“Seventy Times Seven”

Matthew 18:21–35 CSB

²¹ Then Peter approached him and asked, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? As many as seven times?” ²² “I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven. ²³ “For this reason, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ When he began to settle accounts, one who owed ten thousand talents was brought before him. ²⁵ Since he did not have the money to pay it back, his master commanded that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the debt. ²⁶ “At this, the servant fell facedown before him and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything.’ ²⁷ Then the master of that servant had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan. ²⁸ “That servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him, started choking him, and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’ ²⁹ “At this, his fellow servant fell down and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ ³⁰ But he wasn’t willing. Instead, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened. ³² Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. ³³ Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ And because he was angry, his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed. ³⁵ So also my heavenly Father will do to you unless every one of you forgives his brother or sister from your heart.”

Peter’s question: “How many times must I forgive a fellow believer who sins against me?”

Jesus’ answer: “ .”

Really?? Why?

1. Because the Lord has you of all your sins.

Romans 3:23–24 NLT

²³ For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. ²⁴ Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

Romans 6:23 GW

²³ The payment for sin is death, but the gift that God freely gives is everlasting life found in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Colossians 2:13–14 NLT

¹³ You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. ¹⁴ He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.

2. Because the sins you forgive will the sins God has forgiven you.

Colossians 3:13 NLT

¹³ Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

Sometimes unforgiveness is not about the offense. We enjoy the of having someone else in our .

3. Because the Lord’s demands that we be , or we will be .

Matthew 5:7 CSB

⁷ Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Matthew 6:14–15 CSB

¹⁴ “For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. ¹⁵ But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses.

James 2:13 CSB

¹³ For judgment is without mercy to the one who has not shown mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

God is your Heavenly Father, but do you still see Him as your ?

“A community of the forgiven must be a forgiving community.” -R.T. France

“The reality of God’s forgiveness changes our perspective of the wrongs we experience.” – Jeannine Brown