Remembering Forgiveness

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

REMEMBERING FORGIVENESS

Matt 18:21-22

21 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?" 22 Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.  

NIV

Jesus is going to give a much longer answer to this question of Peter’s with the illustration of the servant who owes his master. However, even though it is a lengthy answer, the point is about the heart issue of forgiveness. However, Peter simply wants to know how many times he should forgive someone who sins against him. This question is in response to what Jesus has already said about if a brother sins against you, go to him, and show him his fault. The point is about forgiveness, not about making someone see their fault. It is doubtful a person will commit the same offense against us seven times that we must forgive them each of those seven times. However, Jesus says that we must forgive them seventy-seven times. Some translations say this as seven times seventy. This would be more in agreement with the Greek word, which is a multiply adverb of seventy, which would then mean seventy times seven. Again, in fact, it is even more doubtful a brother would commit an offense against us four hundred and ninety times. That would be crazy to think of someone who would be that offensive and not come to his senses. So then, what does Jesus mean? If a person does offend us and we go them and point out their offense and they see it and repent, and we forgive them then we are to forgive them and that means we will never bring that offense up again. But the problem is our memory of that offense. Although we forgave them, can we ever forget what they did against us? That is the point Jesus is making. Some would suggest that he meant that no matter how many times a brother offends us we are to forgive him, that we are not to put a number on the times of our forgiveness. However, it makes more sense that even that one offense which we forgave him for, if we remember it, we need to remind ourselves we forgave him. This could go on for years and years, as our memory is both a blessing and a curse. So then forgiveness means forever forgiving and that means we never ever can ever hold that offense against a brother who we forgave, even in our memory.