Jesus talks about forgiveness as something radical, generous, and non‑optional for his followers. He links how we forgive others to how God forgives us, and he backs it up with his own example—especially on the cross.

Core teachings in Jesus’ words

  • In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.” This shows forgiveness is a condition of living in God’s grace, not just a nice extra.
  • In the Lord’s Prayer, he teaches people to pray, “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors,” tying God’s forgiveness of us to our forgiveness of others.

How often should we forgive?

  • When Peter asks, “How often must I forgive? As many as seven times?”, Jesus answers, “Not seven times but seventy‑seven times” (or “seventy times seven”), using a symbolic number to show forgiveness should be practically unlimited.
  • Jesus also teaches, “If your brother sins against you seven times in one day, and turns back to you seven times and says ‘I’m sorry,’ you must forgive him,” stressing repeated forgiveness when there is repentance.

Stories Jesus used about forgiveness

  • Jesus tells the parable of the unforgiving servant: a servant is forgiven a huge debt by his master but refuses to forgive a much smaller debt owed to him, and is judged for his hardness. This warns that those who receive mercy must show mercy.
  • He also uses stories like the lost sheep, lost coin, and especially the prodigal son to picture God’s joy in forgiving and welcoming back those who turn to him.

Jesus’ own example of forgiving

  • Jesus forgives individuals directly: the paralytic (“Your sins are forgiven”), the woman who weeps at his feet, and the woman caught in adultery whom he refuses to condemn, showing that forgiveness is personal and restorative.
  • On the cross, he prays, “Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing,” demonstrating forgiveness even toward those who are actively hurting him, which Christians see as the ultimate model.

Forgiveness, not denial of wrong

  • Jesus teaches forgiveness does not ignore sin; he tells disciples to confront a brother or sister who sins, aiming at restoration, not revenge.
  • In another passage, he says to rebuke a brother who sins and forgive if they repent, balancing honesty about harm with a readiness to let go of the debt when there is a change of heart.

TL;DR: When people ask “What does Jesus say about forgiveness?”, the answer is: forgive freely and repeatedly, don’t hold grudges, seek reconciliation where possible, and remember that the way you forgive others is deeply connected to how you receive God’s forgiveness.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.