Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” (Matthew 18:21)

Limiting God

The parable of the unforgiving servant is a powerful statement of God’s mercy towards sinful man. No one deserves the gift of grace given by God through His Son, Jesus Christ (whom the world crucified on a cross). The debt for sin is impossible for man to redeem. There is nothing man could do or say that could justify him before a wrathful God. Asking forgiveness is an eternal gift of grace that God allows man to ask and receive. Jesus points out in the parable that if a man is unwilling to forgive his fellow man, God will not forgive the unforgiving. The background of the parable comes from Peter’s question about forgiveness.

Peter asks Jesus to explain how many times he needs to forgive someone who sins against him. There is a tinge of arrogance in the question, as Peter wants to limit the reaction he must have towards someone who sins against him directly. The Jewish interpretation of the law required a man to forgive another person only up to three times. Peter gave a broad definition to suggest seven times. Still, aside from explaining why Peter uses seven as a number to forgive, the apostle seeks to limit God to something Peter had no right to suggest.

Forgiveness is in the mind of God. Whether a person is forgiven or not rests in the will of the Almighty alone. In a lifetime, God will forgive a person’s sins so many times that the number is uncountable. There is a human arrogance to suggest a need to limit forgiveness as if, after seven times, Peter does not need to forgive another. Jesus’ answer is not a mathematical equation to suggest a finite number (seventy times seven). What the Lord shows is that man has no right to limit what God does in His mind to remove another’s sins. Peter says that someone has sinned against him, and he will limit his grace to a certain number and then refuse to extend any further grace. Thank God the mercy of God’s forgiveness is not so arrogant.

The greatest failure of the human spirit is to seek control of the divine will. Men have tried to change the law of God from the moment Eve decided to change what God told her. Her actions did not change God’s will. She and Adam decided to limit God’s power and authority and to assume divine right. They failed miserably, and God punished them. The reason God destroyed the world in the days of Noah is that the heart of man arrogantly sought to change the will of the Lord. God destroyed them. Peter tried to limit God and failed miserably.

Human wisdom continues to find ways to limit God’s power and authority. The reason there are so many churches is the same failing that Peter approached Jesus about, limiting the times he would forgive anyone. Disagreement about what a man must do to be saved comes from the same seed. What Jesus explained in the parable is that God is God and man is man. God created man; man did not create God. The law of God has more grace than any man could imagine in a lifetime. Human wisdom is shallow at best. Thank God, the mercy of the Lord is so great, showing how empty the mercy of man is. Peter treated the Lord’s will with contempt by trying to limit God to seven times. Never seek to undermine the word of the Lord to find answers for selfish desires. Serve God first. Never limit the power of God.