“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?”
My Notes
What Does Matthew 18:21 Mean?
"Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?" Peter asks the forgiveness question with what he thinks is a GENEROUS answer: seven times. The rabbinical tradition suggested forgiving three times. Peter DOUBLES it and adds one. He expects praise for his magnanimity. Jesus' answer (verse 22 — seventy times seven) will demolish Peter's carefully calculated generosity.
The phrase "how oft shall my brother sin against me" (posakis hamartēsei eis eme ho adelphos mou — how many times will my brother sin against me) frames forgiveness as a COUNTING exercise: Peter wants a NUMBER. A limit. A point at which the forgiving can STOP. The question assumes forgiveness has a QUOTA — a measurable allowance that, once exhausted, permits the withholding of forgiveness. The counting is the problem.
The "till seven times?" (heōs heptakis — up to seven times?) is Peter's generous CEILING: seven is the number of completion in Jewish thought. Peter offers the complete number — the maximum symbolic limit. The offer sounds generous because the cultural standard was three. Peter more than doubled it. But the generosity is CALCULATED — it still has a LIMIT. The seven is a number that can be reached. The forgiveness that can be counted can be exhausted.
Reflection Questions
- 1.At what number do you plan to stop forgiving — and does Jesus allow that number to exist?
- 2.What does Peter's 'generous' seven teach about calculated forgiveness still being limited?
- 3.How does Jesus' answer (seventy times seven) REMOVE counting rather than raising the count?
- 4.What relationship in your life has reached your forgiveness-limit — and does the limit need to be demolished?
Devotional
How many times do I forgive? Seven? Peter asks the question every person wants answered: where's the LIMIT? At what point can I stop forgiving? What NUMBER ends the obligation? Peter thinks seven is generous. Jesus is about to remove the number entirely.
The 'how oft shall my brother sin against me' reveals Peter's assumption: forgiveness has a QUOTA. There's a NUMBER. You forgive up to a point and then you're DONE. The assumption is that forgiveness is FINITE — a resource that can be depleted, a bank account that can be emptied, a patience that has a measurable bottom. The question asks for the balance. The answer will remove the account.
The 'till seven times' is Peter's CALCULATED generosity: the rabbis said three. Peter says seven — more than double. He's being GENEROUS by his own standard. The seven feels expansive. It's the number of completion. It's dramatically more than the cultural expectation. Peter probably expects Jesus to say 'good answer, Peter.' Instead, Jesus says 'seventy times seven' (verse 22) — a number that isn't a number. It's the REMOVAL of counting.
The problem isn't Peter's NUMBER. It's Peter's COUNTING: as long as you're counting forgiveness, you're measuring its limit. As long as there's a number, there's a point where forgiveness STOPS. Jesus' 'seventy times seven' (490 — or 'seventy-seven times') isn't a bigger limit. It's the destruction of the CONCEPT of a limit. By the time you've counted to 490, you've lost count. And losing count is the point.
Are you counting your forgiveness — and at what number do you plan to stop?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And when he had begun to reckon,.... To open the book of conscience, and to bring to account by some awakening…
Then came Peter ... - The mention of the duty Mat 18:15 of seeing a brother when he had offended us, implying that it…
As there never was a greater pattern of humility, so there never was a greater preacher of it, than Christ; he took all…
till seven times? The Rabbinical rule was that no one should ask forgiveness of his neighbour more than thrice. Peter,…