Matthew 18:21 – Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”   22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!

23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. 25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.   26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.

28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.  29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.   31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.   35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.” (NLT)

These verses follow the reading from last week.  Remember, Jesus had just given some instructions about what to do if someone had been offended by another.  Peter was probably thinking he sounded a bit generous by suggesting we forgive as many as seven times.  It has been recorded that many Rabbi’s of Jesus’ day suggested that one forgive another up to three times. So, in the context of Peter’s culture, he was being generous!  Indeed, in the world in which we live, forgiving seven times is not generous, but rather a bit absurd!

To illustrate this radical forgiveness to which we are called to offer, Jesus tells a story a king who forgave a man of a tremendous debt.  Because the forgiven man refused to forgive others, the king had the man thrown into prison until his debt was paid.  Jesus is telling us that we are men and women who have been forgiven a tremendous debt, therefore forgiving others should be a way of life for each of us.

Does this mean we let people walk over us and take advantage of us, then just forgive again?  Absolutely not!  There are many verses that would speak to those behaviors, and last weeks passage makes it clear that some offenses must be confronted and action must be taken so that the offense comes to an end.  However, there are many things in our daily lives of which we should offer forgiveness.  When we do not have a forgiving spirit, anger builds.  God’s Word tells us to get rid of anger and, “Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”  (Ephesians 4:32). 

Today, let us strive to live with a spirit of forgiveness, remembering that we have been forgiven of a great debt! 

Posted by Ramón Torres