“Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?”
The full verse · Matthew 18:21 · KJV
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Asked by
Peter: Simon called Peter, one of the twelve apostles, who came to Jesus after His teaching on a brother who trespasses (Matthew 18:15, 21)
Asked to
Jesus: the Son of God and promised Messiah, who had just taught how to win back a brother who trespasses (Matthew 18:15)
The Scene
After Jesus teaches the disciples how to go to a brother who trespasses and win him back, Peter comes to Him with a question (Matthew 18:15-21).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionPeter wanted to know where forgiveness could stop. Jesus had just told them to go to a brother who sins against them and try to gain him back (Matthew 18:15). Barnes says this teaching implied a duty to forgive, which "led Peter to ask how often this was to be done."
Peter's first question asks how many times. His second, "Till seven times?", offers an answer he likely thought generous. Gill explains that Jewish teaching of the time said that one who confesses and repents is forgiven "unto three times," so Peter proposed double that number, which was, "as he might think, a large number."
The Response
What Scripture recordsJesus answered, "I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven" (Matthew 18:22). Then He told the parable of a king who forgave a servant a huge debt, and of that servant who would not forgive a fellowservant a small one (Matthew 18:23-34). Jesus ended with a warning: "So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses" (Matthew 18:35).
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsGill records the Jewish rule that a person who says "I have sinned, and I repent" was forgiven up to three times, but not a fourth. Peter's seven went well beyond that.
Jesus' answer in Greek is hebdomekontakis hepta, "seventy times seven." The ESV renders it "seventy-seven times." Either way, the point is the same. Barnes says it means "we are not to limit our forgiveness to any fixed number of times," and Gill says Jesus put "a certain number for an uncertain" one.
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyPeter's question tries to measure mercy. Jesus answers by pointing to how God forgives. The parable that follows shows a king forgiving a debt too large to ever repay (Matthew 18:24-27). Matthew Henry says that "the debt of sin is so great, that we are not able to pay it." People who have been forgiven like that cannot keep a ledger on their brother.
Luke records a similar teaching: even if a brother trespasses "seven times in a day" and turns again saying, "I repent," then "thou shalt forgive him" (Luke 17:4). Forgiveness in God's family is not counted out. It flows from what God has already forgiven.
Look Closer
What teaching led Peter to ask this question?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord, You have not kept count of my sins against You; where am I still counting what others owe me, and how can I let it go?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- Peter wanted to know where forgiveness could stop. Why is it tempting to look for a limit?
- Tell about a time when someone kept forgiving you, and what it showed you about God.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
It is natural to want a limit, a point where you can say, "That's enough." Jesus removes the limit. As a forgiven person, you do not keep a running count of how many times someone has wronged you.
This does not mean pretending sin did not happen. In the same chapter Jesus tells you to go and "tell him his fault" (Matthew 18:15), and in Luke He says, "rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him" (Luke 17:3). Forgiveness is not the same as ignoring wrong or staying in harm's way. It is releasing the debt from your heart, again and again, as God has released yours.
Scripture's own application: Colossians 3:13
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
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“What shall we have therefore?”