Seventy Times Seven
I'd like for us to take a look at the concept of forgiveness, as Jesus explained it to Peter in Matthew 18:21-35, in a parable about debt and compassion...
"Then Peter came to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was very wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."
The first thing that we notice is that Peter inquires of Jesus concerning the extent of forgiveness that he is expected to extend to his brother. "How oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?" Peter understands that he is expected to be of a forgiving nature, but he questions at what point his mercy can be revoked, when he can, in good conscience, turn his back on his brother, after having forgiven so many trespasses. The question itself says a lot about Peter's state of mind at the time. He had the reputation of being rather impulsive, of not always thinking things through. Although his heart was in the right place, his emotions sometimes betrayed him, as they do all of us. Jesus clarifies his confusion as he explains..."I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." Jesus would have us to be ready to forgive at all times, always ready and willing to extend an olive branch to those who have wronged us. There should never come a time when we close our hearts to people, and write them off forever. We may choose not to have contact with those who have proven themselves to be toxic to us, but we should never allow this self-preservation to turn into bitterness. Our own efforts to protect ourselves and those that we care about can betray us if they are allowed to give way to hatred. We must depend on Jesus to cleanse and purify our hearts in order to avoid the damaging effects that bitterness and hatred can incur. One cannot simply "have a forgiving spirit", we must be led by the Spirit of God, and changed by His power, before we can be all that he would have us to be.
With these thoughts in mind, let's take a closer look at the parable that Jesus used in this instance, and how it applies to us. Beginning with verse 23, we read..."Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants." This tells us that we are to equate the parable with the kingdom of heaven, that the parable itself is representative of the way in which God will deal with each of us. "And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made." In the time of Jesus, ten thousand talents was an astronomical amount of money. In fact, by first century standards, the typical day's wage for a laborer was one Denarius, which was a silver coin about 4 grams in weight. In stark contrast, one talent, which was equivalent to about 30 kilograms of gold, would be about 16 year's wages, so it is plain to see that it would be impossible for anyone to repay ten thousand talents. By comparison, in today's currency, it would equate to several hundred million dollars, certainly more debt than any of us could ever hope to repay. "The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all." This man was certainly aware of the fact that he could never repay all that he owed, and so this was merely an acknowledgement of the debt, as well as a plea for mercy. We ourselves must come to this point of reckoning, the acceptance of a debt which we cannot pay, and the seeking of forgiveness and mercy. "Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt." The king was moved with compassion, and, realizing that he could not be satisfied by payment of the servant's debt, he decided rather to be glorified in the pardon of it. How reminiscent of the great love and mercy by which God has forgiven us! The terrible liability of our sin being a debt which we ourselves could never repay, He gave His only begotten Son, in order to pay the price for us. Such a beautiful sacrifice for those so unworthy! We go on to read in verse 28..."But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest." Sadly, this man was so unappreciative of the mercy and compassion shown to him that he went out and demanded repayment of a relatively small debt from one of his peers, going so far as to take the man by the throat. How quickly we seem to forget all that we have been forgiven. "And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all." It would seem that this man's plea for mercy should have reminded the servant of his own debt, and the fact that so much more had been forgiven of himself, but instead, he exacts revenge upon his debtor. "And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt." It is all too easy for us to turn a blind eye to our own sin, and yet expect perfection from others. "So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done." Just as these fellowservants, who were sorrowful for the wickedness and oppression shown to this man, so also we should take our cares and concerns for ourselves as well as for others before the Lord, and lay them at His feet. "Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was very wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses." This man's insurmountable debt had been forgiven, simply because he had humbled himself and asked for mercy, but then he refused to show compassion to another who owed much less than himself. Because of this, the full weight of his own debt was reinstated, and notice here that he was not sold or cast into prison, but rather, he was delivered to the tormentors. A far worse fate awaited him because of his own cruelty and indifference.
We read in James 2:13..."For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment." Furthermore, Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:14-15..."For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your trespasses." The simple fact is, we all have trespasses, we all owe a sin debt that we can never hope to repay on our own. Thanks be to God for the supreme sacrifice which Jesus made for us on the cross! May we never forget the fact that our debts were paid by the blood which He shed, and may our hearts ever be filled with compassion and mercy for others. God's forgiveness of our vast debt should inspire and precede the forgiveness of any petty debts which we owe to one another. Finally, we read in Ephesians 4:31-32..."Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."
