January 20, 2024
Daily Devotion:
"Seventy-Seven Times"
Matthew 18:15-22
New International Version
15 “If your brother or sister[a] sins,[b] go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’[c] 17 If they still refuse to listen,
tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. 18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be[d] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[e] loosed in heaven.19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” 21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.[f]
Confrontation often goes sideways. As Jesus unpacks this possibility, Peter asks how many times he must
forgive his brother—even seven times?
That small number represents a large amount of pain to the disciple. But Jesus doesn’t hesitate: Yes, and even seventy times seven times. In Jesus’ culture, the symbolic “seventy times seven” didn’t equal 490; it equaled infinity. In other words, forgiveness is
something Christ followers should always practice.
