I don't undertand

[ADiosgracias]

Mateo 18, 21-35
I don’t understand this from the Bible, if God forgive us and forget ours sins why in this gospel the lord forgives all his debts but then, because the man didn’t do the same with someone who owed him little amount of many , he condemn the first one for the debt just already forgives.

 

[Acapiteadcalcem]

Great question! I often wondered the same thing. Here’s what St John Chrysostom says about this passage:

“Because kindness had not mended him, it remains that he be corrected by punishment; whence it follows, ‘And the lord of that servant was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay the whole debt.’ He said not merely, “Delivered him,” but “was angry,” this he had not said before; when his Lord commanded that he should be sold; for that was not in wrath, but in love, for his correction; now this is a sentence of penalty and punishment.”

And St Augustine says of this passage,

“What is more beneficial than the knife of the surgeon? He is rough with the sore that the man may be healed; should he be tender with the sore, the man were lost.”

Forgiveness does not necessarily or immediatley eliminate consequences; you can be forgiven or a wrong but still required to rectify it. As St Thomas Aquinas says,

“Certain works [of God] are attributed to justice, and certain others to mercy, because in some justice appears more forcibly and in others mercy. Even in the damnation of the reprobate mercy is seen, which, though it does not totally remit, yet somewhat alleviates, in punishing short of what is deserved.” (ST Ia, q21, a4, ro1)

Hope this helps!

Best wishes.

 

[willofgods]

Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, and
forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

A heart that cannot give, can neither receive. To receive GOD’s forgiveness and love, we must give forgiveness and love. We become truly Good when we act as He does. Whenever I see punishment in the Bible, it cannot be seen without its opposite; the opportunity to do Good. If we are given examples of what is bad, it is so we know to act oppositely! It is a powerful tool that gives the Bible its richness as a literary treasure, only outmatched by its Eternal Treasure

 

[Dorothy]

Mateo 18, 21-35
I don’t understand this from the Bible, if God forgive us and forget ours sins why in this gospel the lord forgives all his debts but then, because the man didn’t do the same with someone who owed him little amount of many , he condemn the first one for the debt just already forgives.

I think it is easy to understand. The master was going to give a severe punishment to this servant who owed him a large sum of money. The servant was then forgiven the large debt when he asked the master to be patient with him and he would pay it back in full. The master forgave him the loan and let him go.

Then, that same servant went and demanded payment from a fellow servant who owed him a smaller amount. When that servant asked for time to pay his debt, he had no compassion on him and had him put in prison. The first servant was forgiven and treated with compassion, and he did not do likewise with the person that owed him money, but had him thrown him in prison.

We, when we ask for forgiveness and are treated mercifully by God, should learn and do likewise for others. We like the compassion, and generous love from God…we need to share that with others. We need to learn that lesson of compassion and love.

 

[TimothyH]

Mateo 18, 21-35
I don’t understand this from the Bible, if God forgive us and forget ours sins why in this gospel the lord forgives all his debts but then, because the man didn’t do the same with someone who owed him little amount of many , he condemn the first one for the debt just already forgives.

Because of the hardness of the man’s heart. Let me explain…

At every Mass, we pray that we are forgiven “as” (in like manner) we forgive others.
***forgive us our trespasses, as we for give those who trespass against us. ***

It would seem that forgiveness is conditional. If we ask God to forgive us “as” we forgive others, in like manner, then aren’t we obligated to forgive so that we can be forgiven?

If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions. (Matthew 6:14-15)

This verse only reinforces the idea of conditional forgivness and I certainly used to think so but not any more. The reason is in Jesus’ teaching about divorce, which I have had to deal with first hand.

They said to him, “Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss [her]?” He said to them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so." (Matthew 19:7-8)

When we don’t forgive, we “harden our hearts.” And because our heart is hard - imporous - it does do not permit God’s forgivness to enter. It’s not that God is unwilling, unable, or incapable of forgiving us. He most certainly is willing to do so. We could walk into any confessional anywhere, ten times in one day if we wanted, and be forgiven. It is just that our hard hearts, our unwillingness to forgive, prevent God’s forgiveness from entering. When we hold a grudge and demand repayment for injury, we are forever locked up tight, sealed closed, nothing more than an impenitrable ball of anger. So the onus is on us to forgive. In doing so we soften our hearts and then God’s forgiveness can enter. Only then can God act in our lives.

Jesus is not saying that God will only forgive us on the condition that we forgive others. Jesus is saying that unless you forgive others, you yourself will be unable to accept forgiveness. It’s that simple.

So the debtor was forgiven his debt, yet he did not forgive other’s their debt against him. It’s not that his master was unwilling to forgive him - he absolutely did forgive him - but the debtor was unable to recieve forgiveness becase he was unwilling to forgive other’s of the same thing. His heart was hardened and so the forgivness he was given didn’t last. Oh, the forgivness sat on the outside of his heart for a few moments, but then it dried up and was gone. All he was left with was a heart of stone, impervious to anything but anger and demand for repayment.

-Tim-

 

[SonCatcher]

One interpretation I have heard is that the first servant’s debt remained forgiven but that he was to be tortured until the second servant’s debt was paid (tricky, since he was in jail ).

 

[Pfaffenhoffen]

Mateo 18, 21-35
I don’t understand this from the Bible, if God forgive us and forget ours sins why in this gospel the lord forgives all his debts but then, because the man didn’t do the same with someone who owed him little amount of many , he condemn the first one for the debt just already forgives.

The first sin was forgiven, OK? But the man had another sin: not forgiving the other. so, for THIS LAST sin, the punishment was what the master decided. It could be another punishment, but the Master decided to relate one punishment with the other. So, he payed it all. And he was lucky, for it could be worse … the master could say that he had to pay the double, with interest !!!

 

[ProVobis]

Mateo 18, 21-35
I don’t understand this from the Bible, if God forgive us and forget ours sins why in this gospel the lord forgives all his debts but then, because the man didn’t do the same with someone who owed him little amount of many , he condemn the first one for the debt just already forgives.

As I understand your question, you’re asking why God retroactively removes His forgiveness of our sins. Is this correct? I’m not sure that that is true.

You’ve received pretty good answers IMO, but let me add this. When we ask to be forgiven, we are forgiven (in the confessional, if it’s a mortal sin) but we still aren’t completely absolved from a reparation standpoint.

From the Catholic Encyclopedia on Indulgences comes this:

•In the Sacrament of Baptism not only is the guilt of sin remitted, but also all the penalties attached to sin. In the Sacrament of Penance the guilt of sin is removed, and with it the eternal punishment due to mortal sin; but there still remains the temporal punishment required by Divine justice, and this requirement must be fulfilled either in the present life or in the world to come, i.e., in Purgatory.

newadvent.org/cathen/07783a.htm

In addition, in the cases of theft or slander, we need to restore as much as we can. That should go without saying. This shouldn’t be seen as conditional to the forgiveness of the transgression against our neighbor.

 

[Crumpy]

I can think of so many examples in the Church where forgiveness is not shown, as far as we can tell.

Take priests who have sexually abused women or minors. How does forgiveness play out in these cases?

I have seen priests with rough demeanors who make things hard for a lot of people. I don’t see the kind spirit of forgiveness, even the benefit of the doubt.

A relative of mine cost me my job and a potential and projected earnings of $ 1.5 million. Tell me. Am I just supposed to embrace this sadistic person and smile and act like nothing ever happened? I did act for a number of years like nothing had happened and tried to be as generous as I could be. But, the sadism continued until I couldn’t take it any more. God help me, please.