Luke 23:32-34 says, “Two
others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.
33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they
crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.
34 And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’”
If Jesus can forgive
the men who had just mocked him, punched him, abused him, and now tortured him
I think we can forgive those who wrong us.
If we are children of God we have been given the same Holy Spirit that
filled Jesus and His disciples. The same
power that launched so great a forgiveness is ours in Jesus. So what stops us from forgiving? What causes us to hold grudges? Where in scripture is it stated that we stand
as higher judges than Jesus?
Paul writes in Ephesians
4:25-32, “25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you
speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer
steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that
he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting
talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits
the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not
grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of
redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and
slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Verse 27 warns us to
not give Satan an opportunity. As we
look at this passage we see things that can do just that: falsehood, sin
motivated by anger, holding onto anger (hate, grudge), stealing, destructive
speech, bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander, malice. It is good to check our motives from time to
time. Without careful attention to our
motives and thoughts these sins can creep in and give our enemy just the
opportunity he needs to bring destruction.
Verse 32 gives us the
solution to these sins and protection from the enemy. Be kind . . . even to those who have not earned
your kindness. Be loving, understanding,
and caring towards everyone, even those who are failing to do this for
you. FORGIVE! How?
We are to forgive in the same way that Jesus forgave us. This forgiveness is not based on merit, it is
not based on prior repentance, and it is only given by the power of the Holy
Spirit.
There was absolutely
nothing that Satan could do in the face of Jesus love and forgiveness. How aggravating it had to have been in Satan’s
moment of perceived triumph to hear such words spoken. Would you like to thwart the plans of the
enemy? Would you like to aggravate the
schemes of demons? Then live in the power
of the Spirit. Jesus didn’t taunt Satan
or the demons but instead loved the Father and gave Himself for us. If you love God, you have to let go of all of
your bitterness and anger and in tenderness forgive those who have wronged you. Without this forgiveness, there is no
victory.
This is the victory
that comes from the gospel of Jesus Christ.
There is forgiveness of sins.
There is hope for a better life . . . an eternal life. The life of Jesus has changed the world more
than any other event in history and it wasn’t because of a great war or
powerful philosophy . . . it was because of forgiveness.
