Debts, debtors and paráptōmata in the Lord’s Prayer and Jesus’ associated saying on mercy towards others’ weaknesses–Matthew 6:12-15 and Mark 11:20-26

In the Lord's Prayer and the parallel teaching about mercy, Jesus tells us that we are to ask God to release us from the consequences or resulting debts of our sins as we release others from the debts we imagine they owe us. While praying, we are to show mercy upon the flaws (paráptōmata) that led them to sin, because the Father will show us mercy in the same measure.

Matthew 6:14 & 15

Compare the full context in NASB, with usages of paráptōma indicated with a text modified to show the proposed alternate translation of that word:

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For if you forgive other people for their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive your offenses

Matthew 6:12-15 (NASB)

Now, the same text modified to show the proposed translation of paraptoma:

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For if you forgive other people for their faults/flaws your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive your faults/ flaws.

Matthew 6:12-15 (NASB, modified as indicated)

Note that in verse 12, which is part of the Lord’s Prayer, two different “sin” (or “debt”) words are used: 1) opheilēmata, which is the accusative plural of opheílēma, “debts,” in an accounting sense, money owed on a ledger. 2) opheiletais, which is the dative plural of opheilétēs, a “debtor,” someone who owes an opheílēma, literally a money debt, metaphorically a reparation for a wrong done. Note also that neither verse 12 nor verses 14 and 15 are talking about forgiving the sins themselves: only God can forgive sins. Thus, while verse 12 in the model prayer focuses on the consequences of wrong acts–asking God to forgive any reparations we owe him for our wrong acts in the same way we have forgiven those we believe owe us money or owe us reparations for wrongdoing against us (For the full argument that these words apply to all debts, not just “moral” debts for sin, see the entries for these words in “Sin” Words: Lexical Definitions.”). By contrast, verses 14 and 15 extend the teaching of the prayer to include the underlying causes of the wrong deeds that led to the sin-debts. We are to recognize that God forgives the character faults and flaws in us–he is working with us and in us to transform them, but in Christ he has forgiven them. In the same way, we must forgive the flaws in others that lead them to sin against us, and give them the same grace to let God transform the flaws in them in his own way and time that God gives to us with respect to our own flaws. The warning of verses 14 and 15 is that, if we are unable to forgive others’ flaws, we will be held to the same standard we impose on them.

Mark 11:25 & 26

This is the same saying as in Matthew 6:14-15, presented in a different context–but, still, a context dealing with prayer. Mark 11:20-26 in the NASB reads (again with uses of paraptoma indicated):

As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. And being reminded, Peter said to Him, “Rabbi, look, the fig tree that You cursed has withered.” And Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted to him. Therefore, I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted to you. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you for your offenses. [But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your offenses.”]

Mark 11:20-26 (NASB).

Note the square brackets around verse 26 in the NASB. According to a footnote in the NASB, the brackets indicate that some “ancient mss do not contain this verse.” A little bit of additional investigation will show that a majority of Byzantine manuscripts contain this verse (see the entries for RP, Scrivener, Stephanus and Beza in verse 26 parallel Greek), while the Alexandrian texts do not.

This passage in the NASB, modified with the proposed alternative translations, reads as follows:

As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. And being reminded, Peter said to Him, “Rabbi, look, the fig tree that You cursed has withered.” And Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted to him. Therefore, I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted to you. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you for your flaws/ faults. [But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your flaws/ faults”]

Mark 11:20-26 (NASB, modified as indicated)

The proposed change in the translation of paraptoma in Mark’s version of Jesus saying about the necessity of forgiveness in prayer makes just as much sense here as it did in Matthew 6:14-15. The only real difference involving the choice of this word in Mark is that Mark does not precede the saying with the Lord’s Prayer, so that nothing like the partial results versus causes contrast between “debts” in Matthew 6:12 and “faults” in Matthew 6:14-15 is found in Mark. In Mark, the context is having faith in God while praying, with the clear implication that people who do not have sufficient faith in God to have mercy on other people’s flaws by releasing them from critical judgment for those flaws cannot have the faith to believe God will answer their prayers. In this matter, again, God holds us to the same standard we apply against others.

Luke 11:4

While Luke never uses the word paraptoma, Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer mixes the concept of forgiving discrete sins (hamartias) on God’s part with the concept of forgiving indebtedness (opheilonti) on our part. In both cases, the verb translated “forgive” (aphíēmi)  is the same except for grammatical person: 

It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, when He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.” And He said to them, “When you pray, say:

‘Father, hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Give us each day our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins (hamartias),

For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us (panti opheilonti hemin),

And do not lead us into temptation.’

Luke 11:1-4 (NASB).

The order in which the two “sin” words are expressed in Luke’s version of the Lord’s prayer reinforces the idea that only God can forgive the underlying sinful act—we cannot.  What we can do is forgive—release, send away (aphíēmi) —the debts we feel other people owe us.  Debts we claim others have incurred to us as a result of their sinful acts (real or imagined) against us or against groups of people to which we belong are primarily in view here. However, there is nothing in the language of either Luke 11:4 or Matthew 6:12 and 14-15 (discussed above) which would exclude from their application either ordinary money debts owed to us or debts we feel other people (or groups of people) owe to God because of their acts, omissions or associations and which we have taken it upon ourselves to “help” God enforce. All the debts we hold against others, including what we think they owe for their sinful acts, ARE things we can release.  And, in both versions of the Lord’s prayer, we ask God to forgive us to the same extent we release others from their debts that are within our power to release. 

CONCLUSION

Thus, Jesus repeatedly told us to release the debts we think others owe us, including those we think they owe us because of the consequences of their sins. He says this both because we also have sinned and owe God our lives, and because bitterly holding onto sin-debts has drastic consequences for all involved. But he also tells us we are to have mercy on the faults and character flaws of others, the flaws that cause them to sin, because His Father will show us mercy in the same measure.

NEXT: The Crediting of Righteousness to Abraham and the Question whether Jesus Died for Our Weaknesses or for for Our Discrete Sins Only–Romans 4:25.