70 Times 7
“Adah and Zillah, listen to my voice, you wives of Lamech, give heed to my speech, for I have killed a man for wounding me; and a boy for striking me; if Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”
Genesis 4:24 NASB
Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”
Matthew 18:21-22 NKJV
Some modern translations render “seventy times seven” in both cases as seventy-seven times. But if “sevenfold” means seven times, then “seventy-sevenfold” would mean seventy seven-times. The placement of that little hyphen changes the numeric value considerably. But it’s more important to see the correlation between these two passages, as Jesus was using the former hyperbole from Genesis to reinforce His point.
Lamech considered his killing of another man, in an unknown way for an unknown reason, such a heinous act that he felt he deserved to die 500 deaths (70 x 7)! Such an exaggeration to emphasize what a terrible thing he felt he’d done.
And it is this exact reason that Jesus uses it as an opposing example to explain the significant value of forgiveness. By virtually quoting the prior, He effectively reverses that principle of vengeance. To most of us, outside of the cultural context of Jewish teaching, Jesus’ words here don’t hold much meaning. We get it, but not really. Against the backdrop of the passage in Genesis, however, and knowing that Jesus’ hearers would have been quite familiar with the reference, we see the point in a new light.
Even though Jewish tradition valued forgiveness, many Jewish teachers considered three times the maximum to forgive deliberate sin, since it would be difficult to believe the offender’s sincerity at that point. Peter thought he could anticipate Jesus’ response by offering up “seven” times, instead of just three. But Jesus came back with a much more poignant number. If Lamech felt he should die a thousand deaths for killing a man (perhaps even in self-defense), Jesus commands that we should offer everyone a thousand lives to cover their offenses, even and especially for someone like Lamech. However, we might note that Lamech was quite remorseful in regards to his offense, which is why he confessed what he’d done to his wives.
Can or must we still forgive someone who is unrepentant? Quite plainly . . . yes! Or need we be reminded that:
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:7-8 NIV
God didn’t wait for me to repent. He didn’t wait for me to admit fault. He didn’t wait for me to get my act together. Instead, while I was still His enemy, Jesus died for me and for all mankind. He died with only the hope that I might understand and appreciate that sacrifice. And so if God had forgiven me before I admitted my offenses, how much more must we forgive others before they admit theirs?
During Jesus’ sermon on the mount, He says, “For if you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive you your sins
We are not expected to always be reconciled to those who wrong us. The other may never know of their offense, or they move away or pass away. How can we then be reconciled? And how much more ridiculous is our unforgiveness in this context? If we will never see them again, our bitterness only punishes us for their transgression. So how is justice served?
Besides, when someone sins against us, can we not consider the course of their life that led them to their offense? Did they actually intend to hurt us with purpose, or were we just incidental victims of their own tragic stories? And when we look back across the span of our past and the pain we inflicted on others, with purpose or without, do we expect those we don’t even remember to hold grudges against us for things we aren’t even aware of?
That’s why when Jesus told Peter that forgiveness should be extended “seventy times seven,” He wanted his hearers to understand the bigger picture, the enormity of His love, and the price He would soon pay for each of us. To clearly frame that picture, He told them this parable:
“Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.“But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.“But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.“His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.“When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.“That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”
Matthew 18:23-35 NLT
