What does Matthew 18:34 mean?
This is the last sentence in Jesus' story about the servant who refused to show mercy to his colleague after the king had shown mercy to him. The king had forgiven the first man's debt, which was equivalent to literally thousands of lifetimes of income. That same man then had his fellow servant cast into debtor's prison for a debt of 100 days' wages (Matthew 18:23–33).In response, the angry king now reverses his earlier decision and delivers the servant to the jailers to be imprisoned, as well, until all his debt is repaid. This is, in effect, a life sentence since the servant owes such an impossible sum of money. In the context of Jesus' parable, it is an eternal sentence.
Jesus' troubling application of the parable in the following verse raises questions for all of us. The point of this story is to demonstrate how much we "owe" God on account of our sin. For that reason, those who claim salvation in Christ ought to reflect that understanding by being forgiving towards others. Those who cannot, or will not, be forgiving, give reasons to doubt their relationship with Christ is legitimate (John 14:15).
Matthew 18:21–35 answers Peter's question about how many times he should forgive a brother who sins against him. Jesus tells a parable about the servant of a king. The king forgives the man's enormous, unpayable debt. In turn, the servant refuses to forgive the much smaller debt owed him by another and has that man thrown in prison. The king is furious and asks the servant why he did not show the same mercy he had been given. The king has the man jailed until he pays everything. Jesus says that God the Father will do the same to those who do not forgive their brothers.
Jesus uses two questions from the disciples to teach important lessons. The "greatest" in the kingdom is the one who humbles himself like a child. Temptation is unavoidable in earthly life, but it's worth going to extremes to avoid falling for it. Even so, those who fall should not be hated and despised. God the Father values them highly and wants none of them to perish. In fact, Jesus lays out a clear, careful process to confront sin in others before removing them from the community. Christ also replies to Peter's question about forgiveness with a parable. This story represents both God's amazing forgiveness, and the way we ought to respond as Christians.
