The Kingdom of Heaven

“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.” Matthew 18:23 (RSV)

R. Yeshua goes on to tell that one of the king’s servants couldn’t pay his debt of ten thousand talents, and because of his begging, the king released him from his debt. Afterwards, the servant comes to another servant who owed him one hundred denarii, and the first servant had the second thrown in jail because he was unable to pay. When the king hears about this he reacts strongly:

“Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me; and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his lord delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart." Matthew 18: 32-35 (RSV)

The lesson is pretty clear by itself, but it is also based in a specific commandment, from Exodus 22:24a, “If you lend to My people, the poor who are with you, you shall not be a creditor to him.” R. Israel Meir Kagan explains from this that a lender should not demand money from a borrower who can’t pay (The Concise Book of Commandments, Negative Commandments 52).

This applies in other ways, aswell. Not only should we not act like creditors when it comes to money, we shouldn’t act as creditors in anything. If I do you a favor, I cannot expect you to do me a favor in return. The Mishna makes this explicit in Mishna, Baba Meisa 5:10-11, where it is clearly stated that this commandment applies to any kind of favor or help that we can offer to eachother.

We do not expect any kind of repayment, especially when we know that the person can’t repay. R. Yeshua tells us, “Lend without expecting anything in return and you will have a great reward” (Luke 6:35).

R. Yeshua tells us what the reward is in one sense, if you forgive debts, your debts will be forgiven, but this also makes daily life work better. If we all give without expecting anything then the society runs better. No one can hold anything over your head. If someone gives you a gift, you aren’t expected to give something of equal value in return.