Saturday, March 24, 2012

The Power of Forgiveness

“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

I have referenced the passage above before, but it is such a powerful passage that we would all do well to consider it on a daily basis. For this reason I must postpone the consideration of law once again, for without forgiveness there would be no escape from the condemnation of the law.

First of all, I would like to draw your attention to the word “then.” This seems like a rather inconsequential word, but in fact it is of incredible importance because it indicates that Jesus said it AFTER something else. In this case it is after a lot of things, for Jesus said it as he was hanging upon the cross of Calvary.

The worst that man could do to the Son of God had all been done, save for the piercing of his side in John 19:34. In other words, all of man’s hatred and guile against the Lord Jesus Christ was reckoned as ignorance in that one statement by the “Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (Jn 1:29) As a result, not one person that has ever lived, before that time or since, is left ineligible to claim the atoning death of Christ for their own salvation.

For centuries much hatred and persecution has been heaped upon the Jews for a statement made to Pilate by the unruly crowd at Jesus’ mock trial. “Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.” (Mat 27:25) The Catholic church has a long history of persecuting the Jews, which they have justified based on that sentence the Jews pronounced upon themselves. Even many Reformers, most notably Martin Luther, held views of extreme anti-Semitism, and that vein of hatred continues in Christendom to this day.

However, that statement was also BEFORE the Lord’s declaration of forgiveness on the cross. In fact, it was primarily for the Jews’ benefit that he made that statement because they KNEW he was their Messiah, but rejected him. The gentiles, on the other hand, including the Roman soldiers, were not privy to that knowledge, and so they were truly ignorant of the true import of their actions.

As Christians, then, we have no right or means to hold the Jews responsible for the death of our Lord, for their sentence has been commuted in God’s eyes to manslaughter, for which there is a City of Refuge and pardon at the death of the high priest. (Num 35) The City of Refuge is a subject that I hope to explore at a later date, but in short, EVERY sinner—that is every man, woman and child upon the face of the earth—can claim God's forgiveness in accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour.

So just how big is the sinner’s offence against God? Just how much is he forgiven when he begs for mercy from Almighty God? The Lord himself illustrates it for us in Matthew 18: 23-35.

“Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.” (Mat 18:23-27)

How much is ten thousand talents exactly? Well, to put it in perspective, the annual budget of Herod at the time is estimated to have been 2000 talents at the most, and more likely closer to 1000 talents. That man’s debt was 10 times larger than the annual budget of Herod’s entire kingdom! However, even that is hard to conjure in our mind, so let’s convert ten thousand talents to today’s US currency.

A talent is generally accepted to have been 75 lbs, and there are 16 ounces in a pound. If we take today’s gold price of approximately $1650 per ounce, that translates to 19.81 BILLION dollars! That is an inconceivable debt for almost any man to pay, but let’s not forget that this man was a servant—a slave in other words—with no real source of income.

That is what we were! We were slaves to sin that owed an insurmountable debt of incredible magnitude to God with absolutely no means to pay so much as a penny against it! The only thing we can do is throw ourselves upon his mercy, and he will forgive us that debt.

You would think that a man that had been forgiven a debt of such magnitude would be the most magnanimous individual you would ever encounter. However, the subsequent actions of that servant exhibit nothing of the kind.

“But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.” (Mat 18:28-30)

If we are to understand the magnitude of this action, we must understand what 100 pence is. In US currency today it is approximately $16. What? He had his fellow servant thrown in prison for 16 bucks? A sentence, by the way, that was indefinite, for he had no way to pay a cent of it in prison!

To put it in perspective that would be like a Microsoft employee making such a monumental mistake that it cost the company 19.81 billion dollars, but Bill Gates forgave him that debt. In return, that employee went down the hall and had a fellow employee—one who had done nothing against him by the way—thrown in prison because he owed him lunch at Starbucks!

Absolutely unbelievable! Where is the guy’s perspective? Where is his gratitude? Who could possibly do something like that?

I can. You can. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we have been forgiven a debt that we could never pay in an eternity of judgment! Not only that, but the Lord has “raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Eph 2:6) And what do we do in return? We withhold forgiveness from our family, our friends, and our brethren in Christ. It doesn’t matter what it is—anything that anyone could do against us is so puny it is not even worth considering when held in the light of the debt that we have been forgiven!

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!

-Robert Robinson

Are you holding something against someone—anyone—today? Let it go! And forgive that person. Maybe you haven’t even talked to that individual in a very long time—there is no better time than right now. The other party may not repent, but you MUST extend the offer of forgiveness, just as my precious Saviour did upon the cross of Calvary when he died in my place.

If you do not, you will experience the same thing as the man in Matthew 18:34, for God will deliver you to the tormentors. If you are a true believer you will not lose your salvation, but God will not permit you the assurance of that. If you are holding an unforgiving spirit you have no right to call yourself a child of God, for “if a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (1 Jn 4:20)

Bitterness is the result of an unforgiving spirit, and it will destroy you. This is a solemn warning to all of us, and we MUST follow its admonition. “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.” (Heb 12:15)

-A.N. Scharf

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