Not seven but seventy seven times

Not seven but seventy seven times

Scripture:-

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?” Jesus 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. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” Matthew 18:21-35

Observation:-

Not seven but seventy-seven times! The hallmark of a Christian as emphasized by the Lord again and again is love and forgiveness. Forgiveness in particular is what sets us apart from the rest, for while it is easy to love those who love us, how hard it is to be kind to those who have hurt us.

Although the Lord mentioned seventy-seven times to Peter’s shock, in reality, the call for us is to keep forgiving indefinitely. In the beautifully told parable of the king and the unmerciful servant, the Lord clearly shows us the magnitude of debt that we owe God the Father compared to the debt that our fellow brothers or sisters may owe us.

God is likened to the King, and we are His servants. Just like the king, God will one day settle accounts with us. All that we have is given by God, and we will be one day accountable to Him as to how we have used the resources we have. In the case of the servant of the story, he ended up owing 10,000 bags of gold, which was simply impossible to repay. Even after selling himself, his wife and his children, it was still far from enough to repay his debt. The magnitude of that debt is likened to our debt to God because of our sins. All of us have fallen short of His glory, no matter how good a person we think we are. We owe Him everything. We are in truth His servants, and we are responsible to Him, and we must answer to Him. Too often, we do not truly realize the magnitude of our sins, or how incredibly far off we are from God’s righteous requirement. There is nothing we can do, but bow down to God and ask Him for mercy. And God is merciful, He forgives those of us who come to Him in humility, not punishing us as our sins deserve. Blessed be His holy name!

It is only in recognizing the great mercy God has bestowed upon us that we are able to likewise show mercy to our fellow brothers and sisters who may have offended us or sinned against us. In that particular situation, with our emotions rising up and our anger simmering, it may seem impossible to forgive. However, we need to close our eyes, remember God’s mercy on our own sinful selves and thank Him for forgiving us. In that spirit of thankfulness, we will then be able to forgive those who have wronged us.

In the last verse, we must also take note of the Lord’s emphasis to forgive from our heart. We can say it, and we can think it, or even write it down, but we may still not forgive a person from our heart. To forgive from our heart is true, genuine forgiveness at its deepest level. It is akin to our Lord praying “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do”, and Stephen the Martyr praying that the Lord would not hold the sin of stoning him against the people.

Application:

Remember that we are servants of God, accountable to God for the time and the resources that He has given us here on earth! Be mindful of our sinful status before God, to whom we owe an infinite debt that was only payable by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Be thankful for His great sacrifice, resolving never to take His precious finished work for granted. In the course of life, as we meet people who may sin against us or greatly anger us, remember our own fallen state and Christ’s mercy on us. Even in the face of rudeness and even evil, we are called to forgive, not from our own strength but by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer:-

We praise You, Heavenly Father, for the greatness of Thy Works. You hold the whole world in Your hands. You extend great mercy and grace to us. We are Your servants O Lord. Help us be faithful to Your calling, help us serve You well O Lord as Your servants. As You have shown us mercy, help us too show mercy to the others who cross us as we walk the earth. Teach us to show amazing grace for You O Lord, showed incredible grace to us. May we forgive every person who has hurt us. May we extend genuine goodwill and peace to them from our hearts. May Your name be praised forever, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.

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