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“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” – Mother Teresa March, 2026 Peter once asked Jesus, “‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’” (Matt. 18:21b New King James Version). Jesus replied, “‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.’” (vs. 22 NKJV). Peter probably thought he was being generous by being willing to forgive someone seven times. But Jesus told him seven wasn’t nearly enough. He challenged Peter to be willing to forgive seventy times seven or four hundred ninety times. (Some translations read “seventy-seven.” The exact number is less important than the exhortation to forgive as many times as necessary.) Jesus then, as he often did, told a parable (vs. 23-35). A king decided to settle his accounts. A servant owed him “ten thousand talents,” (vs. 24-25a), which he couldn’t repay for good reason: ten thousand talents was more than a worker might earn in 190,000 years! The king threatened to sell the servant—and his entire family—into slavery (vs. 25b). The servant begged for mercy, and the king forgave the debt (vs. 26-27). Afterward, the servant found a fellow servant who owed him “a hundred denarii” (vs. 28a)—about four months’ wages. He grabbed the other servant by the throat and began choking him and demanding his money (vs. 28b). The other servant begged for mercy and promised to repay the debt (vs. 29) but the first servant wouldn’t listen and had the other servant thrown into debtors’ prison (vs. 30). The rest of the servants saw what happened and told the king (vs. 31). The king called for the servant he had forgiven and said, “‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’” (vs. 32b-33 NKJV). The king then had the servant he had previously forgiven also thrown into debtors’ prison (vs. 34). Jesus finished by telling the disciples, “‘So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.’” (vs. 35 NKJV). Jesus’ exchange with Peter—and his subsequent parable—are especially significant because Jesus had just talked to the disciples about forgiving each other (vs. 15-17). We usually focus on the end of that lesson, when Jesus promises, “‘For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.’” (vs. 20 NKJV). But it’s just part of a lesson about dealing with disagreements between believers, and while it might be comforting to think that Jesus will be present and “on our side,” guiding us when we deal with others, I suspect it wasn’t necessarily meant to be comforting but challenging. Something closer to what Jesus meant might be, “When you gather together, I’ll be there, keeping an eye on you.” Even if we forgive “seven times seventy,” or “ten thousand talents,” we can never outforgive God, for God “. . . is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9b NKJV). When we pray The Lord’s Prayer, we say, “. . . forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” (emphasis added). How we deal with others—and especially how we deal with hurts and disagreements—speaks volumes about the reality of our faith. If we expect to be forgiven to the extent that we forgive others, then, if you’re anything like me, we need to do a better job of being willing to forgive. “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” (Eph. 4:31-32 NKJV.) Copyright © 2026 by David Phelps
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