In Jesus’ day, there was a tradition taught by some Rabbi’s that a person is only obligated to forgive someone three times. It was commonly understood that forgiveness came with limitations. Peter approaches his Rabbi Jesus with a question about the limitations of forgiveness. “How many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”(v21) Peter was exceeding generous in his application of forgiveness as he has more than doubled the number of times one should forgive! Peter’s question presupposes that he is the one who has sinned against him. He assumes that he is in a position of power against the one who has wronged him.
Jesus’ reply reorients the whole conversation. Peter must learn that he has first been forgiven not seven times, but seventy—seven times. Or in other words, there is no limitation on the forgiveness offered by the Father through the Son. Jesus then tells a subversive parable in which un-forgiveness is likened to an unmerciful servant who harshly collects on his debts, even though he has been forgiven an impossible amount. The point of the parable is that we must learn to forgive as we have been forgiven. 

In this season of Lent, we learn that forgiveness is the name of love practised among people who love poorly. The hard truth is that all people love poorly. We need to forgive and be forgiven every day. That is the great work of love shown to us by Jesus.