Jesus Never Said to Be Hurt: The True Meaning of “70 Times 7”

For generations, one of Jesus’ most misinterpreted phrases has been this: “Forgive seventy times seven.” Many people were taught that this means enduring everything, keeping quiet about pain, enduring humiliation and staying close to those who hurt them. But that reading is not only incorrect, but dangerous.

When you look at the historical, cultural, and linguistic context of the passage, a much deeper and more liberating truth emerges.

Jesus was not talking about submission

When Peter asks Jesus how many times he should forgive, he mentions the number seven, which in Jewish tradition symbolized completeness, maximum. In other words, Peter was already setting a very high standard. However, Jesus responds with a much larger expression: “seventy times seven.”

In Hebrew thought, numbers were not mathematical as they are today. They were symbolic. “Seventy times seven” does not mean counting 490 offenses, but breaking with the logic of limited revenge. In the ancient world, it was believed that one could take revenge only to a certain extent. Jesus turns that logic on its head and proposes something radical: to break the cycle of damage.

Forgiveness is not pretending that nothing happened

The Greek word translated “forgive” is aphiemi, which literally means to let go, to release, to let go of a debt. It does not mean minimizing what happened or acting as if nothing had happened. Nor does it mean exposing yourself to the same damage again.

To forgive is to take the weight that someone else left you out of your interior. It is deciding not to live tied to a wound anymore. It is not justifying the one who hurt you, it is freeing yourself from the emotional poison that remained inside you.

Jesus never promoted abuse

A detail that many ignore is that, in that same chapter, Jesus also speaks of confronting, setting limits and taking distance when someone does not change. Forgiveness does not eliminate consequences. Forgiving does not force us to reconcile or to remain close to those who continue to hurt.

Forgiveness is an interior act. Boundaries are an act of dignity.

Forgiveness is a spiritual rupture

When Jesus spoke of forgiving without limit, He was teaching how to break inner chains. The person who lives trapped in resentment remains attached to the aggressor, even if he is no longer present. Forgiveness cuts that invisible bond.

It does not release the culprit. It frees the one who suffered.

That is why this teaching is uncomfortable for systems that use guilt and fear to control. A truly free person is no longer manipulable.

Tips and recommendations

• Forgive for your emotional health, not out of obligation. Forgiveness is a personal decision, not a moral imposition.
• Set clear boundaries. You can forgive and at the same time distance yourself from those who hurt you.
• Do not confuse forgiveness with reconciliation. Not everyone deserves to re-enter your life.
• Validate your pain. Forgiveness does not mean denying what you suffered. Acknowledging it is part of healing.
• Do it at your own pace. True forgiveness is not forced; It’s born when you’re ready.

To forgive is not to give up or accept injustice. It is to refuse to live as a prisoner of the past. When you let go of resentment, you regain your power, your peace, and your inner freedom. And that, more than any punishment, is the real victory.

👉 Follow our page, like 👍, and share this post. Every click can make a difference—perhaps saving your own life or that of a loved one.