Forgiveness

Matthew 18:21–35

Peter came to Jesus with a question that is still very human: How many times do I have to forgive someone who keeps doing me wrong? Peter suggested seven times, probably thinking he was being exceptionally generous. But Jesus answered, “Until seventy times seven.”

Jesus wasn’t giving Peter a new number to keep track of. He was teaching him that forgiveness cannot be reduced to keeping score.

To explain, Jesus told the story of a servant who owed his king an enormous debt—far more than he could ever repay. When the account came due, the servant begged for patience, promising somehow to pay it all. Instead, the king was moved with compassion and completely forgave the debt.

That is where Christian forgiveness begins.

Before we think about what someone else has done to us, we need to remember what God has forgiven in us. Sin left us with a debt we could never pay, yet through Christ, God has offered us mercy, forgiveness, and cleansing.

But the story takes a troubling turn. The forgiven servant immediately found a fellow servant who owed him a much smaller debt. He grabbed him and demanded payment. When the man pleaded for patience, the servant who had just received extraordinary mercy refused to extend any mercy himself.

It is important to recognize that the second debt was real. Jesus does not teach us to pretend that people have not hurt us. Forgiveness does not mean calling wrong right. It does not automatically restore broken trust, eliminate appropriate consequences, or mean that every damaged relationship immediately returns to what it once was.

But forgiveness does mean that we refuse to let bitterness control our hearts. We surrender our personal claim to vengeance and place the matter into God's hands.

The king's response reveals the heart of Jesus' message: “I forgave thee all that debt... Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?”

The mercy we have received should change the mercy we are willing to give.

Corrie ten Boom once shared an illustration that beautifully describes this process. A church bell continues swinging for a while after the person ringing it releases the rope. There may still be several dings and dongs before it finally becomes quiet.

Forgiveness can be like that.

We may choose to forgive and still remember. The wound may still hurt. Old emotions may occasionally return. That does not necessarily mean we have failed to forgive.

The important question is: Are we still pulling the rope?

Are we deliberately rehearsing the offense, feeding the resentment, and keeping the bitterness alive? Or have we released it into God's hands?

Peter began by asking, “How many times?” Jesus ended by bringing the matter back to the heart.

We have stood before the King with a debt we could never pay, and He has shown us mercy. Having received His forgiveness, may God help us to become people who freely extend forgiveness to others.