Matthew 18:21,22
‘Then Peter came up and said to Him, “Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me and I still forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy-seven times.”‘
This is great. Peter thought he was being generous. Then Jesus blows him out of the water with His answer. We aren’t to stop forgiving others. Peter got the idea from the rabbis. They gave a reasonable number of times to forgive another. Peter added to that and got seven.
Forgiveness is a big part of Jesus’ ministry. His coming was to bring the possibility of it. He died on the cross to offer forgiveness. That is for God to forgive us. Prior to that they had the bulls and goats. Blood had to be shed. If it wasn’t the animal’s it was to be the humans. But that wasn’t hopeful. Jesus’ sacrifice offered it to the person. One can be right with God based on Jesus’ sacrifice.
Now that one has been forgiven by God he is to offer that to his brother. This is where Peter’s suggestion comes in. God’s forgiveness is such a big deal that we need to offer it to others. If we’ve been forgiven, then we need to offer it to others.
The parable of the unforgiving servant shows us the importance of forgiveness. It doesn’t make sense to be a christian and not to forgive. Our debt was so great that we have to forgive. It’s ridiculus to try to compare the two debts. We’ve been forgiven millions and we have a problem forgiving pennies. It’s not comparable.
If we are unable to forgive, then we really haven’t been forgiven. The Holy Spirit would be in us convicting us of sin. We would be having a hard time living with that conviction.
Lord, thank You for forgiving us. Thank You, Jesus for dying in our place. Thank You, Father for sending Your Son and the Spirit. Thank You Spirit for Your indwelling work. We’ve been forgiven. Praise God. Such a great debt. Thank You, Lord, that You’ve given us the ability to forgive.
Peter’s question shows us the difference of the Spirit being in us and not. If not, then his number seems big. When He is in us, then seven seems like a joke. We can’t offer enough forgiveness. The topic is so big that we dare not approach it.
A different question is that of boundaries. If someone is abusive, then we can limit their access to us. We still forgive, but we don’t have to allow them to be abusive. Proverbs wisdom comes in. “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him”, (Proverbs 26:4).
Thank You, Lord for forgiveness. An enormous debt. Thank You that You help us forgive. Thank You also for Your wisdom. We don’t have to be abused.