The Power of Forgiveness

The Power of Forgiveness

Series: “The Gospel Truth”

Text: Luke 7:36-50; Matt 6:12-14

Introduction: (What?)

William Fergus Martin, in his book “Forgiveness is Power” said, “UN-forgiveness is the regular and ongoing maintenance of an old pain. If someone hits us with a stick and we then pick up the same stick and strike ourselves with it ten times, who has hurt us the most? It is obviously our own action that is hurting us the most. Yet that is what we do when we stay in a state of unforgiveness; we are hitting ourselves with our assailant’s stick – many times, often for years.”

Jesus said that forgiveness must be given in order to be received. Harboring a hurt of a grudge is sin, because we are commanded to forgive. The danger of refusing to forgive is spelled out in Heb 12:15 “Make sure that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and defiling many.” Your refusal to forgive doesn’t stop with you. It affects your relationships across the board. It sets a standard of behavior that moves in widening circles. The longer you hold on to a hurt, the more bitter you become and the longer you are estranged from God.

Examination: (Why?)

1. Much forgiveness=Much Love

Lk 7:36-43 “Then one of the Pharisees invited him to eat with him. He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. And a woman in the town who was a sinner found out that Jesus was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house. She brought an alabaster jar of perfume and stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to wash his feet with her tears. She wiped his feet with her hair, kissing them and anointing them with the perfume. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “This man, if he were a prophet, would know who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—she’s a sinner!” Jesus replied to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” He said, “Say it, teacher.” “A creditor had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Since they could not pay it back, he graciously forgave them both. So, which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one he forgave more.” “You have judged correctly,” he told him.”

Get the picture. (show on screen)Jesus, and other invited guests gather around a low table, and actually lie down with their legs and feet extended outward from the table. Often such dinners were open for spectators to drop by and view (but without interrupting). However, no one expected a prostitute known by everyone in town to pop in. She brought with her an alabaster jar of perfume. Alabaster is a granite like stone which was used in Solomon’s temple. The jar itself was expensive. It was filled with spikenard, an extremely expensive perfume. The jar had a long neck and was sealed so that the only way to get the perfume out was to break the jar. Once the neck of the jar was broken, there was not going back. The essence of the perfume came out and could not be re-sealed. Some believe that the jar of perfume was actually her dowry. It was the most expensive thing she had.

Her weeping, indicated her repentance. Her tears were falling on the feet of Jesus and she began to wipe them with her hair and to kiss them. Then she broke the jar and pour the contents on the feet of Jesus. The host, a Pharisee was deeply offended by her actions. Although he didn’t say anything aloud, Jesus, perceived his thoughts, and used the moment to use a parable to teach a lesson regarding forgiveness. Once Jesus told his story, He asked for a response. You can almost feel the reluctance of Simon’s reply, “I suppose the one he forgave more.” Jesus said…in our terms “Bingo!”

True repentance is born out of brokenness. Brokenness often comes when the one we have offended responds with love. That love evokes love from the repentant one. One reason that people become emotional at the point of their salvation is because they are overwhelmed at the undeserved love of Jesus. Tear-less repentance might well not be repentance at all. 2 Cor 7:10 “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly grief produces death.”

2. None Given; None Gained

Matt 6:12-14 “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. “For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well.”

“You go first!” That seems to be what Jesus was saying in he Model Prayer. It blows me away that my forgiveness from God is dependent on my forgiving those who have offended or hurt me. The Apologetics Study Bible says this about forgiveness. “It is an attitude that follows from recognition of the seriousness of our sin. A person with an unforgiving heart toward others shows that he/she does not take his own sin seriously and has not appropriated God’s forgiveness.”

In Mark 11:25 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your wrongdoing.”” Here Jesus reemphasized the need for us to take the first step of forgiveness. When we find “so that” in a passage, it is a call to action. If we harbor ill will against anyone, we may find that even our attempts of worship fall on God’s deaf ears.

Matt 5:23-24 “So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.”

The great Shantung revival in China in the 1930’s was sparked when two of the missionaries repented of hating one another. Forgiving those who have offended us is not just a nice thing to do, it is the catalyst for God’s forgiveness to flood our own lives. I have a prediction: If everyone in Faith Baptist Church truly forgave anyone else in the church of a wrong that is either real or perceived, revival would break out.

3. Common Courtesy

Lk 7:44-50 “Turning to the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she, with her tears, has washed my feet and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but she hasn’t stopped kissing my feet since I came in. You didn’t anoint my head with olive oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfume. Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that’s why she loved much. But the one who is forgiven little, loves little.” Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.””

Getting back to the scene in the house of the Pharisee Simon; Jesus called his attention to the very woman that Simon had just though evil of. Jesus pointed out that what she had done was more than just an act of contrition on he part. It was a demonstration of a common courtesy that Simon had completely ignored. It was traditional at this time for the feet of a guest to be washed when they entered the home of the host. Usually this was done by a servant of the host. The anointing of the head with olive oil was also traditional, and goes back to David in Psalms 23:5 “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” The idea behind anointing with oil is blessing. Numerous mentions in the Psalms. In the NT times this was a courtesy extended to honored guests. Failure to do so indicated that the host didn’t think very highly of his guest.

It is important to note that the actions of the woman, washing the feet of Jesus with her tears and wiping them with her hair and anointing His head with the most precious oil she had did not result in her forgiveness, but was an indication that she had already been forgiven. I wonder just how grateful we are for the forgiveness that has been extended to us by Christ. She didn’t just happen to show up. She knew that she had been forgiven. She knew that the One who had forgiven her was going to be in town and at Simon’s house that day. This was her first opportunity to demonstrate her love and gratitude, thus she took advantage of the opportunity.

Application: (How I’m going to apply this:)

Do you love much, as the woman did, or do you love little as the Pharisee did? Do you come to church because it is the thing to do or because you want to demonstrate your love for Jesus? Perhaps you, like Simon, have never surrendered to Christ. Today can be the day.

Are you harboring ill-will toward anyone in the Body of Christ or do you know of someone who has something against you? If so you may be the reason there is no revival. Do you need to “leave your gift at the altar” and seek reconciliation with your Christian brother or sister? Don’t just think about it…do it!