Focus: We are incapable of forgiveness on our
own, but we are empowered by Him to forgive.
Function: That the hearers embrace God’s
forgiveness and let it become who they are.
Structure: Narrative
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the
Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
In college, I read a
story that captivated both my heart and my mind. I knew its theology was questionable, but I
wasn’t reading it for its theology. What
intrigued me was the intense, raw, and powerful emotions that the main
character was struggling with and how he encountered God, grace, and healing in
a way that I pray many of us never have to.
I can still remember how my stomach churned as I read how Mack’s six
year old daughter was abducted, and all that was found was her torn and blood
soaked dress in a rundown shack hidden in the woods. Mack became bitter, and he blamed God for all
that had happened.
A few months later,
Mack received a note in the mail. It said,
“Mackenzie, It’s been a while. I’ve
missed you. I’ll be at the shack next
weekend if you want to get together.
Papa.” As he read it, nausea rolled
over Mack like waves crashing upon the beach.
He thought someone must be playing a sick joke on him. You see, Papa was a nickname that his wife had
given God. Fear, anger, grief, anxiety,
and a whole flood of emotions came over Mack as he contemplated that note, but
in the end curiosity prevailed.
With much apprehension,
Mack made the long voyage out to that shack, not knowing what to expect when He
arrived. The shack was as just as he had
last seen it. Inside, he could still see
the blood stain in the floor boards from where his daughter once laid. Rage built inside. He began smashing everything in sight and
yelling at the God he believed wasn’t even listening. Finally exhaustion overcame him and he
slumped down against a wall and fell asleep.
When he awoke he headed back to his truck, kicking himself for coming in
the first place. Suddenly, a warm breeze
cut through the cold winter. He turned and
the shack had transformed into a cozy little cottage, and there standing in the
front door to greet him was God Himself.
What happened over
the next couple days was full of both joy and hardships. Mack felt his life being transformed and his
relationship with God renewed bit by bit.
God and Mack talked about all sorts of things, not only about the pain
and suffering he was currently going through, but also the wounds Mack suffered
as a kid that hindered his relationship with God. As they talked, Mack found the strength to
forgive the wounds of his past, and the more he forgave the more joy he felt
and the closer he felt to God.
As the weekend came
to a close, God took Mack on one last hike.
When they stopped to rest, God looked at Mack and said, “I want to take away
one more thing that darkens your heart…you already know what I want, don’t
you?” Mack knew alright. His emotions came to a boil as tears streamed
down his face. He opened his mouth to
speak, “God, how can I ever forgive the man who killed my Missy? If he were here today, I don’t know what I
would do. I know it’s isn’t right, but I
want to hurt him like he hurt me…if I can’t get justice, I still want revenge.”
This is often
how we respond when we’ve been wronged.
We ask, “How can I forgive those who have hurt me so badly?” Often, instead of forgiveness, we want to get
even. We want to inflict the same pain
that was given to us. Like Mack, we just
can’t forgive what has been done to us. How
could we just let it go? How can we forgive
those who have wronged us so badly? …Maybe
though…this is the wrong question we should be asking. Maybe this question comes from a
misunderstanding of what forgiveness truly means.
In our text
today, Peter comes to Jesus and asks Him a question that we ourselves frequently
want to know. “How often are we to forgive
those who have wronged us?” With this
question Peter throws out what considers a pretty generous offer. It is said that according to Jewish custom of
the time, you were only required to forgive someone three times before your obligation
was satisfied. Peter’s offer is more
than double that. Even so, Jesus does
not respond favorably to Peter’s offer. He
says, “I do not say seven times, but seventy times seven.” The point is clear: Jesus is telling us to not
keep a record of wrongs and is calling us to a forgiveness that never ends.
Many may think
this is an impossible task. Continual
forgiveness? We just don’t have it in us…or
is that the point. Jesus explains with a
parable declaring that the reign of God is like a king who wished to settle
accounts. One was brought before him who
owed ten thousand talents. That was more
money than all Rome was worth. This guy
was in deep, and there was no way he could ever pay it back. The king pronounced judgment upon him, and
ordered all his possessions, family, and even he himself to be sold so that the
king may recover something of the debt.
