03/10
Jesus Modeled It
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
Luke 23:34
While Jesus hung on the cross, near death, he said the words in this passage. Did Jesus have to say these words out loud? The obvious answer is, “No. He could have whispered them under his breath or spoke them in his heart. God would have heard him. So why did Jesus speak these words in a way that could be heard by anyone near him? The answer is that the words Jesus spoke on the cross would later be recorded on scrolls and repeated millions of times. Jesus' words were written down so that for generations, we could read them, learn from them, and hopefully follow them. Jesus was modeling behavior on the cross that he wanted his followers to imitate. All but one of Jesus' disciples would die horrible and brutal deaths at the hands of the Romans. Jesus knew this would happen even while hanging on the cross. He knew that tens of thousands of early Christians would be murdered by the sword, burned alive, or fed to the lions while people laughed and cheered.
Jesus knew this horrible persecution would soon be a reality for the early church. Therefore, he modeled and led by example the response that those of us who call ourselves his followers should hold in our hearts. Jesus' response held no bitterness or cursing. There was no outburst of anger. He did not hold a grudge nor did he promise any sort of revenge. On the contrary, Jesus chose to forgive those who were in no way apologetic or sorry for what they had done. While Jesus appealed to God to forgive those who wronged him, some of those very same people laughed and gambled over who would walk away with his clothing.
It is one thing to offer forgiveness to someone who has wronged you unintentionally, or to someone who is sorry and asks for your forgiveness because they realize what they did was wrong and hurtful. It's entirely something else, and much more difficult, to forgive someone who hasn't asked for forgiveness, who maintains that they did nothing wrong, or treats the offense as nothing serious. Jesus has modeled for us that we are to forgive in both circumstances; whether our forgiveness has been asked for from a contrite heart, or even if regret and repentance are the furthest things from that person's mind. Jesus not only tells us or commands us to do this, He shows us.
Luke 23:34
While Jesus hung on the cross, near death, he said the words in this passage. Did Jesus have to say these words out loud? The obvious answer is, “No. He could have whispered them under his breath or spoke them in his heart. God would have heard him. So why did Jesus speak these words in a way that could be heard by anyone near him? The answer is that the words Jesus spoke on the cross would later be recorded on scrolls and repeated millions of times. Jesus' words were written down so that for generations, we could read them, learn from them, and hopefully follow them. Jesus was modeling behavior on the cross that he wanted his followers to imitate. All but one of Jesus' disciples would die horrible and brutal deaths at the hands of the Romans. Jesus knew this would happen even while hanging on the cross. He knew that tens of thousands of early Christians would be murdered by the sword, burned alive, or fed to the lions while people laughed and cheered.
Jesus knew this horrible persecution would soon be a reality for the early church. Therefore, he modeled and led by example the response that those of us who call ourselves his followers should hold in our hearts. Jesus' response held no bitterness or cursing. There was no outburst of anger. He did not hold a grudge nor did he promise any sort of revenge. On the contrary, Jesus chose to forgive those who were in no way apologetic or sorry for what they had done. While Jesus appealed to God to forgive those who wronged him, some of those very same people laughed and gambled over who would walk away with his clothing.
It is one thing to offer forgiveness to someone who has wronged you unintentionally, or to someone who is sorry and asks for your forgiveness because they realize what they did was wrong and hurtful. It's entirely something else, and much more difficult, to forgive someone who hasn't asked for forgiveness, who maintains that they did nothing wrong, or treats the offense as nothing serious. Jesus has modeled for us that we are to forgive in both circumstances; whether our forgiveness has been asked for from a contrite heart, or even if regret and repentance are the furthest things from that person's mind. Jesus not only tells us or commands us to do this, He shows us.
TODAY'S CHALLENGE
As we have read through this series so far, forgiveness is not an admission of wrongdoing that has been done or a condoning of actions, but rather a letting go of the need for revenge and a release of negative thoughts or actions towards a person or situation. When we live our lives in a posture of true Godly forgiveness, we find freedom.
Take time this week to write down a prayer to God about the situation or person you need to forgive and write a letter expressing your forgiveness towards them. Keep this letter for yourself, and commit to continually having a heart of forgiveness towards this person.
Take time this week to write down a prayer to God about the situation or person you need to forgive and write a letter expressing your forgiveness towards them. Keep this letter for yourself, and commit to continually having a heart of forgiveness towards this person.