21 Peter came and said to Jesus, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?”

22 Jesus said to him, “I don’t tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven. 23 Therefore the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who wanted to reconcile accounts with his servants. 24 When he had begun to reconcile, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But because he couldn’t pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, with his wife, his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you all!’ 27 The lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

28 “But that servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, who owed him one hundred denarii, and he grabbed him, and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’

29 “So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay you!’ 30 He would not, but went and cast him into prison, until he should pay back that which was due. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were exceedingly sorry, and came and told to their lord all that was done. 32 Then his lord called him in, and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt, because you begged me. 33 Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?’ 34 His lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors, until he should pay all that was due to him. 35 So my heavenly Father will also do to you, if you don’t each forgive your brother from your hearts for his misdeeds.”

Matthew 18:21-25 - World English Bible

With a simple question in Matthew 18, Jesus taught his followers how forgiveness "cut against the grain" of human nature. Peter asked Jesus about the extent of forgiveness; was seven times enough? Note the number "seven" meant complete. In this case, the disciple asked if total forgiveness (seven times) meant the offense would not be mentioned again in a social context. But, the Master knew the human heart; the sin could be set aside in public, but fester in private, so he insisted upon continual forgiveness (seven times seventy). Such ongoing forgiveness was part of one's daily spiritual struggle against personal pettiness.

To drive his point home, Jesus told a parable about a court official who had borrowed (and presumably squandered) an amount so large, it could represent the Gross National Product of the kingdom! The Lord got the attention of his audience with that outrageous claim, but then would top it when the king forgave the man's debt. Yet, the petty official threw a man into debtor's prison for 100 days wages. In today's money, the official owed the king $15 trillion while his fellow servant owed the greedy man $25, 000. The disparity was obvious and only heightened the moral of the story found in 18:33: "Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?"

We might get angry when we don't receive our due. At those times, we must remember the debt we owe to our Maker, for we owe him everything.

Whom do you need to forgive today?