NOTES for Mat 18:21-35

Verses 21–22 call to mind this story: two little girls quarrel; one has hurt the other, who must, of course, forgive her, especially since forgiveness has already been requested. But the hurt is fresh, and she does not want to forgive. She tells her mother, who repeats words we already know: “Forgive seventy times seven,” whereupon the little girl angrily declares that she has already forgiven the offender exactly that many times, and even more! This story makes us smile. First of all, it is clear that she has very likely not “shown her mercy” so many times. Then another thought arises: what span of time is meant—an entire lifetime, a year, or a day? But when we remember the apostle Paul’s words, “Do not let the sun go down on your anger” (Eph 4:26), we should probably incline toward the shortest of these periods. Then the enormous number of “acts of forgiveness” of which Jesus speaks seems even more incredible. It becomes clear that the point is not the number. The Lord’s mercy is boundless, and we are called to imitate Him (see Lk 6:36). By imitating their parents children learn how to live, and we become children of God by imitating the Father.