Forgiveness

“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, until seven times: but, until seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:21,22

“Peter had come to Christ with the question, ‘How oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?’ The rabbis limited the exercise of forgiveness to three offences. Peter, carrying out, as he supposed, the teaching of Christ, thought to extend it to seven, the number signifying perfection. But Christ taught that we are never to become weary of forgiving. Not ‘Until seven times/ He said, ‘but, until seventy times seven.’

“Then He showed the true ground upon which forgiveness is to be granted and the danger of cherishing an unforgiving spirit. In a parable He told of a king’s dealing with the officers who administered the affairs of his government. Some of these officers were in receipt of vast sums of money belonging to the state. As the king investigated their administration of this trust, there was brought before him one man whose account showed a debt to his lord for the immense sum often thousand talents. He had nothing to pay, and according to the custom, the king ordered him to be sold, with all that he had, that payment might be made. But the terrified man fell at his feet and besought him, saying, “Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

“But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him an hundred pence; and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not; but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.” Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 243, 244.

Jesus, when saying that we are to forgive others seventy times seven, did not mean that we are to count our brother’s sins against us and when he has reached 490, then to start paying him back. He meant that we are to be forgiving always. Not just forgiving a minimum amount but that we are to forgive him everything.

“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” Luke 6:36 We are just to go on forgiving and forgetting our brother’s sins and forget about counting them. We are to be merciful even as God is merciful with us and forgives us our sins.
AMEN.