What did Jesus mean when he said to forgive others seventy times seven? When Peter asked Jesus if he should forgive his brother up to seven times, Jesus responded by saying not seven times, but seventy times seven.
The Scripture in Question
(Mathew 18:22) 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. NKJV
Seventy-Seven, Seventy times Seven, Unlimited
Some versions of the Bible translate this scripture to say seventy-seven times instead of seventy times seven. Either way, the point Jesus is making in his response to Peter is there is no limit to the amount of times we should forgive others.
It was taught by rabbis at the time to forgive others three times. Peter ups it to seven times in his question to Jesus, more than doubling the rabbis amount. Jesus tops them all with his answer, forgiveness is unlimited. It’s not 3 times, 7 times, 77 times, or 70 x 7 = 490 times. There is no specific number when it comes to how many times we should forgive someone.
Generous Peter
While Peter may have felt like he was being generous by offering to forgive his brother twice as much as the Jewish rabbis were teaching at the time, he was still thinking in the limited terms of the law.
Forgiveness should be practiced anytime the occasion arises. Ephesians 4:32 says to be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. If we do not forgive others their sins, God will not forgive our sins (Mathew 6:15). God makes it clear that forgiving others is not optional.
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