What Does "Forgiveness" Mean?
Forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. ~ Matthew 6:12, NLT
It had been a long, sleepless night for Jesus' friends. The misery of their heavy hearts was compounded by their fruitless efforts at fishing. Not only had their expectation of Jesus' governmental takeover been turned on its head, they had all fled the scene of His trial for fear of their lives. They now lacked purpose following his death. After all, what do you do when the career you've been preparing for seems to vanish? You go back to what you're familiar with – in this case, fishing.
In the morning, Jesus Himself appeared on shore, having started a crackling fire to prepare breakfast for them. Peter, who had vehemently denied that he knew Jesus during the trial a few nights before, was first to the campfire to see Jesus, who welcomed him to dine. After they had eaten, Peter and Jesus went for a walk. Three times, Jesus offered Peter a chance to repent by asking if he loved Him. Three times, Peter replied in the affirmative. Three times, Jesus pointed Peter to a new career path, a new high calling of ministering to others: taking care of Jesus' "sheep".
Reconciliation
Even after Peter betrayed Jesus, the Lord sought him out on the shore and prepared a meal. Jesus invited Peter into renewed relationship by graciously reaching out to him. Jesus chose to put aside Peter's egregious offense and offer him a place at the table.
Restoration
Even as Peter denied he even knew Jesus, Jesus considered him a friend. Their relationship was more important to Jesus than "being right"; Jesus had every reason to kick Peter to the curb, but He didn't. Instead, He pursued Peter, holding out the offer of friendship once again. Jesus made Himself vulnerable to Peter by risking love.
Redemption
Jesus took the ashes of broken relationship with Peter and created something more beautiful than before: a chance for a do-over and renewed life purpose. Though Peter didn't realize it, his denial of Jesus laid the groundwork for God's glory through forgiveness. The very man who had asked Jesus how many times a person should be forgiven experienced Jesus' love in a profound, life-changing way.
When Jesus Forgives Us
The above narrative from John 21 shows us how the Master Teacher, Jesus handles serious offenses against Himself at the hands of "friends". He seeks us out. He invites us to eat with Him. He offers us renewed closeness. He trusts.
It's heartwarming to think about how loved we are by Jesus, about how we stand forgiven in His sight. What's not so heartwarming is to think of how depraved we are, how deeply offensive our sin is. Even one sin is enough to separate us from fellowship with God, yet we are guilty of all sins that could ever be committed in either thought or deed.
Two-Way Forgiveness
Jesus addresses forgiveness in answer to Peter's question in Matthew 18:21-35. He equates our sin toward God as a very large, unpayable debt. One would think that a freely pardoned person who "got his life back" through forgiveness would be magnanimous toward someone who owed little; however, Jesus reveals our true nature by pointing out that we are more likely to hold others' sins against them than we are to take our much larger offenses against God seriously. If we are to find forgiveness with God, we are under obligation to forgive others' sins against us.
The Devastating Effects of Sin
Our sin separates us from relationship with God. Though we are never discarded as His children, our closeness is interrupted by our own sin. Soren Kierkegaard (a preeminent 19th century Christian philosopher) explains in his book, Works of Love: when God forgives us, He removes our sin by putting it behind Him. In other words, whereas our sin had been between us and God, now God is facing us.
Jesus Himself "became sin for us", interposing Himself to restore our relationship with God. Since Jesus died on the cross, those who have received Him are already forgiven: past, present, and future.
When We Forgive Others
We can't walk this planet without being hurt, or without hurting others – it's part of life in a fallen, sinful world. We constantly need to look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith for help in owning our sin and in extending grace to those who sin against us. Forgiveness may be explained several ways:
Forgiveness is NOT contingent on the repentance of the person who sinned against you, else you would wait a lifetime or more for a resolution that will never come.
Forgiveness does NOT mean forgetting. God doesn't forget our sins; He chooses not to remember.
Forgiveness does NOT mean trust is immediately restored. Trust may take time to earn back.
Forgiveness does NOT mean that we are to place ourselves at risk with a relationally unsafe person.
What Forgiveness Looks Like
Forgiveness looks like peace and freedom. We forgive and move on because we have experienced God's forgiveness. We don't hold other people's past sins over their heads; we extend the same grace to them that we would want them to extend to us. We take responsibility for our own faults, freely acknowledging our shortcomings and living in authenticity. We are forgiven, therefore, we forgive.
Forgiveness looks like Jesus, cooking breakfast on the shore and calling to the friends who abandoned him days before. He's offering them a place at His table. He's welcoming them into His fellowship once more. He's giving them ministry opportunities that grow directly out of their relationship with Him.
Father, keep us close to you so that we hear your voice of forgiveness toward us, and understand how we are to forgive others. May we keep constant in our minds the love and example of Christ. Help us to do what we are powerless to do: submit offenses to You so that we live in obedience, faith, and freedom. Amen.
Book recommendation: Unoffendable by Brant Hansen
Click HERE to get free weekly articles in your inbox. Your information will never be shared.
