26
Soοὖνthe slaveὁ δοῦλοςfell downπεσὼνandwas bowing down beforeπροσεκύνειhim,αὐτῷsaying,λέγων‘Be patientΜακροθύμησονwithἐπ’me,ἐμοίandκαὶI will repayἀποδώσωyouσοιeverything.’πάντα
Matthew 18:26
Study it in the app“So the slave fell down and was bowing down before him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you everything.’”
The forgiven servant will not forgive his fellow servantForgivenessA servant forgiven a huge debt will not forgive a small oneJustice and mercy
With the Greek beneath
Matthew 18:26, word by word
- the slaveδοῦλοςdoulos
slave
A person who belongs to a master and serves him.
Where else “doulos” appears- fell downπεσὼνpesōn
fall down
To fall down before someone to plead or worship.
Where else “pesōn” appears- was bowing down beforeπροσεκύνειprosekynei
bow down
To bow to the ground before someone.
Where else “prosekynei” appears- sayingλέγωνlegōn
say
To express something in words to others.
Where else “legōn” appears- ‘Be patientΜακροθύμησονMakrothymēson
be patient
To bear up without anger, wait calmly.
Where else “Makrothymēson” appears- I will repayἀποδώσωapodōsō
repay
To settle what is owed, or reward each one as they deserve.
Where else “apodōsō” appears
The context
25And since he did not have the means to repay, the master ordered him to be sold, and his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26 · This verse (above)
27And the master of that slave had compassion and released him and forgave him the loan.
To study Matthew 18 in a group
1. What it says
What did Jesus put in the middle of the disciples when they asked who is greatest (vv. 1–3)?
2. What it means
Why does Jesus tell the parable of the slave who was forgiven a huge debt (vv. 23–35)?
3. How I live it
Peter asked how many times to forgive (v. 21). Whom do you find hard to forgive, and what small first step can you take?