Introduction
This week is a continuation from last week and Peter’s question is following right after Jesus’ teaching on conflict resolution and forgiveness. And in last week’s text again Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” This phrase pointing the disciples to recognize the authority they will have as leaders of the church.
Context
21Peter came and said to [Jesus], “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” 22Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
This question is important because Peter, the one with “the keys to the kingdom” (16:17-19) is representing the church (and us) and asking a very human question. Peter is asking for the limit.
“What is the limit of our grace?”
“When is enough, enough?”
“When can we finally call someone a lost cause?”
To many of us it’s a justifiable question. Surely there is a limit to our grace, right?
Now there are a few interesting aspects to this interaction.
R. Alan Culpepper notes, “Although [the Gospel of] Luke does not record the parable of the two debtors, it does contain a version of Jesus’ response to Peter: ‘If the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive” (Luke 17:4). There is hyperbole in both Gospels, but the response in Luke is different in two respects. In Luke, the hyperbole lies in the phrase “seven times a day,” with no limit on the number of days! The second difference is that in Luke the offender repents each time, whereas Matthew, there is no qualifier that one should forgive only if the offender repents.”[1]
Now, it’s odd that Matthew, who is kind of known for judgment and repentance does not include repentance as a part of this conversation. However, when looking at the audience, it makes all the more sense. This is not a large crowd. This is not with religious authorities who Jesus is fighting with. This is just the disciples (and specifically Peter asking this question). A group of people that have already seen and witnessed Jesus’ compassion and mercy with people like Matthew, a tax collector, who is actively standing in their midst.
Less obvious than other gospels, Matthew is very concerned about abuses of power by those in authority. We see it in Herod’s use of the Wise Men to find Jesus and then we see it again in the slaughter of the Holy Innocents. It is exemplified further in Herod’s beheading of John the Baptist at a banquet of rich guests (only to then be immediately followed by Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000). It will be further exemplified throughout the passion narrative.[2]
Again, it will be these disciples who become the leaders of the church. They will be the arbiters of admittance, justice, forgiveness, and mercy. And just as Peter has been given this authority, he asks this limiting question, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Not even leaving it open at the end but even establishing his own cut off. Seven times. That’s the reasonable limit before they are cut away.
This is why the parable becomes kind of a perfect allegory for this situation. A middleman is in debt to the Master (Lord) and requests mercy and is granted it. That same middleman, with his authority, then refuses to give mercy to someone in debt to him.
Jesus blows up Peter’s question with this hyperbole. If we are searching for our limit, then it means we will find it. We, as human beings, will find ways and reasons to not forgive and to exclude people. But if we go in seeking reconciliation and forgiveness, with no limits to our grace, if we, as those in authority, go in with a heart of mercy, then we have a much better chance of finding reconciliation.
Culpepper writes, “The reader/hearer might expect that the debtor would not give his fellow’s debt another thought but would welcome him into the joy of the forgiveness he had just received from the king and forgive the debt. Here the parable takes its tragic turn: the forgiven refuses to forgive. The language that recurs throughout the parable (“debt/debtor” and “forgive”) echoes the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” (6:12). The parable, therefore, is a midrash on the Lord’s Prayer, set in the context of Matthew’s instruction for the church.”[3]
Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Are we perfect? Have we not also sinned and been in need of the grace of God?
Peter is the perfect person to ask this question as he is the one with authority and it will be him who denies Jesus three times. The servant who receives mercy from his master but is quick with judgment toward others.
The mercy and grace of the church should not be reserved. For Jesus came not for the righteous, but the sinner. How often should we forgive? As often and as much as we can.
Preaching Possibilities
Forgive us as we Forgive others
For some reason, when there are other texts about mercy and grace, we quickly see ourselves in need of grace. Yes indeed St. Paul, we all have fallen short of the grace of God.
But when texts like last week’s and this one come up, it is amazing how quickly we talk about everyone else’s sin. That there are those that probably need to be cut away from the church. And yes, maybe that’s true. But why on earth wouldn’t we see ourselves in the middleman who needs to be forgiven first?
Why we, as the Church, need to be merciful is because we have received mercy first. Why we have to be gracious is because we have received grace in abundance first. Why we have to be generous is because we have received generosity in abundance first.
As many as seven times? No but seventy times seven. Forgiving debts too large to fathom. Why? Because each of us has fallen short of the grace of God and we do need to share that forgiveness with others just as we ourselves have received it.
[1] Culpepper, Matthew, 350.
[2] The chief priests looking for a false testimony (26:59), being struck and told to prophesy (26:27), Pilate asks if they want Jesus or Barabbas (27:17-18), Crowd calling for crucifixion and Pilate washing his hands (27:22-26).
[3] Culpepper, 352.
Micah Krey 
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