November 2, 2026
Today's Reading: Matthew 18:21-35
Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 1:1-19; Matthew 21:23-46
“Then 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?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:21-22)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Jesus must not be talking literal math here, because that would only make 490 times someone should be forgiven. If the tallies started when this 49-year-old pastor was born, and Jesus IS talking literally…YIKES! I mean, just do the math. If I’ve sinned ONLY 10 times a year, does that mean I’ve used up the forgiveness I’m supposed to receive? Clearly, that is not how God forgives.
But the question the disciples ask isn’t about how God forgives but about how we are to forgive the one who sins against us. Again, Jesus must not be talking literal math here. I’ve been married for 26 years. If Jesus is really telling us to count up the times we’ve forgiven our closest neighbor, then my wife only has to forgive me about 19 times a year, and let me tell you, I’ve used it all up!
What Jesus is after in answer to Peter’s question is illustrated by the parable that follows of the “king who wished to settle accounts with his servants” (Matthew 18:23).The king in the parable is God, who has forgiven us far more than we could even imagine. Not 490 times but every time, every sin, covered in the precious cleansing blood of the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). That makes you the servant who was ten thousand talents in debt to the king, and your friend the one who owed you a hundred denarii.
When your friend sins against you, rather than focusing on the weight of their words or the breadth of their betrayal, this parable calls you to first consider the abundant mercy of God toward you and recognize that your Holy Heavenly Father has forgiven you far more than He is calling you to forgive your friend…the comparison isn’t even close.
So bring your sins to Jesus, and those sins committed against you to Jesus, and weigh them all in the limitless scale of His forgiving love for you. He can handle it, even when you can’t. Jesus has already washed your crimson stain of sin in your Baptism into His death and resurrection. Let His forgiveness be the forgiveness you share. Remember who you are, a fully forgiven child of God. Which means you don’t need the strength to manufacture forgiveness; you already have it.
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
I lay my sins on Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God; He bears them all and frees us from the accursed load. I bring my guilt to Jesus to wash my crimson stains clean in His blood most precious till not a spot remains. (LSB 606:1)
Rev. Jason Schockman, associate pastor of Saint Paul Lutheran Church in Oconomowoc, WI.
Scholar and author A. Andrew Das bridges the gap between Bible commentary and daily devotional in this innovative exploration of Luke's Gospel. Through a creative narrative device—a dinner conversation with the physician and Gospel writer Luke himself— you will discover the radical message that turned the ancient world upside down.
