Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times."
(Matthew 18
NRSV)
Seven seemed like a good number. Indeed, seven was regarded as the perfect number. Seven was a Biblical number; the world was created in seven days. Peter thought he gave an exceptional answer. The rabbis instructed persons to forgive someone only three times, and if there was a fourth then God would take care of the person. Peter was more generous, he doubled the amount and added one more for good measure. "As many as seven times?" Peter might have thought that he finally had the right answer. To forgive someone who has wronged you or has hurt you seven times is a lot. The average person finds it extremely difficult to forgive even once. To forgive someone seven times was more than twice the amount required by Jewish law. Jesus answered Peter, "Not seven times, but I tell you, seventy-seven times." The old standard of forgiveness was inadequate. Jesus offered a new teaching on forgiveness.
Dear God, help me to forgive like you have forgiven me. Amen.