Matthew 18:21-22
God’s word
Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
(Matthew 18:21-22)
Reflect on God’s word
Following on from the previous verses in Matthew 18:15-20, which deal with the process of church discipline and restoration, Peter courageously comes to Jesus and asks how many times he would be expected to forgive the brother who sins repeatedly against him.
Peter suggests seven times, which would make him appear more generous than the Pharisees, who according to their law, were required to forgive the same person three times. After that there was no obligation for them to forgive again. "If a man sins once, twice or three times, they forgive him: if he sins a fourth time, they do not forgive him." (m. Yoma 5.13)
This teaching meant that forgiveness in Israel was something that was earned and deserved, and it meant that this privilege could easily be lost.
Peter understood forgiveness to be something handed out by men, and often only when it was in the person's best interest to grant forgiveness. Peter assumed he could decide when he had forgiven the brother who wronged him enough times. Peter would have been taught that unlimited forgiveness of a brother was unwise - if one could say they were sorry and all was forgiven, wouldn't that encourage more misbehaviour? In Peter's mind he was viewing forgiveness not from God's perspective but his own understanding.
The number seven in scripture implies perfection, totality and completeness. Jesus's answer "seventy times seven" implies unlimited forgiveness. As often as the brother asks, just as often he is to be forgiven. The very act of counting offences shows only external and not internal forgiveness.
We should be thankful that this is how God grants forgiveness to us – Christ’s forgiveness for those that put their faith and trust in him is unmeasurable. It is also how Christ expects us to treat each other. To illustrate this point further Jesus told the parable of the Unforgiving Servant in Matthew 18:23-35.
Chuck Swindoll sums these verses up well: "Every time an offence occurs, forgive. Every single time. If you do not, you will never be happily married. If you do not, you will never find a church you'll be content with. If you do not, you will never find a group you can get along with. You'll never be able to work for any company. You're just going to spend your entire existence looking for and expecting perfection but never finding it. That's not a happy way to live. Nor is it realistic."
Personally reflect on God’s word to you
- Reflect on the measure by which Christ has forgiven you, past, present and in the future.
- Is there someone you need to unconditionally forgive? Do it now.
