‘70 x 7’?: Lessons on Forgiveness from an Historical Reading of Matthew 18

Abstract

‘Forgive 70 times 7’ and the ‘Three Step Rule’ principle of reconciliation is praised as hands-on ‘biblical’ advice, but for many victims it increases the abuse as they are forced to recall their gruesome experience and evaluate their own fault in what happened. Often quick solutions for complicated issues are forced on the victim by the church’s divine power of ‘tying and untying’ (Matt 18:18). Many victims leave their churches and sometimes God. In his recent book, Introducing Christian Ethics: Core Convictions for Christians Today (Front Edge, 2022), David Gushee points to the inadequacy of this ‘biblical’ doctrine of forgiveness, and suggests broader ethical research into the subject. However, I believe that a re-reading of the texts from the historical critical method, may bring such necessary broadening. This article, then, reads Matthew chapters 18–19 as an extension of Mark 9–10, scrutinising in the process contemporary applications of these texts.