ESOCS Devotional 19 February 2024 – Forgive Seventy Times Seven
MEMORY VERSE: “Then came Peter to Him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus said to him, I say not to you, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:21-22
TEXT: MATTHEW 18:21-END
Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
25 But 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.
26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
28 But 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.
29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
32 Then 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:
33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
Read Other ESOCS Devotional here
Unforgiveness makes us feel angry, cold, hard, bitter, and resentful. The impact of unforgiveness can be physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. Yes, you may feel justified in your anger, yet you must choose what you desire – your anger or freedom from anger.
In the Matthew 18, Jesus tells a parable about a man who refused to forgive someone even after he had been forgiven. And Jesus described the consequences of that unforgiveness as being like torture. When we don’t forgive, we are deciding to hold onto the offense. We focus on our pain and choose to relive the moment that we were offended whenever the offender comes nearby. By withholding forgiveness, we think we’re hurting the other person when in reality, we are hurting ourselves.
Jesus forgives. He is willing and able to forgive you. There is something, however, about the human experience that desires to judge. To say certain sins are “unforgivable”, often, they are the sins of others; sometimes they are our own sins. When we declare something to be “unforgivable”, we are sinning by pridefully trying to trump the power and will of God. In essence, we are saying that we are more powerful, smarter, and more righteous than God. However, Jesus’ power to forgive is infinite, even over the sin of unforgiveness. There is no sin of thought, word, or deed, via either action or inaction, that Jesus’ blood cannot completely and utterly forgive.
Wait! Are you sure you are not harboring anger, resentment, malice and grudge against someone even now? Jesus said, seventy times seven. Rise to your feet and say no to such. Forgive and the Father of mercy shall deliver you from His doom.
- “Seventy times seven” is the number of times someone would offend you before you can be free not to forgive. And if you study it critically, it seems to be “seventy times seventy” of a particular sin or offence. Would you be able to keep such a record, and for how long? Therefore, our Lord is simply saying you should forgive all offences people do against you. It doesn’t make sense not to forgive.
- Lord, I pledge to commit the rest of my life to forgiving all, just as you have done to me and the rest of humanity.
Further Reading: 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Jeremiah 8:8-end; Galatians 6:1-10
ESOCS Devotional 19 February 2024
