[aron]

Peter asked, "How many times should I forgive my brother? Seven?"

Well, let's take a look at how many times Peter failed.

1. "Not so, Lord; this shall never happen to You".
2. "Let's build three tents here: one for Moses, one for Elijah, one for Jesus"
3. "Lord, I will never deny You"
4. Cut off the ear of the high priest's servant who tried to arrest Jesus.
5. "I am going fishing"
6. Shrinks back in Paul's account in Galatians chapter 2, on seeing "some from James".
7. Follows Jesus onto the water, then looks down and begins to sink.

Etc, etc. I think I could find a few more. Peter had multiple failures, and needed multiple restorations. As long as Peter would humble himself and forgive his neighbor, who also trespassed against Peter, then God would indeed forgive and restore Peter. Jesus taught this clearly: "Forgive us our trespasses, even as we forgive others who trespass against us." So Jesus charged Peter to forgive "seventy times seven", because Peter himself ultimately might fail the same amount of times!

But the narrative is not about failure, and restoration, though it clearly includes that element. Ultimately the story is about triumph. At some point when Satan comes to tempt him, Peter remembers the shame and pain of past failures, and will turn and say, "Begone, Satan!" Just as Jesus successfully resisted the subtle one's attempts to ensnare Him, so Peter can, eventually, follow in the triumph of the Christ.

So that, to me, is Part One. Part Two is that when Peter has the experience of Christ's triumph, rather than puff himself up, he humbles himself, goes and finds the frustrated, suffering failures of the world, and shepherds them back to the Father of lights. Peter perhaps had to fail "seventy times seven" in order to "get it", but now he can go and help someone else, and maybe they will only fail "forty times seven", or "one times seven", or not at all. Because Peter is no longer ignorant of Satan's schemes, he is equipped to caution the unseasoned and ignorant ones. This is where his experience helps him to shepherd others. This is why verse 13 from Psalm 51 -- "Restore me, and then I will help other transgressors to turn back to You" -- and Jesus' declaration in Luke 22: "Once you have returned, strengthen your brothers", suddenly resonated for me.

Those 2 verses suddenly stood out for me, like two blazing beacons of light. All my failures, my repeated attempts to "get it", my confusion, my bitter frustration and tears, suddenly made sense. God's mercy was imbued with a purpose. Number one, that I would learn from my failures, and not repeat them. "I do not condemn you. Go, and do not sin again" (cf John 7:53 - 8:11). Secondly, that my failures could now be turned against the enemy, and could help others avoid those same pitfalls, traps, and snares. I can say that "truly my soul rejoiced in the LORD" when I saw that. I was filled with hope, and purpose. This rotten trip through the valley of the shadow of death was all part of God's purpose! I rejoiced that I could be a part of that purpose; I rejoiced.