maybe two or three of them felt that they could reasonably be considered the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. So the Lord did a rather sensational thing [in the next verse]."
Verse 2, "And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them."
LGT "And having called to [Him] a little child, He set it in their midst."
Jesus calls the little child to come unto Him and it does so without any hesitation; this is a very significant picture of the willingness of little children if adults do not hinder them. Jesus sets the little one in their midst.
Verse 3, "And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."
LGT "And said, Verily I say to you, Unless ye turn and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the kingdom of the heavens."
"Except ye be converted, and become as little children,"
The Greek word for 'be converted' is straphete meaning to turn; they were headed in the wrong direction and Christ tells they must turn about.
The first thing Christ says is that they must be 'converted' for except a man be born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. The second thing He stresses is that they must come as a little child in full submission.
Pentecost writes:
"In order to teach these men an important lesson, Christ placed a child in the midst of them. From this child Jesus taught several lessons: first, they must be as children in order to enter the kingdom (Matt. 18:3). A child is characterized by his utter dependence on his father. He knows nothing of himself but must be taught by his father. He cannot depend on himself but must depend on his father. He does not exalt his own thinking above that of his father. So Christ was saying that in order to enter the kingdom one must demonstrate a childlike dependence on the One who offers the kingdom. A second lesson He taught was that position in the kingdom depended on taking the place of a child (Matt. 18:4). A child had no rights in the home: the rights belonged to the parent. A child in proper relationship to his father did not exert his will against the will of the father, but subjected his will to the will of the father. Christ taught that only those who subject themselves to Him will be exalted in the kingdom. Jesus used the child to teach that because the child and his father are so identified, the one who receives the child actually receives the father. The one who receives one who belongs to Christ and thus is a child of the kingdom is actually receiving Christ as well."
Verse 4, "Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
LGT "Whosoever therefore will humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom of the heavens."
"Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child,"
Here we have a picture of Jesus setting this little child in their midst and pointing to it, and saying that a person must be humble as this little child is naturally.
Vincent write:
"As this little child, not, as this little child humbles himself, but shall make himself humble as this little child is lowly; shall willingly become by spiritual process what the child is by nature."
Bruce adds:
"The hardest thing in the world for anyone whether saint or sinner is to humble oneself" (Bruce).
"The same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
The ones who are considered the greatest are the ones who here on earth have been humble and lowly, and did not seek their own welfare.
Verse 5, "And whosoever shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me."
LGT "And whoever will receive one such little child in My name, receives Me."
"And whosoever shall receive one such little child"
This little child represents all believers; so any one who receives a believer will be receiving him as a humbled child.
"In my name,"
That is, for My name sake, or on account of My name.
"Receives Me."
Christ is saying that anyone who receives a believer, that is, a member of His kingdom, is receiving him.
Pentecost adds:
"The lesson Christ wanted them to learn from this incident was succinctly stated by Mark: If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all (9:35). Position in the kingdom will be determined by the degree of submission to Christ and the service of the disciple for Christ."
Temptation to Sin
(Mark 9:42-48; Luke 17:1-2)
Verse 6, "But whosoever offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."
LGT "But whoever shall cause to stumble one of these little ones who believe in Me, it is profitable for him that should be hung a millstone turned by an ass upon his neck and he be sunk in the sea of the sea."
"But whosoever offend one of these little ones which believe in me,"
The Greek word for 'offend' is skandalise, a second aorist from skandalizo meaning to cause to stumble. The Lord is saying that anyone causing one of these little children to be hindered from coming to Him is a grave sin that He announces a cursed on them in the next phrase. Our little children should be a prime interest to us in their spiritual growth, for what they learn as children they will take into adulthood.
"It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck."
"Two kinds of millstones were in use; the one turned by hand, the other, and larger, by an ass (onos). Here Jesus says an ass-millstone; or as the RV has it, a great millstone" (Vincent).
"And that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."
That he be drowned is literally pelagei tes thlasses 'the sea of the sea', that is, far out in the open sea (AGL). It would be better for the one who would cause a little one to stumble that he be drowned in the wide-open sea before he had a chance to offend a little one.
