Thursday Thoughts - I have to forgive how many times? (2024)

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Thursday Thoughts - I have to forgive how many times? ›

Matthew 18: 21-22 ²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” ²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. Can you imagine this conversation between Peter and Jesus?

Jesus speaks of forgiveness beyond what anyone had ever considered before: seventy times seven! Many commentaries understand this to mean that Jesus was telling Peter that he should forgive his brother a limitless number of times.

Then 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!

Jesus says we should forgive someone seventy times seven in response to a question from Peter about how many times to forgive a brother who sins against him. Peter asks if forgiving seven times is appropriate, and Jesus responds “not seven times, but seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22).

Later, Matthew 18:21-22 says that we are to forgive someone “seventy-seven times” (or, in many translations, “seventy times seven,” which is 490 times). In Luke 17:4, Jesus says that you should forgive someone seven times in one day; that would work out to more than 2,500 acts of forgiveness each year, every year.

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" ²²Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

The 56 = 7 x 8 are consecutive number 5, 6, 7, 8. So, 7x8 equals 56.

[21] Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? [22] Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

Jesus said, “Seventy times seven.” In other words, there is no limit to his forgiveness, and there should be no limit to ours.

Jesus taught, “If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you” (Mt 6:14). Peter asked Jesus how often it is necessary to forgive, and Jesus replied, “Seventy-seven times” (Mt 18:22), a number to be taken symbolically, not literally, for the never-ending way that we ought to forgive.

Does God forget our sins? ›

Yes! He chooses to do that. God promises in Isaiah 43:25 to forget our sins when he forgives us.

While watching "bad things" is indeed sinful, it is important to recognize that God's grace is not limited by our mistakes. God's forgiveness is readily available to all who humbly repent and genuinely seek His mercy. God wants you to repent, so that He can forgive you.

You may have felt like your sins are too serious or that you have made the same mistake too many times. But no matter how much we have sinned, we can always repent and be forgiven. Some sins may be easier to correct than others, but Jesus Christ has provided for total forgiveness from all sins. He is eager to forgive.

In fact, because God loves us so much, He sent His one and only Son to die for our sins so that we can have eternal life with Him. It is important to understand that if God had not forgiven us, we could never be saved. Therefore, we ought to forgive others.

Unforgiveness will produce bitterness.

And bitterness can be directly traced to the failure to forgive. It makes you caustic, sarcastic, condemning and nasty. Harassed by the memories of what you can't forgive, your thoughts become malignant toward others, and your whole view of life becomes distorted.

Apparently, Judaism required you to forgive the same person three times for the same offense. Peter, perhaps thinking he is being generous, asks Jesus if he should forgive someone who sins against him up to seven times. Jesus says no. Instead, you must be prepared for effectively unlimited forgiveness.

There are two things to remember here: (1) God's mercy is indeed infinite, and (2) true repentance means forsaking your sins. On the one hand, because of the infinite Atonement of Jesus Christ, repentance is available to everyone, even those who have made the same mistakes many times.

Being a math teacher, I turned this into an equation: 7 x 70 = 490.

: being seven times as great or as many.