Cross Currents Forgiving When You Can t Forgive Cross current: power to forgive the unforgivable Luke 23:26; 32-35 Pastor Kevin Syes March 9-10, 2013 Forgiveness. We love it and we hate it all at the same time. C.S Lewis said it this way: Forgiveness is a beautiful word until you have something to forgive. It s true, isn t it? We all love the idea of forgiveness. I can t hardly think of something more beautiful in all the earth than forgiveness really, but, wow, when we have to forgive its tough. It s really tough. And yet forgiveness is at the very heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It s at the heart of what we are called to do as Christians. Forgiveness is a refrain that is found throughout the Scriptures. We are going to look at this central idea of forgiveness today. But first, let s pray. PRAYER While I was reading for this sermon, I came across a website that allowed people to go online to post anonymous apologies. It was a place that allowed people to apologize to people that they might not be able to talk to any more, to people that it wasn t appropriate to talk to, and for some it was a place to apologize because they were not ready to tell the person face to face. Some of them were funny, like these Or this one posted via note on the fence a day after To all the people waiting for the bus I am sorry for throwing wood-chips over the fence. I did it because my friends were doing it and I wanted to copy them because it looked like fun. I am very sorry. Jackson Dear Mom and Dad. I am so sorry. Oh, but I love you anyway. Love, Anna Some of the apologies on this site were much more serious. This is just a taste of the kinds of things you would see on there. From adultery to abuse. From fast food workers spitting on food to dads who abandoned families. As I read these, it just reminded me of the overwhelming need there is out there for forgiveness. Without forgiveness in this world, there really is not much hope. I just look at all the need out there, all the pain, and the heaviness. Think about it: we can hardly go half a day without something happening we need to forgive or to be forgiven of, right? We all experience this in different ways in our lives. If you are married you know there are topics you just avoid like the plague. You know, that time your spouse backed their vehicle into yours in the drive way. That Thanksgiving dinner that turned into disaster. That argument you had with your in-laws. That time you forgot your kid at school.
And the odd thing is that we have this weird inclination to just bring these things up again and again. There is this twisted tendency we have to use hurtful memories in our past as ammunition against those we love. I think we do this because forgiveness is contrary to human nature. It s hard to forgive the person who soiled your name with a vicious rumor. It s hard to forgive your ex-spouse for that unwanted divorce. It s hard to forgive your friend who broke their promise and betrayed you. It s hard to forgive the person who abused you sexually as a helpless child. It s hard to forgive the teacher who was so cruel to you. It s hard to forgive the drunk driver that ruined your life. It s just hard to forgive. Isn t it? Despite how hard forgiveness is, deep in our hearts we know it s necessary. It s necessary because there is no other way to deal with the offenses that occur in life. Time moves faithfully in one single direction: forward. And as time moves forward we offend each other. We hurt each other. Sometimes its major, sometimes it s minor. But sadly it s just who we are; it s human nature. The Bible described this as our sin nature. We all have this intrinsic sense of what we ought to do and not do. And so often we just miss the mark. And because of this we all have these debts we owe to others and debts that are owed to us. These debts weight on us. Science has uncovered this now too, and the effects of this weight we carry are immense. I read some medical studies that indicate that up to 75% of physical sickness is caused by emotional problems. Guilt is one of the biggest problems we experience. David Seamands, an author and counselor said it this way: Many years ago I was driven to the conclusion that the major cause of most emotional problems among evangelical Christians are these: the failure to understand, receive, and live out God s unconditional forgiveness, and grace to other people. We read, we hear, we believe a good theology of grace. But that s not the way we live. The good news of the gospel has not penetrated the level of our emotions. David Seamands So, have you been hurt, abused, mistreated, or rejected in your life? Do you want to look at God s solution to the messiness of life? Then you have to go to the source of all true forgiveness, God himself, and look at Christ s example and teaching in Scripture. I want to start with the Lord s prayer in Matt 6 and this interesting seemingly innocent line in verse 12. Matt 6 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
