Forgive and Be Forgiven (Luke 23:32-38)
Gary McManus, 03/12/2017Part of the Mercy series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
March 12, 2017
Luke 23:32-38 (p. 1046 /p. 1059) March 12, 2017
[The Sunday before Saint Patrick’s Day.]
. . .familiar words from Jesus’ lips.
These are words from the cross for us.
Dying words for us to live by.
Remembering Romans 8:15:
The Spirit you received does not make you slaves,
so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit
you received brought about your adoption to sonship.
And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
Jesus invites us (through him) to call God, “Father.”
The Lord’s prayer. . .
ONE POINT IS VERY CLEAR IN JESUS PRAYER:
Our forgiveness FROM God is tied to OUR
forgiveness of our neighbor.
It is an unavoidable conclusion.
1. Jesus taught this prayer to us.
2. Only 2 petitions in the Lord’s prayer we
ask for something for ourselves. . .the daily bread
and the forgiveness.
That our forgiveness and our forgiving others is
tied together is seen in Jesus’ own story
[Matthew 18, See also the Sermon on the Mount,
Matthew 6:12-14.]
Jesus even gives the interpretation of the story.
(Matthew 18:35)
says
Focus on the words Jesus has the king say
in his story: . ‘You wicked servant,’ he said,
‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you
begged me to.
--the debt was huge
--too huge for the servant to pay back
(despite his words)
--the King forgives not in hope of repayment
but “because you begged me.”
--that is to be OUR sole motivation in forgiving
Have we considered our own indebtedness/
our own sins?
Do we think so lightly of our own sins?
Our sins are “easy” to forgive?
That isn’t what Jesus’ story suggests.
To forgive for no other reason than to have
mercy is a divine / spiritual/ godly thing to do.
Jesus said God can do it and God will help us do it.
[See James 2:13] Jesus said (Luke 6:36)
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
God will not remember our sins, maybe we should
remember our sins (the Apostle Paul did remember
his own sins).
“Father forgive. . .” Amen
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