Big Idea: Jesus stresses that the kingdom community is characterized by unlimited forgiveness based on God’s prior and lavish forgiveness, warning those who are not persistent in offering forgiveness that they will not receive it in the end.

Understanding the Text

In the second half of the Community Discourse (chap. 18) Jesus highlights the necessity of forgiving others in the Christian community, a theme already introduced in the Sermon on the Mount (6:12–15). As in the first half of the discourse, a question by the disciples provides the opportunity for Jesus to teach on discipleship (18:1, 21). Jesus’ teaching about forgiveness is an important contextual requisite for any confrontation of a sinning community member (18:15–20). The chapter’s twin emphases on taking sin seriously and fo…