December 26, 2022

Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:21-22

Jesus, ever the master teacher, used an unusual and very memorable phrase, seventy times seven, referencing the lavish patience and forgiveness divinely extended to the nation of people who had been chosen (and agreed! – see Exodus 19:8 & Deuteronomy 5:27) to bear His message of salvation to the world.

Much later, God had relayed to Daniel through the angel Gabriel:

Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Daniel 9:25

Once the ministry of the anointed Most Holy was launched, 483 of the 490 prophetic years for the Jews had passed. The final, climactic week was underway (some translations read “seventy sevens” in reference to the 490 years). It is the number of perfection or completion, seven, multiplied by ten (the number of testing) and multiplied by seven again.

So now, in the last seven-year stretch of time graciously determined for the Jews, Jesus was highlighting the generous amount of time for repentance that He had laid out toward His stiff-necked and stubborn people as a nation.

Peter may have thought that his question regarding forgiveness up to seven times sounded like a beautiful gesture on his part. But we must be reminded of the extreme generosity on the part of God Almighty in His forgiveness towards us, the depth of which we have yet to fathom; and all for the purpose of setting us free from our past and guiding us into a glorious, endless future with Him!

When I forgive others who have consciously or unconsciously hurt me, I am exercising that part of my will which desires to become Christlike. At the same time, I am providing a glimpse of what He is doing in me. The exercising of my will is only to allow Him to do His work through me. He stands ready to move heaven and earth on behalf of a willing heart! With Him, His bride will continue to propagate this long-standing invitation to the weary world “in sin and error pining”*:

And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. Revelation 22:17

*borrowed from the song lyrics of O Holy Night written by Placide Cappeau