Dear Family and Friends,

Although today’s message comes to you from sunny Southern California (we’re spending time with our grandkids), the inspiration for our topic actually came from the ride over.

Before we get into what happened on the flight, let’s look at these verses from Matthew‬ ‭18:21-22 NIV; verses that leave many of us thinking, gee what a strange conversation.

“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?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” ‬

We all know that Jesus was quite clear about forgiving others. He even included this command in His Lord’s Prayer.

But have you ever wondered what Peter meant by forgiving someone up to seven times? And what Jesus meant in response?

Let’s start by remembering that this exchange was between two Jewish men who were well versed in God’s word and the religious beliefs of their people.

It’s also important to understand that in Judaism, certain numbers have significant values. That when these numbers appear in the scriptures, they often convey a much deeper meaning than just a numerical value.

For example, it is believed that the number one indicates unity, divinity, and wholeness, as embodied by God.

And many Jewish scholars consider the number seven to be the most sacred of numbers.

It is believed that God, through the authors of the scriptures, used the number seven to convey more than just a number as we know it.

The number seven meant wholeness, perfection, and because of the creation story, holiness.

The following are just a few examples of the number seven appearing in the Old Testament.

There were seven days of Creation.

On the seventh day of creation God rested from His work, set it apart as the holy day of the week, and gave it the name Shabbat (Sabbath).

God instructed the Israelites to keep seven annual festivals, sacred assemblies to honor His name: Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Firstfruits, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles. (See Leviticus 23)

The following are just a sampling of the many times the number seven appears in Leviticus 23 NIV:

Verses 6,8: “for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. For seven days present a food offering to the Lord. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.” (Unleavened Bread)

Verse 34: “On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days.” (Tabernacle)

It’s hard not to believe that God intentionally used the number seven to remind us of Him, and to covey the idea of wholeness, perfection and holiness in these annual festivals. 

Peter blurting out ‘seven times’ was not as random as we may have thought. He was likely thinking that forgiveness given seven times would be whole, perfect and holy. And that Jesus would consider it sufficient. 

But Jesus replies with a surprising, “not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Even seven times was not enough for Jesus. And let’s be mindful that seventy-seven is not meant to be a number to count. Jesus sets no limits on forgiveness and grace.

The underlying lesson of this passage is this: to love is to forgive, no matter how many times it takes.

Mother Theresa says it this way, “If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive.”

Can we all stop for a moment and reflect on this question?

Are there persons in your life that you still need to forgive? They may be persons you already forgave, or perhaps not. But every time you think of them, your neck starts to knot up, or you start gritting your teeth, or the emotions of that moment return…

Let’s be honest, we all have those ‘special’ ones who messed us up so badly, it still hurts. 

On the plane ride over I watched a documentary called Emanuel. It’s about the 2015 shooting in a Charleston, South Carolina church. Nine parishioners who went to church for a midweek Bible study were shot and killed. 

President Obama gave the eulogy for the pastor who was among the victims. This is what he said.

“Oh, but God works in mysterious ways. God has different ideas.

He (the shooter) didn’t know he was being used by God. Blinded by hatred, the alleged killer could not see the grace surrounding Reverend Pinckney and that Bible study group — the light of love that shone as they opened the church doors and invited a stranger to join in their prayer circle. The alleged killer could have never anticipated the way the families of the fallen would respond when they saw him in court — in the midst of unspeakable grief, with words of forgiveness. He couldn’t imagine that.”

The movie walks through the days following the killer’s apprehension. On the day the killer made his first court appearance the judge unexpectedly allowed the families to address the killer. So on that day the families stood to address the person who took away their loved ones, and each family, just as unexpectedly, forgave the man for what he had done.

What happened on that day can challenge us to give up. Or it can inspire us to rise above. 

I say we allow our God of redemption to use this story to inspire us to truly live in obedience to Jesus. 

If you still carry feelings of being victimized, please know you are in my prayers. But please be compelled to watch this movie or learn more about how grace showed up in court that day. 

Let’s allow their story to soften our hearts and move us to a place of grace. To help us forgive like we never have before. And release us from the hurts of the past, freeing us to love the way Jesus did.

In love always,