21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
- What was the number of times to forgive in a day in Luke 17:3-4?
- Why might Peter have come up with his number of times to forgive?
- What was Jesus' number of times to forgive this time?
- In your opinion, why did Jesus dramatically increase the number?
Scholars argue over whether Jesus said seventy times seven or seventy seven times. Granted there is a quantitative difference between the two, but I struggle enough with ONE. This a little, powerful, clearly understood passage. Forgive from the heart and not the head. If you are keeping count, I question that you truly forgave the first time. In order for me to know that I forgave someone six times, I have to have maintained a record of their wrongs and a corresponding record of my rights. While forgiveness does not mean amnesia, it does mean not keeping records. There is a different quality to "yeah, she hurt me sometime ago but it's no big deal" and "yes, I have forgiven her for when she hurt me on March 15 in the afternoon when she said ...". Are you a record keeper? How much grace is there in keeping emotional books?
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