This is a troublesome text in that it appears that the
“sin-ee” (aka the one sinned against) is at the mercy of the sinner even though
the sinner is the one who needs to be forgiven. Even more troubling is that
Peter doesn’t ask more questions once Jesus multiplies Peter’s seven times sin
to infinity and beyond. (77 or 70 times 7 is Jesus math which always equals
always) So what if the sin is always the same sin? At what point do
you say the one who is asking for forgiveness is just getting permission to sin
again? Hello. Doesn’t Jesus know about codependency? I’ll ask forgiveness for
that last remark. Sorry for taking a parable to places it was never meant to go.
The bottom line is this. Jesus commands the church that bears his name to
consider forgiveness asked for forgiveness received period end of sentence.
Where the parable draws the line is that there is a consequence for forgiveness
withheld which once again places the burden on the sin-ee and not the sinner.
But that’s the way Jesus rolls. That is not to say we cannot forgive, and love
for that matter, from a safe distance. Jesus said to pick up our cross but he
does not mean we should be crucified.
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