THAT'S A BIG NUMBER!!
Matthew 18:21-22 NKJV
21 Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"
22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
Peter had a question for Jesus. How many times do I have to forgive my brother who has sinned against me? Although Peter didn't use those exact words, the implication was, what is the maximum amount of times that I have to forgive? Maybe Peter had some issues with some of the other disciples. We have to remember these guys were not fully mature believers when Jesus found them. In fact, none of them were new creations. That only happened after the cross and the resurrection. Put twelve men together over a period of time, and there were bound to be some conflicts. We know one of the arguments was who was the greatest, and they all were ticked off at James and John for asking for the best seats in the Kingdom. Peter's question may have been regarding a current situation.
Seven times is a fairly substantial number when you think of someone sinning against you and asking for forgiveness. But Jesus destroyed that number. How about seven times seventy? Unless Hebrew math is vastly different from our math, that is 490 times. That's a big number. It would have been interesting to see the look on Peter's face.
Jesus then proceeded to tell the parable of a king who forgave a man a debt of ten thousand talents. In modern terms, that debt is estimated to be six billion, on the low side, and twenty-two billion plus on the high side. In other words, this was a debt that the man could not repay. One estimate is that the man would have had to work sixty million days at one hundred dollars a day to pay that debt off. Not possible. Too big a debt to pay. And the king forgave the man that massive amount. Then Jesus goes on to tell of that forgiven man accosting a man who owed him a hundred denari. That equates to a hundred days' wages. At a hundred dollars a day, we are talking ten thousand dollars. Ten thousand is a fairly large amount, but compared to the six billion, it's pretty much nothing. The forgiven man had the man who owed him ten grand thrown into prison. And that was a bad move. It made the king mad, and the debt was reinstated.
Jesus told this parable to prove a point, and it's a very clear point. God has forgiven us a debt we can never repay. None of us could earn the forgiveness given to us in Christ. Not on our best day. Not in a thousand lifetimes. We are the ones forgiven the impossible debt. But we don't often see it that way. Way too easily, we look at our life and think we haven't been that bad, not compared to serial killers and abusers of children. We can look at God's forgiveness and undervalue it. Heaven will probably alter our perception, but no need to wait. We can thank God every day for His mercy and the forgiveness we have in Christ.
And there is another way we can honor God's forgiveness. We can forgive others. Four hundred ninety times is a big number but not compared to what God has done for us. Now, please note that if someone is a serial offender and constantly coming to you for forgiveness, it does not mean you have to trust that person. Forgiveness is given; trust is earned. But we still forgive. God has forgiven us through Jesus; the least we can do is forgive others.
PRAYER
Thank You, Father, for the gift of Your forgiveness. I am eternally indebted to You, and I purpose to forgive everyone who has ever offended and hurt me.