Lord, how many times could my brother (or sister) sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times? Matt 18:21 (HCSB)
Forgiveness – Parables Series 3 – Part 1
(Go to Parable Series 1 or Parable Series 2)
In August, we began writing about Parables. We've looked at The Good Samaritan, The Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Series 1), The Parable of the Sower, and The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price (Series 2). If you haven’t yet, I encourage you to read the devotion posted on the 2nd of October… it’s a study on the function of parables, and it may help you dig a bit more into them than usual.
In the ancient world, stories were how people groups communicated their beliefs and convictions, discussed politics and religion, and how they circulated new ideas and age-old wisdom. Parables and stories were of high value to all. In “Short Stories by Jesus” Amy-Jill Levine writes: “Jesus told parables because they serve… as keys that can unlock the mysteries we face by helping us ask the right questions: how to live in community; how to determine what ultimately matters; how to live the life that God wants us to live. They are Jesus’s way of teaching, and they are remembered to this day not simply because they are in the Christian canon, but because they continue to provoke, challenge, and inspire.”
In Matthew 18, Peter asks a loaded question that leads Jesus to tell the Parable of the Unjust Servant. I think it’s a question we all ask without realizing it. And it’s a question that digs deep and raw into our hearts. On one hand, we are desperate to ask it for our own sakes, and on the other hand, we loath the answer and would rather not ask the question at all.
“Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how many times could my brother (or sister) sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” (Matt 18:21)
Now we can pretend that Peter was being curious, that he was thinking and dreaming, and as the soft, warm breeze ruffled his hair and brought the sweet smell of spring blossoms to his nose, he asked whimsically, “How many times I should forgive someone, I mean, if I’m ever in a situation where forgiveness were needed, even, perhaps, multiple times.”
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
Peter didn't just have a random thought. Forgiveness is something that we ALL face, on either side of it, all through our lives. From beginning to end. Everyone, no matter what religion, country, career, upbringing, lifestyle, education, wealth, and every other category you can think of, no matter which ones we fit into, the tension of forgiveness is universal.
Peter was asking the question, because, like us all, the notion of both receiving and giving forgiveness is a messy, complicated, and heart-tugging conversation. It’s not clean cut. It’s not black and white. And it’s not easy. At the heart of our humanity, forgiveness, mercy, and compassion, or the lack thereof, are some of the most powerful and life-changing, history-making forces and ideas that a person can take part in.
It’s a local and global community game changer.
In his question, I can hear Peter's heart aching; perhaps over those that had hurt him, and even more so over those he had wounded. Shame, loss, heartache, confusion… all emotions tied to heart and soul debt.
Is there a limit? Is there a limit to the number of times we will be hurt? Is there a limit to the number of times we are to show mercy and forgive? Is there a limit to the number of times we will intentionally or unintentionally be the source of someone else's pain? Will it ever end?
And to that question, Jesus tells a story that reflects a much older one about two brothers, a stolen birthright, a wedding disaster (make that two…) a midnight wrestle with God, and finally, reconciliation.
Go to Part 2 – Esau and the Wrestle
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