A CALL TO UNLIMITED FORGIVENESS.
Matthew 18:21-35.
Peter’s question, “How many times shall I forgive my brother?” (MATTHEW 18:21) arises out of the context of church discipline (cf. Matthew 18:15-20).
Perhaps 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” (MATTHEW 18:22). 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).
Jesus illustrated this with a powerful parable (MATTHEW 18:23-35).
MATTHEW 18:24. A servant owed his king an unimaginable amount of money - perhaps equivalent to the gross national product of a small state.
MATTHEW 18:25. Needless to say, the man could not pay. So the servant was subjected to the extremes of the law of the time: he would be sold, along with his wife and children.
MATTHEW 18:26. The servant accepted the justice of this, but pleaded for patience.
MATTHEW 18:27. The lord’s compassion went one step further, and granted undeserved forgiveness.
MATTHEW 18:28-30. Yet the forgiven debtor laid hands on a fellow-servant who owed him a comparatively small amount, and sought to exact the debt by violence and cruelty.
MATTHEW 18:31. The other servants rightly reported the matter to their lord, and the cruel offender was brought to account.
MATTHEW 18:32-35. There is nothing that so grieves the Holy Spirit as an unforgiving spirit amongst Christians (cf. Ephesians 4:30-32).
I bring torment upon myself if I have an unforgiving heart. I am not hurting the brother, but myself. Heaven’s door is shut upon my bitterness, until I repent.
I reap blessing for myself if I nurture the determination to forgive the repentant brother. How many times has God forgiven me? Then I must forgive the other to the uttermost.
We pray, ‘forgive us… as we forgive others’ (cf. Matthew 6:12). If I am unforgiving towards others, then these very words disqualify me from forgiveness.
There is perhaps no greater evidence of my having received God’s forgiveness than my own forgiving attitude towards others (cf. Matthew 6:14-15).
