No Payment So Sold - Matthew 18:25

Matthew the apostle wrote how Jesus said, “Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants, And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents”, and in chapter eighteen and verse twenty-five of his book, Matthew shared how Jesus said the “servant” had no “payment” and was commanded to be “sold” where we read:

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.

The verse reads, “But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, ...”. Matthew began with the words, “but forasmuch as” or “nevertheless, moreover and inasmuch and since” “he had not to pay” which means “the man did not have the ability to repay, discharge and produce his debt”“his lord” or “the man's person to whom thing belongs,about which he has power of deciding and his master and king” “commanded him” which means “ordered, bid and incited by word that the man in debt” “to be sold” or “to be disposed of as merchandise or into slavery”. Matthew shared how Jesus told his disciples the man in debt did not have “ten thousand talents” to repay the king, so he ordered the “servant” to be “sold” into slavery.

The verse goes on to say, “... and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.” Matthew continued with the words, “and his wife” or “the particular man's female spouse”, “and children” which means “and the man's kids or offspring”, “and all that he had” or “and each, every, the whole and everything that the man owned”, “and payment to be made” which means “and rendering, paying off and discharging the money owed”. Matthew wrote how Jesus said the man's wife, children and everything he owned were to be sold to repay his debt.

When we consider Matthew's words in this verse, we see the drastic measures that were taken to insure this man's debt would be repaid. Not only would he be sold, but his family and belongings were to be sold as well. This was a heavy price for this man to pay, and yet, he was to be forced into a place to attempt to pay it. Every person owes a great debt to God Almighty for their sins, and as we think through Jesus' story concerning this king, we should put ourselves in the place of the man who was in debt and plea to God for His mercy and grace to be shown.

Next time Matthew shares how Jesus said, “the servant fell down, and worshiped him, and said Lord, have patience with me”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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