Peter asks what all of us want to ask; How long do I have to put up with this guy I don’t particularly care for? Peter put it this way, “How often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Is seven times enough?” (Mathew 18:21).
Jesus’ answer disappoints us if we are the one offended, but were pretty happy about them if we offended someone else. “I say not to you, seven times, but seventy time seven.”
This seems an impossible task until Jesus uses a story to point out how much he has forgiven us. One man forgave his servant who owned him ten thousand talents, enough to sell his wife and child to pay for the debt. But after that man was forgiven he got into a physical fight with someone who owed him ten times less than what he had been forgiven.
When we are tempted to hold a grudge against someone, we need to remember what it would be like if God held a grudge against us (Mathew 18:23-35).
