Luke 17:3-4 3Be careful for yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, 4and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.
Jesus goes to the opposite topic of if someone is caught in a sin. The command Be careful! links the previous verses about scandalizing with these verses about when someone scandalizes us. We must watch our own attitudes and responses so that we do not cause problems either by hurting someone else or how we respond when someone hurts us. Jesus now uses the strong word sins (hamartē), which is the common word in the New Testament for deviating from God law and will. In this case, the sin appears to be against the disciple. All sin is against God, especially God’s law of love, but some sins will affect others more directly.
If someone scandalizes us, how should we respond? Jesus approaches this topic with two conditional clauses that involve both parties: the disciple and one who has done wrong. The first obligation is put on the one who has been hurt, namely the disciple to whom Jesus is speaking in these verses. This disciple must rebuke (epitimēson) the wrong doer. This word has the sense of warning, censuring, and correcting. It is difficult to correct someone who has done something wrong because of the strong shame factor that causes us to be afraid of how that person might respond to us. Correcting someone can be even more difficult in some cultures for those who have some kind of social position over us, such as someone older or in a patronizing position. It can be difficult to rebuke even a close friend. People often interpret such rebuke as a form of judgment. We can pass judgment when the sin or situation is clear. Jesus warned about judging others in Matthew 7:1-2 in the context of feeling more superior than others. This sense is not present here.
The expected response of the wrong doer is that he or she will repent (metanoēsē). Kingdom people ought to be quick to repent because we realize our dependence upon God’s forgiveness and grace. If the person we rebuke is not willing to repent, he or she has a problem with God and not just us. Repentance must be one of the key qualities of those who have humbled themselves before God and become part of his kingdom. Refusing to repent, no matter how seriously or simply we might think our action has been, can lead to a hardened heart. We should remember that the Pharisees were still listening to Jesus, and refusing to repent was one of their problems Jesus spoke sternly about. Repentance is the goal of the rebuke.
The second conditional clause assumes the correct response and that the sinner has indeed repented. The expected response of the disciple should then be forgiveness. It can be difficult to forgive if we have been hurt deeply. Jesus does not describe here the seriousness of the sin, whether it might be a “small” or “big” sin. Some sins cause more problems than others, but all sins need forgiven. Forgiveness means not to count a sin against a person anymore. It is an essential step in the restoration and healing process. It releases the pent up pain, jealousy, regret, and brokenness that both parties may begin to harbor and that will fester and grow and could cause significant problems in relationships. Pronouncing forgiveness can be difficult but it releases us from carrying the load of pain. It can also free the other person from guilt or shame.
Verse 4 emphasizes the need to forgive the sinner. Seven times is a symbolic number in the Bible for perfection and completeness. It is symbolic in this verse of forgiving as many times as needed. This verse points out more specifically that the sin specifically affects the disciple. The other person has somehow hurt us. No matter what that person does, we must forgive, even when that person just keeps on hurting. But Jesus also points out the importance of the other person repenting. He has emphasized in these verses the need for both person to act in a kingdom way: repenting and forgiving.
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