©2023 Julianne Knapp. First published 2.28.23
It had been a long, sleepless night for Jesus' friends. The misery of their heavy hearts was compounded by their fruitless efforts at fishing. Not only had their expectation of Jesus' governmental takeover been turned on its head, they had all fled the scene of His trial for fear of their lives. They now lacked purpose following his death. After all, what do you do when the career you've been preparing for seems to vanish? You go back to what you're familiar with – in this case, fishing.
In the morning, Jesus Himself appeared on shore, having started a crackling fire to prepare breakfast for them. Peter, who had vehemently denied that he knew Jesus during the trial a few nights before, was first to the campfire to see Jesus, who welcomed him to dine. After they had eaten, Peter and Jesus went for a walk. Three times, Jesus offered Peter a chance to repent by asking if he loved Him. Three times, Peter replied in the affirmative. Three times, Jesus pointed Peter to a new career path, a new high calling of ministering to others: taking care of Jesus' "sheep".
Reconciliation
Even after Peter betrayed Jesus, the Lord sought him out on the shore and prepared a meal. Jesus invited Peter into renewed relationship by graciously reaching out to him. Jesus chose to put aside Peter's egregious offense and offer him a place at the table.
Restoration
Even as Peter denied he even knew Jesus, Jesus considered him a friend. Their relationship was more important to Jesus than "being right"; Jesus had every reason to kick Peter to the curb, but He didn't. Instead, He pursued Peter, holding out the offer of friendship once again. Jesus made Himself vulnerable to Peter by risking love.
Redemption
Jesus took the ashes of broken relationship with Peter and created something more beautiful than before: a chance for a do-over and renewed life purpose. Though Peter didn't realize it, his denial of Jesus laid the groundwork for God's glory through forgiveness. The very man who had asked Jesus how many times a person should be forgiven experienced Jesus' love in a profound, life-changing way.
When Jesus Forgives Us
The above narrative from John 21 shows us how the Master Teacher, Jesus handles serious offenses against Himself at the hands of "friends". He seeks us out. He invites us to eat with Him. He offers us renewed closeness. He trusts.
It's heartwarming to think about how loved we are by Jesus, about how we stand forgiven in His sight. What's not so heartwarming is to think of how depraved we are, how deeply offensive our sin is. Even one sin is enough to separate us from fellowship with God, yet we are guilty of all sins that could ever be committed in either thought or deed.
Two-Way Forgiveness
Jesus addresses forgiveness in answer to Peter's question in Matthew 18:21-35. He equates our sin toward God as a very large, unpayable debt. One would think that a freely pardoned person who "got his life back" through forgiveness would be magnanimous toward someone who owed little; however, Jesus reveals our true nature by pointing out that we are more likely to hold others' sins against them than we are to take our much larger offenses against God seriously. If we are to find forgiveness with God, we are under obligation to forgive others' sins against us.
The Devastating Effects of Sin
Our sin separates us from relationship with God. Though we are never discarded as His children, our closeness is interrupted by our own sin. Soren Kierkegaard (a preeminent 19th century Christian philosopher) explains in his book, Works of Love: when God forgives us, He removes our sin by putting it behind Him. In other words, whereas our sin had been between us and God, now God is facing us.
Jesus Himself "became sin for us", interposing Himself to restore our relationship with God. Since Jesus died on the cross, those who have received Him are already forgiven: past, present, and future.
When We Forgive Others
We can't walk this planet without being hurt, or without hurting others – it's part of life in a fallen, sinful world. We constantly need to look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith for help in owning our sin and in extending grace to those who sin against us. Forgiveness may be explained several ways:
- letting go of offenses so that bitterness does not settle into our hearts
- giving an offense to God so He can exercise whatever judgment is right
- enduring the effects of someone else's sin, but not holding it against them, as Christ did for us
Forgiveness is NOT contingent on the repentance of the person who sinned against you, else you would wait a lifetime or more for a resolution that will never come.
Forgiveness does NOT mean forgetting. God doesn't forget our sins; He chooses not to remember.
Forgiveness does NOT mean trust is immediately restored. Trust may take time to earn back.
Forgiveness does NOT mean that we are to place ourselves at risk with a relationally unsafe person.
What Forgiveness Looks Like
Forgiveness looks like peace and freedom. We forgive and move on because we have experienced God's forgiveness. We don't hold other people's past sins over their heads; we extend the same grace to them that we would want them to extend to us. We take responsibility for our own faults, freely acknowledging our shortcomings and living in authenticity. We are forgiven, therefore, we forgive.
Forgiveness looks like Jesus, cooking breakfast on the shore and calling to the friends who abandoned him days before. He's offering them a place at His table. He's welcoming them into His fellowship once more. He's giving them ministry opportunities that grow directly out of their relationship with Him.
Father, keep us close to you so that we hear your voice of forgiveness toward us, and understand how we are to forgive others. May we keep constant in our minds the love and example of Christ. Help us to do what we are powerless to do: submit offenses to You so that we live in obedience, faith, and freedom. Amen.
Book recommendation: Unoffendable by Brant Hansen
Click HERE to get free weekly articles in your inbox. Your information will never be shared.
©2023 Julianne Knapp. First published 2.28.23