- Jun 29, 2019
- 651
- 169
- 60
- Country
- United States
- Faith
- Christian
- Marital Status
- Married
Lord Jesus in Matthew 7:12 says “...whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” This is the Golden Rule, which is said to be based on Leviticus 19:18 which says to love your neighbor as you love yourself.
It extends to forgiving others to the extent you would want to be forgiven. Jesus in Matthew 18:22 says to forgive your brother "seventy times seven," or 490 times. It is to be understood that the term “brother” here is meant as a brother in the love of God. It is not far-fetched to believe that a brother can also be a neighbor.
Why 490 times? I guess in the context of the verses that follow, Jesus anticipates that each person may encounter debt 490 times in their life. So, in the context of Verses 23-35, a person should stand ready to forgive another person 490 times, since he himself could probably be in some form of debt that many times and would be compelled to similarly ask for forgiveness. I imagine that many a confession booth is laden with confessors’ footprints!
What is in those verses that would lead us to believe we should forgive others to the extent we want to be forgiven? They describe a wicked servant. Some say these verses amount to a parable.
Very simply, a servant who owes money to a king begs forgiveness for the debts he accumulated. The king forgives him. Subsequently, a person asks this servant to forgive what he owes this servant, and the servant refuses. The king hears of this, and throws this servant into jail, at the mercy of torturers.
What did this servant do wrong? He didn’t forgive the person of debts owed to him, like he was forgiven by the king. He didn’t abide by the Golden Rule. Jesus goes on to infer that our Heavenly Father will punish us if we don’t forgive others as we would be forgiven, but this punishment could extend to any violation of the Golden Rule. If, in these times, you were an elected official who decrees that mask-wearing to prevent catching a potentially serious and fatal disease should not be a requirement, yet you yourself wear a mask, does that not break the Golden Rule by, as a leader under God in terms of Romans 13:1, denying to others the benefits of wearing a mask to prevent the disease while you yourself are wearing one?
Apart from any political inferences, the message is that in general, a violation of the Golden Rule, whether it be for not forgiving others, or for anything else, may lead to a denial of entry into God’s Kingdom.
It extends to forgiving others to the extent you would want to be forgiven. Jesus in Matthew 18:22 says to forgive your brother "seventy times seven," or 490 times. It is to be understood that the term “brother” here is meant as a brother in the love of God. It is not far-fetched to believe that a brother can also be a neighbor.
Why 490 times? I guess in the context of the verses that follow, Jesus anticipates that each person may encounter debt 490 times in their life. So, in the context of Verses 23-35, a person should stand ready to forgive another person 490 times, since he himself could probably be in some form of debt that many times and would be compelled to similarly ask for forgiveness. I imagine that many a confession booth is laden with confessors’ footprints!
What is in those verses that would lead us to believe we should forgive others to the extent we want to be forgiven? They describe a wicked servant. Some say these verses amount to a parable.
Very simply, a servant who owes money to a king begs forgiveness for the debts he accumulated. The king forgives him. Subsequently, a person asks this servant to forgive what he owes this servant, and the servant refuses. The king hears of this, and throws this servant into jail, at the mercy of torturers.
What did this servant do wrong? He didn’t forgive the person of debts owed to him, like he was forgiven by the king. He didn’t abide by the Golden Rule. Jesus goes on to infer that our Heavenly Father will punish us if we don’t forgive others as we would be forgiven, but this punishment could extend to any violation of the Golden Rule. If, in these times, you were an elected official who decrees that mask-wearing to prevent catching a potentially serious and fatal disease should not be a requirement, yet you yourself wear a mask, does that not break the Golden Rule by, as a leader under God in terms of Romans 13:1, denying to others the benefits of wearing a mask to prevent the disease while you yourself are wearing one?
Apart from any political inferences, the message is that in general, a violation of the Golden Rule, whether it be for not forgiving others, or for anything else, may lead to a denial of entry into God’s Kingdom.
Last edited:
