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Part three of three parts on Luke 17:1-19: Be Willing to Forgive
Luke 17:1-4, Matthew 18:6, Matthew 18:21
In verse one we hear strong words from Jesus. If you have ever been to Israel you might see a real millstone that was used to grind grain in the time that Jesus walked this earth. Don't think it is like a stone you toss on a lake to create ripples. Jesus is referring to a large circular rock that is turned by either a man, a donkey, or an ox. As you can read in Matthew 18:6, Jesus says here that any person who gives children a hard time or causes them to stumble might as well be thrown into the sea with a millstone around his neck. It is clear that as Christians, we are to do everything in our power to protect the innocent.
Going on to what I want to focus on today is in verses three and four. In your life people have hurt you either intentionally or unintentionally. The human response to this hurt is to be angry or upset with the person who caused you harm. The human response is to want to hurt back, right? Well, Jesus has another instruction for us and it is not what we think it should be or what we want to hear.
We don't know why Peter asked Jesus, "How many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?" Probably someone had done something or said something that had offended or hurt Peter and maybe this person had done this same thing to him in the past and Peter had forgiven the person. Now Peter might get permission from his teacher to go and perhaps get revenge.
Peter was in for a shock. In Matthew 18:21-35, Jesus tells a story to explain his teaching to Peter. The big idea is: we have to forgive every person every time they hurt us. Why? First, if you carry around the hurt it will do you deep emotional damage. It will turn into anger, bitterness, envy, strife and jealousy. Talk to a psychologist and they can probably give you a longer list of what happens to a person who carries in his or her heart the hurt that someone unleashed on them.
Second, Jesus forgives us. He forgives us all day and everyday. He tells us to confess our sins and he will forgive our sins. He even says that he forgets what we have confessed. We have a God who forgives and forgets. With this kind of God, how could we not forgive others when we are forgiven ourselves?
Isaiah 43:25 reports that God says, "I am the one who takes care of your sins -- that's what I do. I don't keep a list of your sins." Another translation of the same verse reads, "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more."
In Jeremiah 31:34 God promises to his faithful, "I'll wipe the slate clean for each of them. I'll forget they ever sinned!"
In Psalm 103:12 we read, "It is possible for the Lord to look at us without seeing our sins because when he forgave us, he removed our sins as far as the east is from the west." How far is the east from the west? Is it forever and a number we cannot calculate?
Finally today, look at Luke 23:32. Jesus is on the cross, suffering and shedding his blood for the final payment for every human sin. That was his plan all along. He came to earth to show us how to be our best selves then he had to die to cover us with his cleansing blood. If you don't know him personally, right now you are wondering why he would forgive you and open your life to be filled with all the good your creator imagined for you. He did it because he is love. He made you, he loves you and he longs for you to seek him. It is your choice to accept this love.
One of the last things Jesus said before he died was in prayer to his Father God that the people who were killing him should be forgiven because, "they know not what they do."
What if we used that prayer every time someone hurts us. Give the other person the benefit of the doubt. Say to yourself, I forgive this person because they do not know how much they are hurting me or someone I love. Luke 17:3-4 makes it clear that we can point out a fellow Christian's harmful action but we must forgive that person. We can even say to that person, you are hurting me. Please stop and let's go forward. Just as Jesus has forgiven me for the countless sins I commit every day, I forgive and forget.
If we look carefully at every word and every action of our Lord, we will see exactly how we are to live our lives.
