Scripture

Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”

“Not seven times”, Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven.”

Observation

Peter asks how many times he should forgive a brother who sins against him. He suggests seven times, but Jesus says, “Not seven times, but seventy times seven.”

Jesus then tells a parable about a king who decides to put his accounts in order. He discovers that one of his servants owes him millions of dollars. He can’t repay the debt, so the master orders him and his possessions to be sold. The servant begs for more time to repay, which the king grants.

The same servant then cones across another servant who owes him a few dollars. He demands instant repayment, but the servant is unable to pay. The first servant has him thrown into prison.

Some of the other servants see this, and they go to the king. The king then orders the first servant to be thrown into prison until the debt is paid in full.

Application

God has forgiven me so much! I am like the first servant in the parable. My debt to God was so huge that nobody could pay it. But God forgave me and continues to forgive me.

So I need to be a person who also learns to forgive others. What people do to offend me is tiny compared to what God has wiped away for my sake.

Peter thought he was being radical by suggesting that he could forgive a brother seven times. After all, the rabbis taught that we should forgive three times.

When Jesus says I must forgive seventy-times seven, He is really saying “Keep forgiving and keep no record of it.”

I need to become a person who forgives automatically, instinctively and freely. I must become impossible to offend so that I can forgive without restraint.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, you forgive me without measure. Please help me to forgive those who offend me equally freely. Amen.