太十八3　我实在告诉你们，你们若不回转，变成像小孩子一样，绝不能进诸天的国。

　　21~22　……彼得……对耶稣说，主啊，我的弟兄得罪我，我当赦免他几次？到七次么？耶稣对他说，我不是对你说到七次，乃是到七十个七次。

　　马太十八章论到在诸天的国里应当怎样生活行动：　变成像小孩子一样（2~4）；　不绊跌人，也不立下绊跌人的事（5~9）；　不轻看信主的一个小子（10~14）；　听召会，不要被召会定罪（15~20）；　无限度地赦免弟兄（21~35）。这一切指明，我们要进入诸天的国，必须谦卑、不轻看任何信徒，却要爱弟兄、赦免弟兄（圣经恢复本，太十八1注1）。

　　Matt. 18:3 ...Truly I say to you, Unless you turn and become like little children, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens.

　　21-22 ...Peter...said to Him, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times? Jesus said to him, I do not say to you, Up to seven times, but, Up to seventy times seven.

　　Matthew 18 deals with the way we should live and act in the kingdom of the heavens: (1) we should become like little children (vv. 2-4); (2) we should not stumble others or set up any stumbling block (vv. 5-9); (3) we should not despise even a little believer (vv. 10-14); (4) we should hear the church and not be condemned by it (vv. 15-20); and (5) we should forgive a brother without limit (vv. 21-35). All this indicates that to enter into the kingdom of the heavens we must be humble and not despise any believer, but love our brother and forgive our brother. (Matt. 18:1, footnote 1)

　　我们都必须学习赦免人；我们没有人喜欢这么作。在我们内心深处，我们不愿赦免人。

　　根据圣经，赦免就是忘记。……要忘记人对我们的冒犯是何等的难！没有主的怜悯和恩典，我们甚至在永世里都会记得别人的冒犯。但神赦免时，祂就忘记了。希伯来十章十七节说，“我绝不再记念他们的罪和不法。”……我们在天上的父看我们如同未曾犯过罪，因为祂已经赦免并忘记我们的罪。但我们赦免某种冒犯，却常常提醒人。……真正的赦免是说，我们忘记人的冒犯。

　　〔在马太十八章二十二节，〕七十个七次，意思是我们必须不计其数地赦免人。不需要数算或记录你赦免人的次数。一次一次又一次，你需要赦免他们。

　　在二十三至三十五节，主用一个比喻作例证。……算账是指主在今世对付我们，……叫我们领悟我们欠主多少，并且求祂赦免我们。照着二十四节，一个奴仆欠〔主人〕一万他连得银子，数目如此之大，指明欠债的人不可能把债务偿清。这是指我们得救后，得罪主所累积的重债。

　　那奴仆求〔主人〕宽容他，直到他把债务还清，“那奴仆的主人就动了慈心，把他释放，并且免了他的债。”（27）这是指在我们失败的基督徒生活中，我们的债得赦免，好恢复我们与主的交通。

　　二十八节说，“但那奴仆出来，遇见一个和他同作奴仆的，欠他一百银币，便揪住他，掐住他的喉咙，说，你所欠的，都要偿还。”……这节所说的一百银币，比一万他连得银子的多少万分之一还少，这是指我们得救作了主的奴仆之后，弟兄得罪我们的罪。弟兄欠我们的，比起我们欠主的是何等少！

　　然而，我们也许不愿赦免人。〔在〕二十九至三十节……主不是对付罪人，乃是对付信徒，得救的人。祂对付一个被得罪却不愿赦免人的弟兄。

　　三十一节说，“那些和他同作奴仆的，看见所发生的事，就甚忧愁，去把一切所发生的事，都完全告诉他们的主人。”我们若不赦免得罪我们的弟兄，这会使别的弟兄忧愁，将这事带到主面前。

　　三十四节……是指……我们若不赦免得罪我们的弟兄，就要受主管教，直到我们从心里赦免他；这乃是说，直到我们还清一切所欠的债，主才会赦免我们。……这含示我们今天若不从心里赦免弟兄，来世就不得进国度（马太福音生命读经，六七一至六七二、六八五至六八七页）。

　　参读：马太福音生命读经，第五十一至五十二篇。

　　We all must learn to forgive others, something that none of us enjoys doing. Deep within our heart, we do not want to forgive others.

　　According to the Bible, to forgive is to forget....How difficult it is to forget an offense against us! Without the Lord's mercy and grace, we would remember others' offenses even in eternity. But when God forgives, He forgets. Hebrews 10:17 says, “And their sins and their lawlessnesses I shall by no means remember anymore.”...Our Father in heaven considers us as if we have never sinned, for He has forgiven and forgotten our sins. But when we forgive an offense, we often remind others of it....Genuine forgiveness means that we forget the offense.

　　[In Matthew 18:22] seventy times seven means that we must forgive others an unlimited number of times. There is no need to count or keep a record of the number of times you forgive others. Over and over and over, you need to forgive them.

　　In verses 23 through 35 the Lord gives a parable as an illustration....The settling of accounts...refers to the Lord's dealing with us in this age...[to] cause us to realize how much we owe the Lord and to beg Him to forgive us. According to verse 24, one slave owed [a king] ten thousand talents, that is, about twelve million dollars. It was impossible for the debtor to pay off this debt. This refers to the heavy debt of our failures accumulated after we were saved.

　　After the slave begged the king to be patient with him until he repaid the debt, “the master of that slave was moved with compassion and released him and forgave him the loan” (v. 27). This refers to the forgiveness of our debts in our defeated Christian life for the restoration of our fellowship with the Lord.

　　Verse 28 says, “But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii, and he took hold of him and began to choke him, saying, Repay me what you owe.”...The hundred denarii spoken of in this verse is less than a millionth part of ten thousand talents. This refers to a brother's sin against us after we have been saved. How small is any brother's debt to us compared to our debt to the Lord!

　　Nevertheless, we may not be willing to forgive. [In] verses 29 and 30...the Lord is dealing not with sinners, but with believers, with saved ones. He deals with a brother who has been offended, yet who is not willing to forgive.

　　Verse 31 says, “His fellow slaves, seeing what had taken place, were greatly grieved and came and explained fully to their master all that had taken place.” If we do not forgive the brother who sins against us, it will grieve the other brothers, and they may bring this matter to the Lord.

　　Verse 34...[indicates that] if we do not forgive the brother who sins against us, we shall be disciplined by the Lord until we forgive him from the heart, that is, until we have paid everything we owe,...[which] implies that if we do not forgive a brother from our heart today, we shall not be allowed to enter into the kingdom in the coming age. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 604, 616-618)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Matthew, msgs. 51-52