Verse 7, "Woe unto the world of offences! For it must be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!"
LGT "Alas to the world because of the stumbling blocks: for it is of necessity the stumbling blocks to come; yet alas to the man through which the stumbling comes."
"Woe unto the world of offences! For it must be that offences come;"
The Lord recognizes the world as a world of stumbling blocks. The Greek word ouie means 'to take pity on', that is, the world of woe is caused by the suffering and turmoil in the world. The world system presents to us all, many temptations that are very hard to ignore.
"But woe to that man by whom the offence cometh."
Barnes notes:
"He who leads others into sin is awful guilty - no man can be more guilty. No wickedness can be more deeply seated in the heart than that which attempts to mar the peace, defile the purity, and destroy the souls of others; and yet in all ages there have been multitudes who, by persecution, threats, arts, allurements, and persuasion, have endeavored to seduce Christians from the faith and to lead them into sin."
Verses 8, 9, "Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire."
LGT "And if your hand or foot causes you to stumble, cut them off and cast them from you; it is good for you to enter into life maimed or lame than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the fire, the eternal one. And if your eye cause you to stumble, pluck it out and cast it from you: it is good for you to go one-eyed into life than having two eyes to be cast into the Gehenna of the fire."
Back in chapter five we had this same comparison given by our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount, remember there we were taught that the fire of the Valley of Gehinnom was where rubbish was burnt, and this is where this type of action belongs.
Pentecost writes:
"When Christ said they should cut off their hand or foot, or pluck out their eye, He was not teaching self-mutilation, for one could cut off two hands and two feet and pluck out two eyes and still have the root problem of pride within. Rather, He told the Twelve to go to the root of the problem and remove it so they did not give offence. If one is characterized by pride rather than humility, and if one consistently acts in pride so as to offend those who believe in Christ, he is demonstrating that he does not belong to Christ and such would consequently 'be thrown into hell.' Christ was not threatening the Twelve with the loss of their salvation or telling them that one offence will consign them to hell. But if such an attitude should characterize them then they would not belong to Him. The reason is that Christ's humility characterizes the believer. His humility is reproduced in those who are His own."
We must always keep in our minds, when the Word of God is dealing with sin, when it is dealing with the unbeliever it is the only way they know how to live, that is, in lawlessness; when dealing with the believer, sin is an act of missing the mark and can be forgiven and restored to fellowship; the unbeliever has no mark, therefore they cannot miss the mark; the unbeliever lives in sin as a way of life, the believer lives in fellowship with the lord Jesus Christ.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
(Luke 15:3-7)
Verse 10, "Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven."
LGT "See that you do not think down on one of these little ones: for I say to you that their angels in heavens do continually behold the face of My Father who [is] in [the] heavens."
"Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones;"
The Greek word for despise is kataphronesete a compound of kata = down and phronesete = to think, so we have to think down on. Literally then what we have in this phrase is for one to take a superior position over another, and in this case it would be for one to look down on one of the little ones.
"For I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven."
The Lord is teaching the Twelve that His angels in the heavens who are before the throne of God are commissioned to watch over those that are the little ones in the sight of ones who have this superior attitude, and that look down on these helpless little ones. I am not sure personally about the idea of each one of us having a guardian angel, however, I do know that all believers are in the watch care of the Omniscient Father. He knows when a little sparrow hits the earth, and we are certainly of more value than the sparrows.
Verse 11, "For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost."
(This verse is not in the better manuscripts, however it is true that "Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost" [Luke 19:10]).
Verse 12, "How think ye? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?"
LGT "What do you think? If there should be to any man a hundred sheep and be gone astray one of them, [does he] not, having left the ninety and nine upon the mountains, having gone seek that which has gone astray."
This parable is familiar to all of us from the song that we sang in Sunday school. There is nothing profound in this; we have the fact that the Father cares for all His sheep, and that He will never lose even one.
Verse 13, "And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than the ninety and nine which went not astray."
LGT "And if it should be that he should find it, verily I say to you, that he rejoices over it more than over the ninety and nine which have not gone astray."
