Seventy Times Seven

Seventy Times Seven

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

“No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!”

Matthew 18:21-22

Where is another God like you, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of his special people? You will not stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing unfailing love.

Micah 7:18

Forgiveness is not easy. When someone hurts you, it’s hard to resist becoming resentful or trying to make the other person pay. But when that person does the same thing to you a second time, it is even harder to forgive. You feel like that person is not at all sorry and is taking advantage of you.

The religious leaders in Jesus’ day taught that you should forgive someone two times, but if the person hurts you a third time, you were not obligated to forgive. So when Peter suggested that perhaps you should forgive up to seven times, he thought he was going far beyond what could be expected of anybody. He thought it only reasonable to set some limits on forgiveness to avoid being taken advantage of. And he was sure Jesus would give him a pat on the back for his generosity.

But Jesus said he should forgive not seven times but seventy times seven times. Jesus said to keep on forgiving beyond what is reasonable. In other words, forgive others the way you’ve been forgiven—because God has forgiven you far more than seven times. He’s forgiven too many times to count! You see, when God offers us forgiveness, he is opening himself up to being taken advantage of. And he keeps on forgiving.

To be in Christ is to live in an atmosphere of overflowing forgiveness. And our willingness—or our resistance—to generously forgive others reveals whether or not we’re really breathing in that air.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

How does it feel when someone hurts you the same way more than once?

What do you think Jesus meant when he said we should forgive seventy times seven times?

How can seeing God as a generous forgiver help us to forgive those who have hurt us?