January
27th When
a brother sins against you
15:
Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him
his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou
hast gained thy brother. 16: But if he will not hear thee, then take
with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three
witnesses every word may be established. 17: And if he shall neglect
to hear them, tell it unto: but if he neglects to hear the church,
let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican. 18: Verily I
say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven. 19: Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on
earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for
them of my Father which is in heaven. 20: For where two or three are
gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Forgiving
others
21:
Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin
against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? 22: Jesus saith unto
him, I say not unto thee, until seven times: but, until seventy times
seven. 23: Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain
king, which would take account of his servants. 24: And when he had
begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten
thousand talents. 25: But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord
commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he
had, and payment to be made. 26: The servant therefore fell down, and
worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay
thee all. 27: Then the lord of that servant was moved with
compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28: But the
same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which
owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by
the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29: And his fellowservant
fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with
me, and I will pay thee all. 30: And he would not: but went and cast
him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31: So when his
fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and
told unto their lord all that was done. 32: Then his lord, after that
he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave
thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33: Shouldest not thou
also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on
thee? 34: And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the
tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35: So
likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your
hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
Christ
here gives very clear and thoughtful instructions to the disciples as
to how to sort out difficulties that arise between brethren. The
three stages are simple and wise and they apply equally to the
Disciples of the Lord and to the Church today. Peter then raises the
question of how often he is to forgive his brother when he offends
him. Most people would say once, twice or three times and Peter
suggests seven times, but the Lord comes back with 70 x 7. Seventy
being the span of a mans life and seven being the number of
completion. Maybe Christ is referring to total forgiveness. However,
70 x 7 is also the number of years in a whole era for Israel. 70 x 7
= 490. There were 490 years from The Promise to the Tabernacle. 490
years from the Tabernacle to the Temple. 490 years from the Temple to
The deportation and the Times of the Gentiles is 490 years. Maybe
Christ had this number in mind because the Kingdom would dawn at the
end of the 490 years of The Times of the Gentiles. Was Christ saying
to Peter you must forgive this year and next year and right on into
the Kingdom? Christ then follows with a parable which shows the
importance of forgiveness and how that the God of Israel will hold me
responsible to forgive and on the basis of a forgiving heart they
will be forgiven. This is not how Christ deals in Grace to the NT
believers of the Church. They forgive, not to be forgiven but because
they are forgiven.
- Describe the three stages of dealing with a brother who has offended you. Why is it important to follow these steps – even today?
- What is the significance of the 70 x 7 that Christ proposes?
- How should we forgive in the light of our forgiveness?
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