The Lord's Prayer: Forgive Us Our Trespasses

Peter thought he was being generous. “Should I forgive as many as seven times?” Seven—the number of completeness. Surely that’s enough. But Jesus blows Peter’s math out of the water. “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

Jesus’ point is clear: forgiveness is not about keeping score. It’s not about how patient we are or about how worthy the other person is. Forgiveness, for the Christian, is not optional. It is non-negotiable. Why? Because you and I have been forgiven beyond measure.

Think for a moment about the countless ways we sin daily—in thought, word, and action. If God kept track the way Peter wanted to, we would have no hope. But God doesn’t count your sins against you. He forgives them—

completely, continually, and without condition—in Jesus.

On the cross, Jesus took the full weight of our sin, not seven sins, not seventy-seven sins, but all of them. Every selfish thought. Every harsh word. Every failure to forgive.

So when Jesus says, “Forgive seventy-seven times,” He’s really saying: forgive without limit, just as you have been forgiven without limit. As MartinLuther reminds us in the Small Catechism: “We daily sin much and surely 

deserve nothing but punishment. So we too will sincerely forgive and gladly do good to those who sin against us.”

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, You have forgiven me more times than I can count. Your mercy  never runs out, and Your grace covers all my sin. Help me, by Your Spirit, to forgive others as You have forgiven me—freely, fully, and from the heart.  Amen.