(part 3 of “uncomplicated”)
Over the last several weeks, we have been dwelling on a story found in Luke 10. In the story, Mary and Martha are handling a situation differently. Martha is running around working hard and Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus. As we have looked at this story, we have pulled out a few different things that Jesus could be teaching us. One of them was a question, how do you fill up your bucket? We looked at what Mary and Martha could have had in their bucket and what Mary was adding to her bucket that Martha was not. We discovered that we need Jesus in our buckets. We also looked at how we can make our calendar work for us and not the other way around. In the story, we see Martha with all of the things that needed to be done on the calendar and she was working hard to get it all done. However, she was making room for what was important – her family, friends, and Jesus. We discovered that we need to make room on our calendars for the important things first and that everything else will fall into place.
In this post, we are going to be looking at something that doesn’t get brought out in the story. But with the way Martha acted toward Mary and Jesus you could understand that it took place. Even though it is not stated, Martha had to ask for forgiveness from her sister and Jesus for the way she had acted. If I had to pick where this forgiveness took place, I would say right after the words of Jesus in verse 42. I wonder if those words of Jesus got through to Martha and she realized what had happened and asked for forgiveness. Now I know we don’t know, but sometimes it good to wonder about things like this.
Forgiveness can be very complicated. But what if I said that it doesn’t have to be complicated at all. Let’s see what we can learn about forgiveness from another conversation that Jesus has with one of his disciples – Peter.
“Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” - Matthew 18:21-22 NKJV
Peter is trying to figure out how much forgiveness is too much. He figured that forgiving someone seven times would be more than enough. But Jesus quickly turns Peter’s thoughts of forgiveness upside down when He responds 490 times. Peter’s jaw probably hit the dirt after hearing this astronomical number that came for the mouth of Jesus. 490 times! Wow!
Peter probably even said to Jesus “You’re joking right?” or “You can’t be serious!” I can bet that Jesus just looked at his strong-willed disciple and said “Oh, you bet I’m serious! Just watch!”
But this got me to think that Jesus using such a crazy number to illustrate forgiveness wasn’t about the number - but the principle behind the number. Jesus doesn’t want us to forgive people a certain amount of times and then stop. He wants us to continually forgive people. When we have our eyes up and focused on how Jesus showed forgiveness, we can see that this is very true.
“Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’” - Luke 23:32-34a NIV
As Jesus hung on the cross and looked down at the mass of people that had gathered to see the crucifixion and said “Father, forgive them.” He looked down at the people - then who were friends, them who were foes, them who were family, them who knew him, and them who had no clue. Them who walked with him and them who didn’t. Them who murdered. Them who stole. Them who abused. Them who are addicted. People of all walks and ways of life were gathered at the foot of the cross to see Jesus crucified. And He still said - knowing all of this - “Father, forgive them.” There were no limits and no exceptions. Just forgiveness.
But when Jesus said those words from the cross, He wasn’t just looking at the crowd present before Him. He was looking ahead. He was looking to generations to come. “Father, forgive them” has broken the limits of time and is meant for ALL of us.
Jesus didn’t pick and choose who He would forgive then and He doesn’t now!
But we do. When it comes to forgiveness, we don’t always have our eyes up. We see and feel what they did and we feel like they don’t deserve it. But I have news for you - neither did you and neither did I. We don’t deserve the forgiveness of Jesus. But Jesus knew we needed it and sometimes people just need forgiveness.
But forgiveness doesn’t take the pain away. Forgiveness doesn’t take the memory away. Forgiveness doesn’t change what happened. Forgiveness doesn’t help the offender any. Forgiveness doesn’t mean that you are ok with what happened.
Forgiveness is for you.
The forgiveness that Jesus offers to everyone is FOR YOU.
Forgiveness that you offer to others is FOR YOU.
Jesus did not make forgiveness complicated. He didn’t make a list of people He would forgive and people He wasn’t going to forgive. But this is where we can make forgiveness complicated. We start to choose who we will forgive based on the level of hurt they have caused us. We then carry around with us and it begins to eat away at us and rot us from the inside out. Then soon what is on the inside will show on the outside. But remember forgiveness is for us and forgiving whatever was done to us, moving on, turning whatever it is over to God, and letting God take it from there is how we find freedom from the hurt.
But that is also where it gets complicated. If we forgive them for what they did to us, then that means that we are ok with what they did to us. No, not all! Jesus was not ok with what was done to him. Jesus forgave them and turned it over to God with the words “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34). Most of the people that Jesus forgave did not even know that He had forgiven them because they were too busy mocking Jesus and gambling over His clothes (Luke 23:34-36). When Jesus forgave all of those people there and all of the people for generations to come, He was showing us how uncomplicated forgiveness works.
If we follow the example of Jesus when it comes to forgiveness in our own lives, we will start to see forgiveness go from complicated to uncomplicated.
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” - Colossians 3:13 NIV
Opmerkingen