21 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?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18:21–22 (ESV)
I was never, and am not, strong in mathematics. I am thankful to have married a woman who is. What does math have to do with today’s lesson from the Gospel of Matthew? Plenty? In today text, Jesus provides believers in Christ with a lesson on multiplication, and forgiveness.
In the immediate aftermath of Jesus instructions regarding church discipline, Peter approached Him and asked, ““Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”
Sin (ἁμαρτάνω; hamartano) refers to a wrongdoing. It means to act or behave contrary to the will and law of God. To forgive (ἀφίημι; aphiemi) means to dismiss, send away or cancel a debit. In this case, the canceled debt that is sent away is a sin committed by someone against you. Peter wanted to know how many times such a cancellation should be done by a believer in Christ. Perhaps he reasoned the doing so up to seven times was really spiritual.
“Peter may have been of the opinion that Jesus would praise him for his bigheartedness. If so, his expectation was not fulfilled. There was something wrong with Peter’s approach. It smacked of rabbinism. It sounded as if the forgiving spirit were a commodity that could be weighed, measured, and counted; as if it could be parceled out little by little up to a certain well defined limit, when further distribution would have to stop,” explains Dr. William Hendriksen.
Jesus dismissed such legalism in His disciples. “Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
“Seventy times seven (some interpreters read seventy-seven) does not really mean exactly 490 here; it is a typically graphic Jewish way of saying “Never hold grudges.” Because true repentance should involve turning from sin, some later rabbis’ limited opportunities for forgiveness for a given sin to three times; Peter might have thought his offer of seven times was generous,” states commentator Craig Keener.
“Forgiveness and the restoration of relationship is the goal of discipline — from the first step to the last step of excommunication. Peter understands this partly; he will forgive a person up to seven times, more than the three times the rabbis prescribe in his day (v. 21). That Peter’s comprehension is incomplete is revealed in the Savior’s command to forgive “seventy times seven” (v. 22). According to some Reformed New Testament scholars Jesus really says, “seventy-seven times,” but the precise number is unimportant. Either way, as seen in the parable that follows, Christ is actually teaching that forgiveness must be unlimited,” explains Dr. R. C. Sproul.
Ephesians 4:31–32 (ESV) says, “31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
The basis for our unlimited forgiveness of others’ sins against us is God’s unlimited forgiveness of our sins against Him. Have a blessed day in the LORD.
Soli deo Gloria!
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