When Jesus said 'forgive seventy times seven', did he actually mean forgive people 490 times??

Answer 1

A lot of the numbers in the Bible are used symbolically. People writing at that time would have used number 7 as meaning completeness. The number 10 often was used to represent a cycle, also a form of completeness. A kaballist would interpret this phrase to mean forgiving in a completed cycle of complete forgiveness.
For much of the bible to make sense you should be aware of the meanings they attached to numbers, especially the numbers that appear over and over. An example would be 12, as in twelve tribes and twelve disciples, both reduced from the mystical 13. Or seven as in your quote but also the numbers of years of feast and famine in Egypt. or the 40 days and 40 nights of rain 40 years in the desert and many given measurements. enjoy your book

Answer 2

it was a contrast between the OT notion of forgiving twice. Peter thought 7 was a good number and Jesus went open ended by making a figure of speech. 7*70=mathematically 490 but spiritually is infinity

Answer 3

I think that Jesus was taking the point to a ridiculous extreme, just to make the point. I mean, really, for somebody to be able to do something wrong against me 490 times in one day, and still turn around and say "I'm sorry, will you forgive me?", that has to be humanly impossible!!! That is like doing one act of sin every minute, nonstop, for more than 8 hours. Give this particular sinner 2 breaks and an hour lunch, and a few bathroom breaks, and he will have to be standing next to me, doing harm, for 10 hours.

I'm not sure it's humanly possible to sin that much against one person in one day. Much less is it humanly possible to forgive that much sin in one day! Hence the point that we need the power and love of God in our lives, to live the kind of lives God wants to see in us.

"With man this is impossible, but not with God. With God all things are possible."

Kinda blows the mind, doesn't it?

And I get bummed out if 5 people are rude to me in one day. Boy, have I got a looooooooooooooooooong way to go!

Answer 4

How many times has God forgiven me for the sins I have committed and I know it is more than 490 times. If we have the heart that God wants us to have we can forgive like he does.

Answer 5

maximum human beings will inform you that Jesus meant that there would desire to be an endless style of cases of forgiveness and that He became employing hyperbole to get this component in the process. mutually as that seems to be a probable interpretation it quite is thrilling to word that for the time of the old testomony God punished the Israelites via sending them into exile for 70 years to make up for the 490 years that they had did not shop the each and every seventh 3 hundred and sixty 5 days sabbath of the land regulation. 2 Chronicles 36:20 He took into exile in Babylon people who had escaped from the sword, and that they grew to become servants to him and to his sons till the corporation of the dominion of Persia, 21 to fulfill the understand the LORD via the mouth of Jeremiah, till the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. each and every of the days that it lay desolate it stored Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years. So became Jesus saying that considering God had forgiven the Israelites for 70 x 7 years earlier He had had adequate of their sins that this became a divine wide-unfold that we could use too? The Lord purely is conscious for particular, yet because of the fact it is not likely that we would would desire to forgive somebody 490 cases it is somewhat risk-free to declare that we are reported as to forgive human beings extra cases than we they are going to probable ever dissipate.

Answer 6

it means that you must never stop forgiving people. Forgivness is going to be a constant part of people's lives. You must never stop forgiving yourself and parts of your life. keep on forgiving. God forgave us first, therefore, we must forgive each other all the time. Same as loving people, God loved us first, therefore, we must never stop loving people.

Answer 7

no he ment if ppl do something on to u that has an index of 7 then u should forgive them for 70 times more than what they done. i think

Answer 8

It was a figure of speach. What He meant is that you keep on forgiving, you never withhold forgiveness no matter what the provocation.

Answer 9

No.

He did not give a mathematical expression, thus this should not be taken too literaly.

It's more of a figurative expression as if He's saying, you should learn to forgive unconditionally and unlimitedly.

Answer 10

NO he said to forgive these that do you wrong