February 11 - Forgive Like Jesus

You’re listening to OKY. The place where we discuss what we believe and why we believe it to be true! This week we started a quick series on the life of Jesus. Today we will continue that as we jump into more of Mark starting in chapter 2.

 

But first, let me ask you a question. . . 

 

Have you ever had someone in your life who was hard to forgive? 

 

Someone that you just couldn’t let go of the hurt and pain they caused you. 

 

Listen to what Paul tells the people of Ephesus. He says in Ephesians 4:31-32, 

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” 

 

Think about those words for a second. 

 

Just as in Christ, God forgave you….

 

We didn’t deserve it. 

 

We were technically God’s enemies, having moved in a direction against him. 

 

Yet Jesus died for us. 

 

And then calls for us to forgive other too. . You know what the hardest part of forgiveness is? Feeling like we weren’t justified. When someone has wronged us, they deserve to pay for what they did. So when we hear of someone forgiving a person who deserves to be punished, we get angry FOR THEM. We don’t want to hear that someone has gotten away with something or that someone is being let off the hook when they deserve to pay a steep price.

 

Listen to what happened in Mark 2. 

 

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “son, your sins are forgiven.” 

 

Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 

 

Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying , “we have never seen anything like this!”

 

So there were two things in question here. First, who does Jesus think he is that he has the power to forgive someone of sins. That isn’t his place. But Jesus knew this was the thoughts that they were thinking. So he told them that he was doing this so that they would know he had the power to do such a thing.  . . 

 

But the second thing Jesus is actually addressing is this man’s right to deserve it. Think about this, the crowd was so big that there was no way to get in to see Jesus. So these guys climbed up, dug a whole through the roof, lowered the man down, and cut to the front of the line. I imagine people would have been annoyed with these guys. They were cutting and putting themselves before others.

Now I don’t know about you, but when I see someone cut me off, or if someone obviously doesn’t care how long I have been waiting or what I deserve, I want the worst for them. I will cut a bad driver right back off. I will yell at the person in a construction zone who drives up the shoulder and cuts into the front of the line in order to keep from waiting. . . 

 

So I don’t like it when others get something when they don’t deserve it. 

 

But Jesus. . . he stars by saying that his sins are forgiven. 

 

He doesn’t give him a lecture on waiting his turn. 

 

He doesn’t try to explain to others what this man’s needs are and justify why it’s ok for him to cut. He simply said. . . Your sins are forgiven. 

 

I think we like to hold onto others sins. We like the idea that we have something over them that makes us feel better about ourselves. We want to feel justified being valued and honored ahead of others. But Jesus jumps right to forgiveness. In fact, it’s the summary of his ministry on this earth. He brought forgiveness for all people. 

 

And he would ask you to do the same. 

 

Forgive those who offend you. 

 

Be gracious to those who you are annoyed with. 

 

After Jesus had died and rose again, he want to his disciples to empower them into the same ministry of reconciliation that he was about. We read these words of Jesus in John 20:21-23,

 

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

 

See, Jesus gave us the power to forgive those who do wrong against us. It’s part of bringing peace. We can choose to hold the sins and wrongs of others against them. But when we do this, it only leaves unforgiven hurts and pains. Or, we can be the people of God who were given the ministry of peace. And in this ministry, we can be like Jesus. Which if this is what we choose, will lead us to forgiveness. . . 

 

So who do you need to forgive today? Who has wronged you, disregarded your feelings, cut in and budged you out of something you deserved, or even just selfishly ignored you so they could receive their blessing? The challenge today, is to be like Jesus. Before any explanation, before any justification of their actions or your right to be angry. . . Forgive them. If we were this quick to forgive, think about how peaceful the world would be.. 

 

So forgive. 

 

And when you do, ,you are practicing the way - of Jesus. . . . . .