Jesus teaches about forgiving others

Jesus teaches about forgiving others - Luke 17:3-4 The forgiving father - Luke 15:11-31 Zacchaeus - Luke 19:1-10 Pharisee and Tax Collector - Luke 18:9-14 Jesus forgives a woman - Luke 7:36-50 The lost coin - Luke 15:8-10

The purpose of teaching the text: These stories demonstrate how challenging authentic forgiveness can be and how vital authentic forgiveness is to restoring right relationships. The number seven represents divine completion in the Bible, and therefore forgiveness needs to be limitless. In the story of the forgiving father, every character acts shamefully at some point, with actions that would be difficult for a Jewish audience to comprehend. In the story of Zacchaeus, we find a Jewish land-owner who would have been struggling to survive and pay his own taxes, so he finds an opportunity to get ahead by taking on the role of tax collector for the Romans. Zacchaeus is not a bad man, but a man who makes poor choices (as most people would do in such a context when opportunity arose) but who then shows genuine remorse and transformation. The text ends with a challenge for the Jewish community to forgive Zacchaeus, and whether they do is left unanswered.

Questions that may assist students to create meaning from the text:

• What can we learn about forgiveness from these stories?

• Is it easier to forgive or be forgiven? What does it look like / sound like / feel like to live in a respectful relationship?

• After exploring these stories, what evidence can you find of people not living respectful relationships? What were the consequences?

• If we used these texts to help us identify ways to live in our world today, what rules would you create to show how you believe that God wants people to live today?

• Why do you think these stories are important for people of faith today?

• How could we bring healing to people today, by our words and actions?

• How does the Church community use these stories today?