70 x 7
“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”
Matthew 18:21-22 KJV
in context this person is not someone who has sinned against them, and will not own up to it. It is someone who accepts what they have done was wrong and is looking for forgiveness.
Is Jesus teaching us that we should essentially never stop forgiving people for their trespasses against us? Maybe - kind of. That question misses the point being conveyed. Like always there is more to Jesus’ answer.
Jesus never sets a subpar standard. It is always perfection that He calls us to. Think “go and sin no more” for another example. He knows we cannot do that. Another chink in the armor of works based righteousness is that it lowers God’s standard of perfection to be something we can attain.
The Hebrew Aramaic language is alpha numeric, meaning that numbers translate to letters and letters to numbers.
70 x 7 = 490
In Hebrew “490” can translate to Bethlehem. Bethlehem means “House of Bread”. Jesus is the bread that came down from heaven. When asked about how many times we should forgive someone Jesus points them back to himself.
Look at Jesus’ ability to forgive - understanding you sinned against Him and He forgave you. Focus on the bread that came from heaven to take away our sins and let that grace flow from God through you.
“for in him we live, and move, and have our being”
Acts 17:28 KJV
God bless,
The Collins Family