Let us read Matthew 18:21–22.
“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:21–22)
When we are young, we sometimes play mischievous pranks on our friends. For example, someone might pull out the hairs on a sleeping friend’s leg one by one. The first or second time, the friend may take it as a joke. But if it continues, even the closest friend will eventually become angry. Everyone has a limit to his patience.
When someone wrongs us, we may be able to forgive once or twice. But when the same offense is repeated again and again, we become increasingly hurt, and eventually forgiveness becomes very difficult.
Peter asked Jesus:
“Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?” (Matthew 18:21)
We do not know exactly why Peter chose the number seven. Perhaps he thought he was suggesting a number far beyond what people would normally consider reasonable forgiveness. But Jesus answered:
“I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:22)
The point is not simply the number of times we are to forgive. Jesus was teaching that when a brother sins against us, we should be ready to forgive again and again.
This gives us great comfort and hope because we too fail before God countless times. If God forgave us only once or twice when we failed, none of us could stand before Him. But when we turn from our wrong and come to God, He is always ready to forgive us. Human forgiveness has its limits, but God’s mercy and forgiveness are beyond measure.
The Devil Deceives Us Without Our Realizing It
The devil deceives people. Yet those who are deceived by him often do not realize that they are being deceived. This is what makes his deception so dangerous.
If a person knows that he is being deceived, he can turn away from the deception. But the more a person trusts in himself, the more difficult it can be for him to escape the devil’s schemes.
Judas Iscariot is a clear example of this.
Judas betrayed Jesus to the chief priests and elders for thirty pieces of silver. Because he knew that Jesus was innocent, he may have thought that even if Jesus were arrested, He would eventually be released.
But when Judas saw that Jesus had been condemned, he realized that he had done wrong and tried to return the thirty pieces of silver. When the chief priests and elders refused to take the money, he threw the silver into the temple, departed, and took his own life.
The fact that Judas took his own life over his betrayal of Jesus shows how deeply he condemned himself for what he had done. Yet John 13:2 tells us:
“The devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him.” (John 13:2)
Judas did not recognize the work of the devil behind the thought of betraying Jesus. Had he recognized the enemy’s deception and turned to Christ rather than surrendering to despair and self-condemnation, his response could have been very different.
The gospel of Jesus Christ has power to deliver even the worst sinner from condemnation and give him life. Judas had been with Jesus and must have heard the words of the gospel many times. Yet those words did not profit him because, deceived by the devil, he ultimately trusted his own judgment rather than the words of Jesus. The path he chose led him to destruction.
Though Our Faith May Waver
The devil who deceived Judas still seeks to deceive us today.
We have the Word of God. We also have many things God has done for us. Yet this does not mean that we always hold firmly to His promises. Depending on our circumstances, our faith in God’s Word may waver.
At such times, the devil directs our attention toward our weakness and whispers:
“You have no faith.”
“You have fallen again.”
“Do you really think God could be pleased with someone like you?”
“God is not going to help you anymore.”
If we accept these lies, we may begin to believe that God will no longer help us. Then we lose hope and become discouraged.
At such times, we must remember Jesus, who taught us to forgive seventy times seven.
God says:
“At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.” (Jeremiah 18:7–8)
God is willing to turn from judgment when those facing destruction turn from their evil. Therefore, when we acknowledge our unbelief before Him and turn our eyes toward Him again, we have every reason to trust that He will help us.
Look at Peter.
During the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came walking on the sea. Peter said:
“Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.” (Matthew 14:28)
Jesus said, “Come,” and Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on the water toward Him.
But when Peter saw the wind, he became afraid and began to sink. Then he cried:
“Lord, save me.” (Matthew 14:30)
Immediately, Jesus reached out His hand and caught him.
Jesus did not abandon Peter because his faith was weak and he doubted. Instead, He immediately stretched forth His hand and held him.
When Peter was walking on the water, Jesus was his Lord.
And when Peter doubted and began to sink, Jesus was still his Lord.
The same is true for us. God does not love us only when our faith is strong. Even when our faith wavers, He continues to hold us.
God Is Not Like Us
We often imagine that God is like us.
Sometimes we find it difficult to forgive the failures of others, and at other times we are unable even to be gracious toward ourselves. As a result, we may assume that God will treat us in the same way when we fail.
But Romans 8:1 clearly says:
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)
When we look at ourselves after we have failed, we can find countless reasons to condemn ourselves. But in Jesus Christ, there is no condemnation.
Scripture also says:
“Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.” (Romans 14:22)
Through His command to forgive “seventy times seven,” Jesus taught us a forgiveness that is not exhausted by repeated offenses.
Therefore, when we become disappointed and discouraged by what we see in ourselves, we must turn our eyes toward God, who receives us in our weakness and embraces us with mercy.
As we look to Him, God gives us new strength.
He lifts us up again so that we may continue walking the path of faith with our eyes fixed upon Him.