This hits at the heart of what forgiveness is. It s releasing wrongdoers from the debt they owe us due to wrongdoing. Miroslav Volf in his book Free of Charge gives a beautifully succinct definition of forgiveness. To forgive is to give wrong doers the gift of not counting their wrong against them. And how well we do or do not do this, has major implications. New Testament scholar William Barclay called verse 12 the most dangerous petition in the Lord's Prayer. Because it s not just saying father forgive us and help us forgive others. No, it s really saying if you read this verse critically is: forgive us in the same way we forgive others. Whoa! This is scary when you think about it! Jesus thought this was so important that as soon as the prayer was finished, the very next line he says: 14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Jesus isn t saying here that we earn God s forgiveness by forgiving others. No, our forgiveness of others is a proof that we have understood our forgiveness in Jesus Christ. We judge others by the same scale we view ourselves. With that said, the single most important thing that will help us forgive others well is if we understand well our forgiveness in Christ and his example. And there is no stronger image or reminder of this than our verse for today. The boldest act of forgiveness this world has ever seen was Christ bloody, beaten, spit on, on the verge of death, on the cross. Luke 23: 32-35 32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 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. 34 Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. [c] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, He saved others; let him save himself if he is God s Messiah, the Chosen One. Jesus spoke some beautiful words while he walked this earth. Words of healing, of affirmation. Words of life. But few are as beautiful as this prayer on the cross. Father, forgive them. See, Jesus didn t just teach about forgiveness in the Lord s prayer, when he told Peter 70x7, in his parables. No, Jesus lived forgiveness. He showed it. Forgiveness isn t for the weak.
Forgiving is about the boldest, gutsiest, thing you can do in this life. It is the sign of a true man or woman of God. So, will you forgive? Forgiveness is a choice. It isn t a warm feeling we have for the person that wronged us. It doesn t excuse the action of the person, or say there should be no consequence. It doesn t mean pretending something never happened. No, its saying: you know, what happened was wrong, it hurt, and it may take years or a lifetime to forget and heal from, but I am committed to giving you the gift of grace and mercy and love despite what has been done to me. Thomas Watson described forgiveness in a commentary on the Lord s prayer written hundreds of years ago like this: Forgiveness is when we strive against all thoughts of revenge; when we will not do our enemy s mischief, but wish well to them, grieve at their calamities, pray for them, seek reconciliation with them, and show ourselves ready on all occasions to relieve them. (Thomas Watson, Body of Divinity, p. 581) Wow, that s hard to do. (Susanne McGuire shared her amazing testimony of forgiveness.) Friends, we want to be a church that doesn t just talk about the gospel, but lives it out. We want to be people that are about forgiveness about bold countercultural forgiveness that only makes sense when looked at through the lens of the cross. We want to show more concern with the sin of our offenders than the offense itself. And most of all, we want to reflect the grace we each have been given through Christ. You know, there is an old rabbinic story about God s grace, mercy, and forgiveness. It describes God at the very moment prior to setting out to create the world. In that moment God pauses, the old story goes, and looks into the future of creation. He sees the beauty, truth, goodness, the joy of the creatures. But he sees something else too. Being sovereign and all-knowing God also sees this seemingly never-ending stream of human misdeeds some small, some large, and some simply horrendous. A trail of cries, tears, and blood. And in this moment, God says If I give sinners their due, I will have to destroy the world I am about to create. Should I create this if only to destroy it? And because of this, the very existence of creation itself is a sign and proof of God s mercy and forgiveness. 1 Peter 1:20 says before the foundations and creation of the world, God chose Christ and knew what it would cost to forgive us. God knew the only way was to send his son to die on the cross. As we think about that image of Christ on the cross(just a simple cross is fine here I think the passion image can get distracting), and the words of forgiveness on his bloody lips at that moment, we are reminded that we have been forgiven so much. Because this is true, may we
live all our lives remembering the grace that was given to us. May we be quick to echo that supernatural forgiveness at every opportunity we get. And may we remember that no matter how hard what we must forgive is, nothing compares to Jesus saying father forgive them while on that cross.