We must keep before us the fact that Christ is speaking of sheep not goats. These are all believers represented by sheep, and so it is that God rejoices over the one who is returned to fellowship. This is not, as some commentators state, Christ seeking the lost goats. We have the same principle in the 'lost son' of Luke fifteen.
Verse 14, "Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish."
LGT "Therefore it is not [the] will before the face of your Father who [is] in [the] heavens that one of these little ones should perish."
It is not the will of God that any should perish, but especially these little ones who are so dependant on their parents. It is the privilege for the parents of their children to lead their children to the Lord; notice I said lead, and not only to direct. If we are to make an impact on our children we must lead them by our example, and not just send them to Sunday school, but take them or teach them ourselves.
A Brother Who Sins
(Luke 17:3)
Verse 15, "Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother."
LGT "But if your brother sin [against you], go rebuke him between you and him alone. If he will hear you, you have gained your brother."
"Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee,"
This phrase is literally commit a sin against thee, without any reference to what the sin might be. An important point in this phrase is that it is speaking of a brother sinning against you.
"Go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone:"
Don't wait for him to come to you. This is an important principle most of us ignore altogether; the first thing we do when a brother sins against us is to tell someone else how terribly we have been treated. The Lord says that we should go to that brother alone and tell him what has happened; he probably already knows that he has sinned against you, but maybe he will listen and you will have gained him back as a friend. Another reason that it is the responsibility for the injured one to go to the guilty party is that maybe the brother has no idea he has injured you, and it could be that you are being to sensitive, and in this case, it might be even more of a simple matter than you expect.
Barnes notes:
"This was required under the law, Lev. 17. In the original it is go and reprove him. Seek an explanation of his conduct, and if he has done wrong, administer a friendly and brotherly reproof. This is required to be done alone:1st. That he may have an opportunity of explaining his conduct. In nine cases out of ten, where one supposes that he has been injured, a little friendly conversation would set the matter right and prevent difficulty. 2nd. That he may have an opportunity of acknowledging his offence or making reparation, if he has done wrong. Many would be glad of such an opportunity, and it is our duty to furnish it by calling on them. 3rd. That we may admonish them of their error if they have done an injury to the cause of religion. This should not be blazoned [written in bold letters] abroad. It can do no good - it does injury; it is what the enemies of religion wish. Christ is often wounded in the house of friends; and religion, as well as an injured brother, often suffers by spreading such faults before the world."
"If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother."
By going to your brother about the sin he has committed, you will be able to allow him to make confession and the wrong has been righted and the ill feelings are not allowed to continue, and you have gained your friend. Some of the best friendships I have had in the past started off with bad feelings that have been made right. Some of the worst feelings have been left to fester and friendships have suffered.
Verse 16, "But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established."
LGT "But if he will not hear, take with you besides one or two, in order that at [the] mouth of two witnesses or three may stand every word."
"If the offender refuses to make reconciliation, the one who has been offended is to go again to the offender with one or two others. In this way it will not be the word of one against another. The witnesses can bear testimony that the offender has refused to make reconciliation even though the offended sought it" (Pentecost).
Verse 17, "And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican."
LGT "But if he fail to listen to them, tell [it] to the assembly: but if also he fail to listen to the assembly, let him be to you as the heathen and the tax gathers."
Remember that the church didn't start until the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost. The church was the believing sector of the Jews, that is, those who had accepted Jesus Christ as their Messiah.
Barnes writes:
"The church may here mean the whole assembly of believers, or it may mean those who are authorized to try such cases - the representatives of the church, or those who act for the church. In the Jewish synagogue there was a bench of elders before whom trials of this kind were brought. It was to be the church in order that he might be admonished, entreated, and, if possible, reformed. This was, and is always to be, the first business in disciplining an offending brother."
Verse 18, "Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
LGT "Verily I say to you: Whatsoever you shall bind on the earth, shall be bound in the heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose on the earth, shall be loosed in the heaven."
This verse has to do with the authority to make official pronouncement of guilt or innocence, of acceptability or unacceptability, in the light of the true state of affairs (Pentecost).
