Forgiveness

-


Scripture: Matthew 18:21-22 (ESV)

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Devotion:

            In today’s reading Peter comes to Jesus with what seems like a reasonable question. But as usual Jesus blows Peter’s mind with his response. The Pharisee’s standard for forgiveness was seven times. They reasoned that seven being the number signifying completion would be a perfect number to limit their forgiveness. Jesus turns the customary number on its head. And challenges the prevailing wisdom at its very core.

            What Jesus was emphasizing here is that if God only forgave us seven time during our whole lives most of us would have exceeded that number very early in life. God is much more generous in forgiving our sins than what the rulers proposed to be the limit for forgiveness. To illustrate the point Jesus tells a parable.

            In the parable the king is demanding payment of the debts owed to him by his servants. One who owes a tremendous amount of money comes before the king and begs the king for time to repay. The king, being very generous, forgives the debt of the servant. Afterwards this same forgiven debtor comes across a man who owes him a small amount of money. When the servant cannot pay, he is thrown into debtors' prison until he can repay the debt. Word of this reaches the king and he calls the first servant back and imprisons him until he repays every penny owed.

            This is how God will deal with us in the matter of forgiveness. We each owe a debt to him we can never repay. Christ, however, pays all the debt on our behalf. We are free from debt, and we should rejoice in forgiving others for the small debts they owe us. Our sins which are many and serious can rejoice in our forgiveness. We are not to tally up other’s sins against us. When they come and repent full and free forgiveness must be offered. Just like to forgiveness we received from Christ.

            If this policy about forgiveness is overly generous. Remember that Jesus overlooked an eternity worth of sin on behalf of humankind. Instead of instituting the just punishment for our sin which would be death he gave us forgiveness and eternal life with him forever. Grace is such a marvelous reality in the life of the believer. In the words of Michael Card, “debts forgiven, slaves set free, Jesus is our Jubilee! Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcoming the Unwelcome

-
  Scripture: Luke 7:36-38 (NIV) 36  When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37  A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38  As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them. Devotion:             First of all, some warnings to my readers. This post will exceed the 500 words I try to limit my posts. Second, this post will contain content people may find offensive or otherwise unfit for print. Please understand that my purpose is neither to offend nor upset but to provoke thought and, hopefully, respectful dialog.             We will use Luke chapter seven as an aid to interpreting the events that occurred last Thursday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. On that da
Read more

Father Forgive Them

-
  Scripture: Luke 23:33-34 (ESV) 33  And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34  And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Devotion:             The situation Jesus finds himself in here in today’s scripture is difficult for us to even imagine. A sham trial, no credible accusations of any kind, let alone any deserving of death, and yet here he is. A brilliant Rabbi, a teacher of the people who never led even one person astray from God’s will. This Holy One of God soon to be food for vultures.             This man who had done nothing wrong had no one in all the crowds who would speak up in his defense lest they be next to face the cross. An innocent man hung between two scoundrels. No voice from heaven declaring that this was the man that they were killing was actually the true Son of God. (See Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5, John 12:28) No the heaven
Read more

Transgenderism letter

-
  This is a copy of my letter to my senators, representative, and President Biden. January 15, 2024 Dear President Biden, Senators T. Duckworth, R. Durbin, and Representative D. LaHood             I am writing to you because I am concerned about the situation affecting our children and grandchildren, namely transitioning them from one gender to another. This nation must adjust course concerning these “interventions” because they are dangerous, irreversible, and life-changing. Our country should not be permitting these procedures on minor children under any circumstances. We must also make sure that adults who seek this care are given informed consent as to the risks versus benefits of sex reassignment treatments.             There are many drawbacks to gender-affirming care for minors. Besides the loss of any ability to give or receive sexual pleasure and sterility these treatments cause, there are social and psychological effects that we have no way of identifying because these
Read more