Matthew 18:35 teaches that God’s forgiveness toward us is tied to whether we forgive others from our hearts. Jesus says the heavenly Father will treat us the way we treat our brothers and sisters, so a refusal to forgive reveals a heart that has not grasped what it has been given. Jesus spoke these words at the close of a parable, and he spoke them to his disciples, who had just asked how often they should forgive a brother who sins against them.
So my heavenly Father will also do to you, if you don’t each forgive your brother from your hearts for his misdeeds.”
Matthew 18:35 (WEB)
What Matthew 18:35 Means
The verse begins with “So my heavenly Father will also do to you.” Jesus is drawing a conclusion from the parable he has just told. The king in the story forgave a huge debt, and then the forgiven servant refused to forgive a small one. The phrase “will also do to you” means the same pattern of mercy or judgment that shapes the story will shape how God deals with the listener. It describes a consequence the parable makes plain, not a formula that earns forgiveness.
The key condition is “if you don’t each forgive your brother from your hearts for his misdeeds.” The word “from your hearts” matters. Jesus is not describing a grudging, outward politeness that says the right words while nursing resentment. He is describing a genuine change of inner attitude toward the one who wronged you. The verse does not say that forgiving others earns God’s love, since God’s love is already the foundation of the whole parable. It says that a heart which refuses to forgive shows it has not truly received mercy.
The Context of Matthew 18:35
The Gospel of Matthew was written for a community that knew Jewish law and tradition well, and it presents Jesus as the teacher who fulfills and deepens that tradition. Matthew 18 is the fourth of the great discourses in the book and deals with life together among Jesus’ followers, including greatness, humility, correcting a brother who sins, and forgiveness. Peter asks how many times he must forgive, and Jesus answers with a number that signals limitless forgiveness, then tells the parable of the unforgiving servant.
Reading verse 35 in light of verses 32 through 34 changes how it sounds. The king says to the servant, “Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?” The verse is the application of that rhetorical question. Because the debt forgiven to the servant was enormous and the debt owed to him was small, the contrast exposes how strange and hard-hearted the refusal was. Seen this way, verse 35 is less a threat than a sober appeal to remember the scale of mercy already received.
Key Phrases in Matthew 18:35
Matthew 6:14-15
14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
(WEB)
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes the same connection between receiving the Father’s forgiveness and extending forgiveness to others. Reading it alongside Matthew 18:35 shows that this teaching runs through Jesus’ ministry and is not confined to one parable.
Ephesians 4:32
And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.
(WEB)
Paul builds on the same foundation by urging believers to be kind and forgiving because God forgave them in Christ. It gives the motive behind forgiveness: the mercy received becomes the pattern for mercy given to others.
A Short Prayer From Matthew 18:35
Father, you have forgiven me a debt I could never repay, and I am grateful beyond words. I confess that I often hold on to the wrongs done to me, rehearsing them and keeping them close when I should be letting them go. Search my heart and show me where resentment has taken root. Give me the grace to forgive those who have hurt me, not in name only but from the inside out, trusting you with justice and with my own healing. Shape my heart to reflect the mercy I have received from you. Amen.
