As in today’s passage, Jesus liked to use hyperbole to add emphasis to an argument. We Dads tend to use exaggerations to make points to our sons, like “Are you trying to air-condition the whole neighborhood?” or “It looks like a small grizzly bear has been foraging in the kitchen.” Or “When I was a kid, I didn’t even know there were more than two kinds of sneakers.” So, it wouldn’t be too surprising if Jesus heard His Dad using hyperbole as well:

• It’s raining so hard - the animals are starting to pair up like that time with Noah.

• Methuselah is so old - the Dead Sea was only sick when he was born.

• Goliath is so tall - his only fear is ceiling fans.

• Samson’s hair looks so bad - Supercuts is paying him to stay away from their shops.

• It’s so hot - Moses is using his staff to create a wave pool in the Red Sea.

So, like a good Son, Jesus is taking after His Dad with some exaggerated statements to make sure His listeners get His point. This is especially true when the topic is forgiveness, like today’s verse that if a brother asks for forgiveness 7 times, we should forgive 77 times. What might Jesus mean?

I think we can quickly rule out Jesus creating yet another overly legalistic process for His children to obey. This would tend to just give us permission to hold on to our grudge/spite for an even longer period of time. (So we can go ahead & delete that Excel spreadsheet tracking our forgiveness records.) I would submit that Jesus would rather we strive to develop a heart for forgiveness. But what might that look like?

This past Sunday afternoon in our small group of adult volunteers for CORis (Resurrection’s Youth Choir), we reviewed the life of the disciple James. James is the older brother of John & one of the elite Apostles. In Luke 9:51-56, while on the road to Jerusalem, Jesus sends an advance team to prepare for his visit to a Samaritan village. The villagers did not welcome them. James & John are furious. They wanted to call fire down from heaven to destroy the village. Jesus rebukes the brothers & He continues on His way.

Flash forward 15 years or so later. James is the 1^st Apostle to be martyred & the only Apostle’s death recorded in Scriptures. Legend has it that during his trial before King Herod, a witness testifies against James. James offers his faith story as his defense. That witness is so moved by James’ testimony that he comes to believe & asks James to forgive him. As he is being led to his execution, James forgives the man saying, “Peace be with you.”

What a contrast. James is ready to rain fire down on anyone slighting his faith in one scene & then later offers grace to the man whose testimony directly leads to his own martyrdom for his faith. What might have happened during these 15 years? I would submit that James learned from Jesus the freedom offered by forgiveness. 

Perhaps we could do likewise. Instead of furiously recalling every verbal slight from the playground (Four eyes?  Seriously?  That’s all you got?), or bitterly clinging to anger when a colleague does not agree with your hot take on current events (What do you mean Patrick Mahomes isn’t the most exciting quarterback ever?), or imagining an elaborate plot of revenge on that person who unjustly cut in line at the car rental counter in Houston, what if we copied our friend James & just forgave? 

Imagine a life free of grievances, resentments, & spite. Why, that’d be like a life as free as a high schooler who just found out tomorrow’s AP-Calculus exam had been postponed.

Now, if you’ll excuse me I need to verify that, “Yep, my room is clean,” means more than, “A path has been cleared from the door to my bed.”