What does it mean that we should forgive seventy-times seven?

from the old testament

• God called and set Israel apart from the other nations so that they would honor Him and demonstrate who He is to the other nations (Exodus 19:5–6; Deuteronomy 7:6). Despite their continual rebellion, whenever they turned and repented, He forgave them (i.e., Numbers 9:16–17; 14:18–20). This demonstrates God’s never-ending willingness to forgive a repentant heart.
• We read about God’s forgiving heart in Isaiah when he says, “let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:7). Notice that God “abundantly pardons” wicked men and women when they return to Him. When God forgives, He does it by blotting out the record (Isaiah 43:25) and removing the sin from His mind (Jeremiah 31:34; Psalm 103:12) such that He doesn’t hold it against the individual again.

from the new testament

• Over time, rabbinic tradition added rules and guidance to God’s Law, which often contradicted God's intent (e.g., Mark 7:8–13). One such case was that of forgiveness. By Jesus’ day, rabbinic tradition had largely established “three” as the maximum number of times one was to forgive.
• Peter seems to express the same understanding that there is a limit to forgiveness. In Matthew 18:21, we read, “Peter came up and said to him, ‘Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’” While scholars debate why he mentioned “seven,” specifically, the point appears to be that he was thinking of seven as being extra forgiving.
• However, Jesus corrected Peter, saying, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:22). Jesus is not saying that the maximum number of times to forgive someone is 490 times, but using hyperbole to say that there was no limit.
• Addressing the disciples, in Luke, Jesus said, “Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him” (Luke 17:3–4). Note that Jesus did qualify forgiveness with repentance. But if someone sins, genuinely repents, and then keeps sinning, as long as he or she returns to repent, we are to keep forgiving them. So, “seventy-seven times” was a way of saying “never stop forgiving.”
• Jesus then explained why we are to forgive so much with a parable in Matthew 18:21–35. In that parable, there was a master who forgave his servant a huge amount of money after he begged for mercy. However, when someone who owed that servant a tiny amount of money begged the forgiven servant for forgiveness, instead of forgiving him, he threw him into debtor’s prison. When the master found out, he cast the forgiven, yet unforgiving servant into debtor’s prison.
• Through this parable, Jesus was teaching that, as servants of God, we are to forgive as He forgives. God sent His Son, Jesus, to die to pay for all our sins and to clear us of all guilt (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 2:13–14). Because we have been forgiven so much, we should not be counting how many times we have forgiven someone, but rather willingly and lavishly forgiving them as soon as they repent, demonstrating the heart of God.

implications for today

Forgiving the first time someone really hurts us is hard. But forgiving someone who keeps hurting us seems unfair! However, this is how God forgives. Not only does He forgive the innumerable sins before we were saved, as we continue to confess, He continues to forgive us (1 John 1:9). This is true even if we keep sinning in the same way.

Jesus was saying to believers that we are to forgive as He does. Here are some ways to do that:

First, God forgives when we repent. He doesn’t just overlook sin; He’s looking for a contrite heart (Psalm 51:17), one who is genuinely sorrowful for sin. While we can’t see hearts, we should gladly forgive in response to apparent genuine repentance.

Second, God doesn’t hold our sin against us once He’s forgiven us in Jesus. Once we forgive, we should no longer hold that sin over the other person. It’s not forgiveness if we keep bringing it up!

Third, though we are to forgive those who repent and are not to hold their sin against them, we must also use wisdom. Because sin is damaging, you may need to set boundaries or even involve legal authorities, even if they ask for forgiveness. You can forgive someone and still work with the appropriate authorities to ensure they don’t continue to hurt you or others. Some sins have consequences even after genuine repentance occurs.

Fourth, forgiveness is a key way to demonstrate the gospel! When you forgive, you are showing others what Christ is like. As people see you forgive in ways that don't make sense, you will have the opportunity to tell them why you forgive: because God forgave you in Jesus!