This same form occurred in (16:19) given to Peter, and now it is given to the Twelve. (See chapter 16 verse 19 for the exposition on the meaning of this verse).
Verse 19, "Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven."
LGT "Again [verily] I say to you, that if two of you may agree on the earth concerning any matter, whatever they shall ask, it shall be done to them by My Father who [is] in [the] heavens."
"That if two of you shall agree as touching anything that ye shall ask,"
The Greek word for 'shall agree' is sumphonesosin: it is a compound of two words sum = together and phonei = sound or voices, so we get a concord of voices. We get our English word 'symphony' from this word.
Pentecost writes:
"It is necessary to maintain unity among believers because such unity is a prerequisite to answered prayer. Christ had taught the disciples to pray, 'Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven' (Matt. 6:10). Prayer cannot be effectual unless those offering the prayer are united, or in agreement, 'about anything you ask.' Christ promised that where even two or three are united He will be personally present with them as they pray."
"It shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven."
The condition of the answered prayer is that there must first be agreement among the ones who are gathering, and that the ones who are in agreement, that is united, will be asking the same thing Jesus would be asking in the same situation, that is, it must be in the will of the Father. This verse, as you know, is much abused by the so-called TV evangelists in their quest for filthy lucre.
Verse 20, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them."
LGT "For where two or three are gathered together into My name, I am in [the] midst of them."
Christ is teaching the Twelve that when they gather together to pray, they are to realize that He is among them at all times, literally into My name, and that this will insure that they will pray what He would pray.
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
Verse 21, "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?"
LGT "Then having come to Him Peter said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Until seven times?"
"Peter thought that he was generous as the Jewish rule was three times (Amos 1:6). His question goes back to verse 15. Against me is genuine here. 'The man who asks such a question does not really know what forgiveness means [Plummer]" (Quoted by A.T. Robertson).
Verse 22, "Jesus saith unto them, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but Until seventy times seven."
LGT "Jesus says to him, I say not to you, Until seven times, but until seventy times seven."
The Lord is instructing Peter that he must always forgive a brother, and the meaning of the word 'forgive' is to treat the offending brother as if he did not ever offend. The Lord tells Peter he must forgive seventy time seven "That is four hundred and ninety times! By that time, things might be pretty well worked out. If not, both of them would have reached old age to the extent that it wouldn't amount to much anyway! Four hundred and ninety times is going the limit - and that is the point our Lord is making" (McGee).
Verse 23, "Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants."
LGT "because of this the kingdom of the heavens has become like to a man, a king, who would make a reckoning with his bondmen [servants]."
"Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king,"
This phrase is literally like to a man, a king; so the phrase is 'the kingdom of the heavens is like unto a human king. The millennial reign of Christ will be one thousand years of Christ ruling a physical kingdom here on the earth.
"Which would take account of his servants."
The KJV might leave us to think that the king made a count of his servants, whereas the literal translation is he made a reckoning with his servants, that is, he compared his accounts with them, he made them give an account.
Verse 24, "And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents."
LGT "And he having begun to reckon, there was brought to him one debtor of ten thousand talents."
"A talent was 6,000 denari or about a thousand dollars or 240 pounds. Ten thousand times this is about ten or twelve million dollars, and enormous sum for that period. We live today in the age of national debts of billions of dollars or even of pounds sterling. The imperial taxes of Judea, Idumea, and Samaria for one year were only 600 talents while Galilee and Perea paid 200 (Josephus, Ant. Xi. 4). But oriental kings were free in the use of money and in making debts like the native kings of India today" (A.T. Robertson).
Verse 25, "But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made."
LGT "But he having not [wherewith] to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and the children and all as much as he had, and payment to be made."
The selling of the wife and children was according to primitive law (Ex. 22:3; Lev. 25:39, 47). Wife and children were treated as property in those primitive times (Robertson).
Verse 26, "The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all."
LGT "Having fallen down therefore the servant did homage to him, saying, have patience with me, and I will pay all to you."
The word 'worship' in the Greek is proskunei meaning that he paid him homage as due a king. "This does not mean that he paid him religious homage, but that in a humble, reverent, and earnest manner he entreated him to have patience with him. He prostrated himself before his lord, as is customary in all Eastern nations when subjects are in the presence of their king" (Barnes).