But the
servant fell upon his knees and begged the king to have patience with him,
insisting he would pay everything back.
Despite the ridiculous request, the king took pity on the man and
forgave him his debt in its entirety.
The man was released free and clear.
But when he went out he saw a fellow servant who owed him a hundred
denarii. Compared to his debt that could
not have been paid off in several life times, this fellow’s debt could have
been paid off in three to four months, yet he seized his fellow servant by the
throat and demanded repayment. When his
fellow servant pleaded in the same manner, he refused to show the same mercy he
had been given and threw the man in jail.
Distressed at
what they had witnessed, the other servants went and told the king. Thus the king summoned the man before him and
declared, “You wicked servant! I forgave
you all that debt because you pleaded with me.
And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy
on you?” And in his anger the king
delivered the man to the jailers until his impossible debt was paid. Jesus closes with telling His disciples, “So
also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your
brother from your heart.” So then, what
are we to do?
A few weeks
ago I preached over Paul’s words from Romans 11. I declared that there is nothing that you can
do to earn the gift of salvation. As
Paul says, “Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward
those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his
kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.”
As sinners, we are spiritually dead.
This means that we cannot forgive any more than we can to earn forgiveness,
for forgiveness brings life and as such it is only of the Spirit. The reason it seems impossible for us to forgive
is because it IS impossible for us to forgive.
The ONLY way forgiveness is possible is by living in the forgiveness
that we have received.
In His
parable, Jesus is shifting our focus from the wrong we have suffered at the
hands of others to the wrong that we have done with our very own hands towards
God. When we compare our actions to the
Law of God, we see our offenses stacking higher and higher, far outweighing anything
that has been done to us. We are
confronted with the harsh reality that we have nothing to offer and justly
deserve judgment and death. Recognizing
this we confess with Paul, “that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,
of whom I am the chief. But I received
mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display
his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for
eternal life.”
You see, when
Christ hung on the cross and paid the debt that we never could, He gave us life
and in doing so made us agents of that very same life. The life that He gives doesn’t just flow into
us. It flows THROUGH us. When we refuse to forgive, we are refusing the
life that Jesus has given to us. Just as
the man who refused to forgive his fellow servant, if we refuse to forgive
others we too will be cut off from the promise of salvation. Now…I want to make one thing clear, struggling to forgive is not the same as
refusing to forgive. Struggling is part of being both a saint and
a sinner. Your struggle comes from
yielding to the power of the Spirit as He works against your sinful flesh.
God told
Mack, “For you to forgive this man is for you to release him to me.” Each one of us was formed by the hands of God
and God desires the salvation of all. Yet
Mack struggled to forgive this man because he knew he could never forget what
this man did. God told Mack,
“Forgiveness is not about forgetting, it’s about letting go of another person’s
throat.” These same words ring true in
Christ’s parable. When the man saw his
fellow servant, he quite literally seized him by the throat. He resisted letting the mercy he received
flow through him, and by doing so brought condemnation down upon himself. We all struggle, but it is the outright
refusal to forgive that condemns us.
When we
refuse to forgive we resist the life giving water and let sin fester within our
heart until it becomes scabby and hardens not only against those who have
wronged us but ultimately against God Himself.
But when we yield to the Spirit and let go of the other person’s neck,
we allow the Spirit to kill our sin that is choking us.
Mack asked God,
“So is it alright if I’m still angry?” God
responded, “Absolutely! What he did was terrible. He caused incredible hurt and pain to
many. It was wrong, and anger is the
right response to something that is so wrong.
But don’t let the anger and pain and loss you feel prevent you from
forgiving him and removing your hands from around his neck.” Forgiveness isn’t easy. When we are hurt we experience a lot of
powerful emotions that make it feel as if forgiveness can never be
possible. It might take declaring that
forgiveness every day, but with each declaration the Spirit works in our heart
until one day we are finally healed and at peace.
So as
Christians we do not ask, “How can I forgive them,” but “Father, forgive them
for what they have done,” and “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those
who trespass against us,” for it is only through His forgiveness that we not
only have the power to forgive but are healed and find peace.
May the peace
of God which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ
Jesus. Amen.
