WHY JESUS SAID TO FORGIVE 70 X 7
MATTHEW 18:21-35 21Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
23Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
24And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
25But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
27Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
28But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
29And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
30And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
31So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
32Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
33Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
34And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
35So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
Peter asks Jesus how many times to forgive his brother and Jesus strangely says not 7 times but 70 X 7.
Its easy to just read on and not take a moment of pause to examine why Jesus said this but when you do you get a valuable lesson.
Jesus all over the gospels quoted from the old testament to acknowledge its fulfillment or to give us understanding on something he said. He does the same here.
Peter here is getting a lesson from Christ.
First, Jesus is saying that forgiveness should be merciful. By continuing to forgive shows mercy and a love from God. This is the way Christ forgives us as well. Hes teaching Peter this principle of mercy.
Second, hes letting Peter know there is a time when forgiveness is not given.
There is only one other place the word talks about 70 X 7 and that is the prophecy of Daniel.
In Daniels prophecy the jews are given a time line for when there old covenant would end and a new covenant would be put into place. Jesus is the implementer of the new covenant. While Jesus was speaking to Peter they were in the final week of that covenant. The final week began when Jesus was anointed at the baptism and his ministry began. Daniel 9:27 says and he will confirm the covenant with many for one week. Confirm meant that he would complete or fulfill the previous promise of the new covenant. When the angel stated it was to many, he was talking about all who would believe in Jesus. The word many is used in the old testament to describe the group that believes in Christ. This is the many who the covenant is being confirmed to. In the middle of the last 7 years Jesus would die on the cross and end the sacrifices and oblations in Gods eyes. They were of no value or use ever again.
For the next half of the week or 7 years the Apostles would only share the gospel to the jews. Remember the Jews are who the promised new covenant was made to; Daniels people.
At the end of the 490 year prophecy the gospel was then sent to the samaritans and gentiles which confirmed the covenant was now put into place. Remember the main theme of the new covenant promised to Israel was that the world, jews and gentiles, would be a part of and flock to the Messiah. The Spirit of God would govern the people in this new covenant and they would be Gods people and he would be their God.
Now lets go back and examine the scriptures that Jesus is speaking to Peter.
Peter said how many times to forgive my brother. Peters brother was a jew and this was Jesus' point to Peter. It was two-fold. To be merciful to his brother by continuously forgiving and that his people also had this same mercy bestowed to them by God giving them 490 more years. God had been merciful to the jews.
Then he speaks of a parable. This is the explaination that backs up what is being told to Peter that it is not always forgiveness when we sin. There is a stopping point and a time for Gods judgement. Here is the lesson in the parable.
First, the king (representing Jesus) forgives the man with all the debt because he was poor and could never repay back the debt. This is a lesson to us of how God has forgiven us who could never pay back or erase our sin to him. When the man worships the king, the king pardons him. Jesus does the same for us.
Second, the man then goes and asks for money from someone who owes him. Its a small amount but the man is not merciful to the debtor when he pleads with him and punishes him. Then the king returns and punishes him for not forgiving the man who owed him. Because of his unwillingness to be merciful he was not granted mercy. Jesus is warning us here that we should forgive those who asks for forgiveness or else we will be accountable for our own sin.
Because they didnt accept the new covenant being given to them by Christ, the jews as a nation were now under this same judgement. Those who do not accept Jesus as the anointed one and mediator of the new covenant will one day stand before him in judgement and be judged for their own works and debts to God in which no man can escape or stand against. This is Gods warning and teaching to Peter here. Hes acknowledging how to be a merciful forgiver and that he is the mediator of the new covenant.
22Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
23Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
24And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
25But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
27Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
28But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
29And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
30And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
31So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
32Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
33Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
34And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
35So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
Peter asks Jesus how many times to forgive his brother and Jesus strangely says not 7 times but 70 X 7.
Its easy to just read on and not take a moment of pause to examine why Jesus said this but when you do you get a valuable lesson.
Jesus all over the gospels quoted from the old testament to acknowledge its fulfillment or to give us understanding on something he said. He does the same here.
Peter here is getting a lesson from Christ.
First, Jesus is saying that forgiveness should be merciful. By continuing to forgive shows mercy and a love from God. This is the way Christ forgives us as well. Hes teaching Peter this principle of mercy.
Second, hes letting Peter know there is a time when forgiveness is not given.
There is only one other place the word talks about 70 X 7 and that is the prophecy of Daniel.
In Daniels prophecy the jews are given a time line for when there old covenant would end and a new covenant would be put into place. Jesus is the implementer of the new covenant. While Jesus was speaking to Peter they were in the final week of that covenant. The final week began when Jesus was anointed at the baptism and his ministry began. Daniel 9:27 says and he will confirm the covenant with many for one week. Confirm meant that he would complete or fulfill the previous promise of the new covenant. When the angel stated it was to many, he was talking about all who would believe in Jesus. The word many is used in the old testament to describe the group that believes in Christ. This is the many who the covenant is being confirmed to. In the middle of the last 7 years Jesus would die on the cross and end the sacrifices and oblations in Gods eyes. They were of no value or use ever again.
For the next half of the week or 7 years the Apostles would only share the gospel to the jews. Remember the Jews are who the promised new covenant was made to; Daniels people.
At the end of the 490 year prophecy the gospel was then sent to the samaritans and gentiles which confirmed the covenant was now put into place. Remember the main theme of the new covenant promised to Israel was that the world, jews and gentiles, would be a part of and flock to the Messiah. The Spirit of God would govern the people in this new covenant and they would be Gods people and he would be their God.
Now lets go back and examine the scriptures that Jesus is speaking to Peter.
Peter said how many times to forgive my brother. Peters brother was a jew and this was Jesus' point to Peter. It was two-fold. To be merciful to his brother by continuously forgiving and that his people also had this same mercy bestowed to them by God giving them 490 more years. God had been merciful to the jews.
Then he speaks of a parable. This is the explaination that backs up what is being told to Peter that it is not always forgiveness when we sin. There is a stopping point and a time for Gods judgement. Here is the lesson in the parable.
First, the king (representing Jesus) forgives the man with all the debt because he was poor and could never repay back the debt. This is a lesson to us of how God has forgiven us who could never pay back or erase our sin to him. When the man worships the king, the king pardons him. Jesus does the same for us.
Second, the man then goes and asks for money from someone who owes him. Its a small amount but the man is not merciful to the debtor when he pleads with him and punishes him. Then the king returns and punishes him for not forgiving the man who owed him. Because of his unwillingness to be merciful he was not granted mercy. Jesus is warning us here that we should forgive those who asks for forgiveness or else we will be accountable for our own sin.
Because they didnt accept the new covenant being given to them by Christ, the jews as a nation were now under this same judgement. Those who do not accept Jesus as the anointed one and mediator of the new covenant will one day stand before him in judgement and be judged for their own works and debts to God in which no man can escape or stand against. This is Gods warning and teaching to Peter here. Hes acknowledging how to be a merciful forgiver and that he is the mediator of the new covenant.
posted by Stacy at 11:32 AM
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