"Then Peter came to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
The first thing that we notice is that Peter inquires of Jesus concerning the extent of forgiveness that he is expected to extend to his brother. "How oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?" Peter understands that he is expected to be of a forgiving nature, but he questions at what point his mercy can be revoked, when he can, in good conscience, turn his back on his brother, after having forgiven so many trespasses. The question itself says a lot about Peter's state of mind at the time. He had the reputation of being rather impulsive, of not always thinking things through. Although his heart was in the right place, his emotions sometimes betrayed him, as they do all of us. Jesus clarifies his confusion as he explains..."I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." Jesus would have us to be ready to forgive at all times, always ready and willing to extend an olive branch to those who have wronged us. There should never come a time when we close our hearts to people, and write them off forever. We may choose not to have contact with those who have proven themselves to be toxic to us, but we should never allow this self-preservation to turn into bitterness. Our own efforts to protect ourselves and those that we care about can betray us if they are allowed to give way to hatred. We must depend on Jesus to cleanse and purify our hearts in order to avoid the damaging effects that bitterness and hatred can incur. One cannot simply "have a forgiving spirit", we must be led by the Spirit of God, and changed by His power, before we can be all that he would have us to be.
With these thoughts in mind, let's take a closer look at the parable that Jesus used in this instance, and how it applies to us. Beginning with verse 23, we read..."Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants." This tells us that we are to equate the parable with the kingdom of heaven, that the parable itself is representative of the way in which God will deal with each of us. "And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made." In the time of Jesus, ten thousand talents was an astronomical amount of money. In fact, by first century standards, the typical day's wage for a laborer was one Denarius, which was a silver coin about 4 grams in weight. In stark contrast, one talent, which was equivalent to about 30 kilograms of gold, would be about 16 year's wages, so it is plain to see that it would be impossible for anyone to repay ten thousand talents. By comparison, in today's currency, it would equate to several hundred million dollars, certainly more debt than any of us could ever hope to repay. "The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all." This man was certainly aware of the fact that he could never repay all that he owed, and so this was merely an acknowledgement of the debt, as well as a plea for mercy. We ourselves must come to this point of reckoning, the acceptance of a debt which we cannot pay, and the seeking of forgiveness and mercy. "Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt." The king was moved with compassion, and, realizing that he could not be satisfied by payment of the servant's debt, he decided rather to be glorified in the pardon of it. How reminiscent of the great love and mercy by which God has forgiven us! The terrible liability of our sin being a debt which we ourselves could never repay, He gave His only begotten Son, in order to pay the price for us. Such a beautiful sacrifice for those so unworthy! We go on to read in verse 28..."But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest." Sadly, this man was so unappreciative of the mercy and compassion shown to him that he went out and demanded repayment of a relatively small debt from one of his peers, going so far as to take the man by the throat. How quickly we seem to forget all that we have been forgiven. "And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all." It would seem that this man's plea for mercy should have reminded the servant of his own debt, and the fact that so much more had been forgiven of himself, but instead, he exacts revenge upon his debtor. "And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt." It is all too easy for us to turn a blind eye to our own sin, and yet expect perfection from others. "So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done." Just as these fellowservants, who were sorrowful for the wickedness and oppression shown to this man, so also we should take our cares and concerns for ourselves as well as for others before the Lord, and lay them at His feet. "Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was very wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses." This man's insurmountable debt had been forgiven, simply because he had humbled himself and asked for mercy, but then he refused to show compassion to another who owed much less than himself. Because of this, the full weight of his own debt was reinstated, and notice here that he was not sold or cast into prison, but rather, he was delivered to the tormentors. A far worse fate awaited him because of his own cruelty and indifference.
We read in James 2:13..."For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment." Furthermore, Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:14-15..."For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your trespasses." The simple fact is, we all have trespasses, we all owe a sin debt that we can never hope to repay on our own. Thanks be to God for the supreme sacrifice which Jesus made for us on the cross! May we never forget the fact that our debts were paid by the blood which He shed, and may our hearts ever be filled with compassion and mercy for others. God's forgiveness of our vast debt should inspire and precede the forgiveness of any petty debts which we owe to one another. Finally, we read in Ephesians 4:31-32..."Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."
great article, it is so hard to forgive that many times in one day. you know who love
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