3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. (Luke 17:3-4 KJV)
William Burkitt’s Commentary
The doctrine of forgiving an offending brother, is pressed upon us with many forcible arguments in the New Testament, which speaks it to be a duty of indispensable necessity. This place is to understood of private offences, and personal wrongs and injuries done by one man to another; which we must first reprove, and then remit; and although it be said, If he repent, forgive him; that is not to be understood, as if we needed not to pardon our brother, if he neglects to repent and ask forgiveness; but whether he acknowledges his offence or not to us, our hearts must stand ready to forgive the wrong done to us, and to pray for forgiveness on his behalf at the hands of God; laying aside all thoughts and desires of revenge in our own cause, and standing ready to any office of love and service to our offending brother.
Learn hence,
1. That to fall often into the same offence against our brother is a great aggravation of our offences: If thy brother trespass against thee seven times in a day; that is, very often.
2. That as the multiplication of offences is a great aggravation of offences, so the multiplying of forgiveness is a great demonstration of a God-like temper in us: he that multiplies sin, does, like Satan, sin abundantly; and he that multiplies pardon, does, like God, pardon abundantly.
BURKITT | Luke 17:1-2 | Luke 17:3-4 | Luke 17:5 | Luke 17:6 | Luke 17:7-10 | Luke 17:11-13 | Luke 17:14 | Luke 17:15-16 | Luke 17:17-19 | Luke 17:20-21 | Luke 17:22-25 | Luke 17:26-30 | Luke 17:31-32 | Luke 17:33-36 | Luke 17:37 |