Our Forgiveness of Others—It’s More Important than We Think
Forgiveness of Others… Peter asked a simple question: “How many times should I forgive?” He offered a number that felt generous. Seven.
Jesus answered with a number that felt impossible: “Seventy times seven.”
We rush past the math and overlook the significance of Jesus’ words. Peter counted sins. Jesus removed them all and expects us to toe the same line. That part is easy to see in this exchange. What requires more attention is the way Jesus used this one answer to teach two truths. One truth touched our daily lives. The other reached back into Israel’s history and pointed forward to the arrival of God’s kingdom.
Jesus Set the Foundation for Daily Forgiveness
The New Testament makes salvation clear. If we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord, we are saved. That truth stands without conditions attached to it. On the cross, Jesus fulfilled everything we need for salvation. We add nothing to it. We cannot improve it. We cannot weaken it through effort or failure.
Yet Jesus still spoke about another kind of forgiveness. Not the forgiveness that makes us God’s children, but the forgiveness that shapes how God responds to us as His children.
In the Lord’s Prayer, He taught that God forgives our sins in relation to how we forgive those who sin against us. He followed the prayer with a direct warning: If we refuse to release the debts others owe, our Father will hold certain debts against us.
This is not salvation language.
This is family language.
Children and a Father.
At home.
In relationship with our Father and others. “I give you a new command: love others as I have loved you. (John 13:34)
We know the pattern from our own homes. A parent loves a child unconditionally. The bond is never in danger. But when one child refuses to make peace with another, the parent steps in with, “Apologize and mean it.” At first, this command seems impossible, but it still stands. A child never stops being part of the family, but the conflict disrupts harmony. Something stands between the child and the full warmth a parent wants to give.
Many believers fear this idea because it touches the question, “What does God do with the sins He still holds?” Scripture does not give a full map of how this plays out, but Jesus points to possible consequences.
Forgiveness Is a Cornerstone of the Kingdom
When Jesus told the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:21–35), He revealed more than a moral lesson. He showed how heaven itself operates. God releases impossible debts. He expects His people to carry that same spirit. The kingdom does not run on scorekeeping. It runs on mercy. Jesus ended with a sharp warning to those who hold grudges, debts, and offenses: “This is what My Father will do unless you forgive from the heart.”
His point is not punishment. His point is alignment. We cannot walk in the freedom God gives if we refuse to extend that same freedom to others.
Why Jesus Pressed This Issue So Hard
Jesus knew unforgiveness traps a soul. (Matthew 18:32–35)
It drains strength. (Matthew 11:28–30)
It steals joy. (John 15:10–11)
It prevents our prayers from reaching the ears of God. (Mark 11:25)
It blinds love. (John 13:34–35)
It steals peace. (John 14:27)
It silences hope. (Luke 6:37–38)
It distances a believer from the very presence he needs to live well. (Matthew 6:14–15)
Forgiveness does not deny pain.
It does not pretend that a wrong never happened.
It does not force trust where trust was broken.
It simply releases the right to hold the other person in debt.
God takes care of justice, but we are to release others from their debt to us.
The Power of Forgiveness
Forgiveness gives space for God to work.
Forgiveness brings peace back into our hearts.
Forgiveness aligns us with the kingdom of God. When we pray, “Your kingdom come,” we are agreeing that we are obligated to forgive others of their debts.
Forgiveness removes the trap of bitterness that captures our hearts.
Forgiveness frees us to stand with confidence before the throne of God.
Jesus Spoke a Coded Message to His Disciples
The “seventy times seven” answer did more than correct Peter. It triggered a memory from Israel’s past. For Jews paying attention, that number would have reminded hearers of Daniel 9, one of the most important prophetic chapters in Scripture.
Every Jewish disciple knew Daniel’s “seventy sevens.” It was God’s countdown for their nation. A timeline that covered:
Israel’s rebellion — fulfilled in Jesus calling Israel to repentance (Matthew 4:17, 23:37, 15:24, Acts 3:26)
Their exile — fulfilled in Jesus gathering and restoring some of the lost sheep of Israel (Matthew 15:24, Luke 21:24, John 10:16)
Their return to the Promised Land — fulfilled in Jesus bringing people back to God through Himself and making all the promises of God, “Yes, and so be it” to those who believe in Him (John 14:6, Matthew 24:31)
The arrival of the Anointed One — fulfilled in Jesus’ baptism and anointing by the Spirit (Matthew 3:16–17, Luke 4:18, John 1:41,Acts 10:38)
The unfolding of the kingdom and a new covenant — fulfilled in Jesus’ preaching of the kingdom and establishment of the new covenant in His blood (Mark 1:14–15; Luke 16:16, 22:20, Matthew 11:14)
The final judgment of sin (Romans 8 ) and cessation of endless offerings and sacrifices — fulfilled in Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice (Hebrews 10:10–14)
By saying “seventy times seven,” Jesus placed Himself in the final seven of Daniel’s prophecy and, in code, declared that the Anointed One—the Christ, the Messiah—had arrived and Daniel 9 was fulfilled. Jesus told His disciples, “Until John, the law and the prophets were preached, but since John, the kingdom of God is preached.” (Luke 16:16)
With the arrival of Jesus as the Anointed One and the preaching of the kingdom of God, a new covenant was introduced—one that would be established when Jesus rose from the tomb and appeared in His glorified body as the first fruits of the new harvest.
Why Israel Went Into Captivity — and What That Means for Us
Israel’s exile did not happen in a single moment. It came after centuries of refusing to free slaves every seven years, cancel debts, restore land, release the oppressed, and practice mercy. Their Babylonian exile became the visible result of an inward condition. They were carried away physically as captives because they refused to set captives free.
When their release was announced and their debt judged as complete, God decreed a period of seventy sevens—”seventy times seven”. This timeline would:
- Finish transgression
- Put an end to sin
- Atone for wickedness
- Bring in everlasting righteousness
- Seal up vision and prophecy
- Anoint the Most Holy One.
When Jesus commanded us to forgive “seventy times seven,” He gave us a task we cannot accomplish on our own and then provided the One who could do it through us. By the Holy Spirit, we can forgive again and again, just as He continues to forgive us. He has fulfilled the first half of the final seven through His death on the cross. “Cut off” from His own, the good news of Jesus has gone forth to the ends of the earth.
All that remains is the completion of the last three and a half years—Daniel 7:25; 12:7; Revelation 11:2–3; 12:6,14; 13:5—the period Scripture describes as God’s wrath poured out during the restoration of His people, Israel.
The time to forgive is today.