Offenses And Forgiveness.

OFFENSES AND FORGIVENESS.

Luke 17:1-4.

LUKE 17:1-2. Jesus says, "Offenses will come, but woe to him by whom they come!’

Jesus unsparingly warns us what a serious matter this is. That is the force of the reference to the millstone, which normally a donkey was left to pull along.

Jesus' sympathy stretches to all His "little ones" - not just to children, but to all who believe in Him.

LUKE 17:3-4. Peter had once asked, ‘How many times shall I forgive my brother?’ (cf. Matthew 18:21). The original grievance was resolved, between one brother and another. The brother was ‘regained’ (cf. Matthew 18:15): but what if he offends again?

How many times, then, shall I forgive him? The rabbis recommended three times. Peter’s magnanimity stretched to seven times.

So it must have come as a surprise when Jesus replied, ‘seventy times seven’ (cf. Matthew 18:22).

Or even, as here, “seven times a day” (Luke 17:4).

In other words, unto infinity!

# Christian forgiveness thus stands in stark contrast to the spirit of primitive man, who presumptuously demanded unlimited vengeance (cf. Genesis 4:24).