Verse 27, "Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him, and forgave him the debt."
LGT "But having been moved with compassion, the lord of that bondman loosed him, and forgave him the loan."
The lord of the servant was moved with compassion because the servant begged for mercy he forgave him his debt.
Verse 28, "But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest."
LGT "But having gone out, that bondman found one of his fellow-bondman, who owed him an hundred denarii, and having seized him, took him by the throat saying, Pay me, if you owe anything."
"But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, which owed him an hundred pence:"
A hundred pence would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 100-150 dollars, a small pittance compared to the twelve million he owed his lord.
"And he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest."
The word 'pay' gr. Apodos, is in the emphatic position; this is literally, Pay me, if you owe anything. The servant knew that his fellow-servant owed him money, but wasn't quite sure the exact amount. It was accepted by Roman law to bring someone who owed you money before the courts by the neck; Lead him to the judgment seat with twisted neck (Cicero-quoted by Vincent). "The 'if' in this phrase is an expression of pitiless logic" (Meyer-quoted by Robertson).
Verse 29, "And his fellow-servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all."
LGT "Having fallen down therefore his fellow-bondsman earnestly pleaded with him saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay you all."
This fellow-servant uses the exact same words he used moments ago with completely different responses. To not forgive a brother, and demand full satisfaction, when you have been so graciously dealt with is an act of greater offence before the Lord.
Verse 30, "And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt."
LGT "But he would not: but having gone he cast him into prison, until he should pay that which was owing."
He went away dragging his fellow-servant unto the judgment; he took him away in a violent manner after he himself had been treated with such grace.
Verse 31, "So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done."
LGT "Therefore, his fellow-servants having seen what things had taken place, were greatly grieved: and having gone, making very clear to their lord all that had taken place."
The Greek word for 'told' is diesaphesan meaning to make very clear. "There is only so much good men will put up with" (Robertson). These men had seen how graciously he was dealt with, and now how totally devoid of any grace when it came to someone owing him.
Verse 32, "Then the lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:"
LGT "Then having called to him, his lord says to him, Wicked bondsman, all the debt that I forgave you, since you begged me."
You are very wicked because of your lack of compassion.
Verse 33, "Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as I had pity on thee?"
LGT "Was it not necessary also for you to have pitied your fellow-bondman, just I also pitied you?"
This was a searching question to one who was so wrapped up in himself; what is obvious to the mature is quite complicated to the selfish hearted.
Verse 34, "And the lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him."
LGT "And being very angry his lord delivered him up to the tormentors, until he pay all that was owing him."
The Greek word for 'tormentors' is tois basanistais, the ones who meted out terrible torture. "Not to prison simply, but to terrible punishment. The papyri give various instances of the verb basanizo, to torture, used of slaves and others. Livy pictures an old centurion complaining that he was taken by his creditor, not into servitude, but to a workhouse and torture, and showing his back scarred with fresh wounds" (Vincent). Till he should pay all, just as in verse 30, his very words. But this is not purgatorial, but punitive, for he could never pay that vast debt" (Robertson).
Verse 35, "So like wise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."
LGT "Thus also My Father, the heavenly, will do to you, unless you forgive each his brother from your hearts."
The important phrase here is from your hearts. True forgiveness comes from the heart and not just from the lips. The principle of Christian conduct is that we have been shown grace; we also should show grace to our brothers.
Barnes notes:
"This verse contains the sum or moral of the parable. When Christ explained one of His own parables, we are to receive it just as He has explained it, and not attempt to draw spiritual instruction from any parts or circumstances, which He has not explained. The following seems to be the particulars of the general truth, which He meant to teach:1st. That our sins are great. 2nd. That God freely forgives them. 3rd. That the offences committed against us by our brethren are comparatively small. 4th. That we should therefore most freely forgive them. 5th. That if we do not, God will be justly angry with us, and punish us [a better word than punish would have been for Barnes to use the word 'discipline', because God is never angry with us, nor does He punish us; He always deals with us in love to our benefit]."
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