Luke 1:76-79
Zachariah's Song
76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.
Matthew 6:14-15
From the LORD's Prayer
14 "For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 "But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
Luke 5:17-26
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man
17 One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. 18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus.19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
21 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
22 Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”25 Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
Luke 7:36-50
Jesus Forgives the Sins of a Woman Anointing Him
36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,[c] and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head,but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Matthew 18:21-35
Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Jesus went to the cross and died for our sins...An innocent One, who died for us...He had not sinned, and He was Perfectly Innocent...Yet, He paid for my sins, with His life...An innocent One, paying for a guilty party's sin...And He took away my sin, when He died...He paid the ultimate price with His life for a guilty party and all other guilty parties sinning ways...He innocently died for the guilty...And through His death He forgave us of our past, present, and future sins...An Innocent dying for the guilty...And the cost of this forgiveness was His life on earth...
Can we forgive someone without paying a cost?...It seems that forgiveness comes with a price...Forgiveness is not free...Forgiveness is very personal...We often hear about what the cost of not forgiving someone, but there is a big cost in the actual act of the one doing the forgiveness...So forgiveness is hard...And it seems the deeper the offense and the more hurt to you, the deeper the cost you must pay to forgive the party that needs forgiven...And in a spiritual sense, we cannot hold on to God's forgiveness if we do not forgive...In the LORD's Prayer, we are told, "For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you..."But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions."...
In the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant, Jesus teaches us about this cost...A king was planning on forgiving a servant...This cost is to the king and was to be ten thousand bags of gold...It was quite a price the king would pay just to forgive his servant...When the king forgave this servant, he would lose all of this gold...A substantial loss, even for a king...Jesus teaches us that the Kingdom of God is like this king who wanted to settle his accounts with his servants...“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants...As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him...Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt...“At this the servant fell on his knees before him...‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’...The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go...“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins...He grabbed him and began to choke him...‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded...“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’...“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt...When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened...“Then the master called the servant in...‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to...Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’...In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed...“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”...There is Great Mercy and Grace in forgiving...
John the Baptist's father, Zachariah said that John would be a Messenger and Prophet for Jesus...He sung that the Son of the Most High would give His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins...Jesus had the authority to forgive other people of their sins, and He did this...One day when Jesus was teaching in a house, the friends of a paralyzed man came carrying their friend to Him so that he might heal him...When Jesus saw the faith of the friends, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”...The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this Fellow who speaks blasphemy?...Who can forgive sins but God alone?”...Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?...Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?...But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”...So He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”...Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God...Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God...They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”...Jesus had the authority from His Father to forgive sins, and was forgiving others even before His death on the cross...
When Jesus was eating at a home of a Pharisee named Simon, a sinning woman came in and anointed Him...Then He proceeded to tell Simon a story on forgiveness...“Simon, I have something to tell you.”...“Tell me, Teacher,” he said...“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender...One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty...Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both...Now which of them will love him more?”...Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”...“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said...Then He turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman?...I came into your house...You did not give Me any water for My feet, but she wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair...You did not give Me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing My feet...You did not put oil on My head, but she has poured perfume on My feet...Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown...But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”...Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”...The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”...Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”...
Jesus seemed almost casually to go around and forgive others...As it was in His nature and in His personality and attributes to do this -to be able to forgive...How can one go around just forgiving others of their past offenses and wrongdoings?...But this is what He did...Who does this sort of thing?...What sort of Man thinks this way and keeps in His thoughts about forgiving others of their old and past sins and their sinning ways?...The Pharisees were upset about Jesus forgiving others and thought, “Who is this Fellow who speaks blasphemy?...Who can forgive sins but God alone?” ...There is a great point here...No Man has ever went around forgiving people here and there for their wrongdoings...
When one finally decides to forgive one of the harm and injury they have caused to them, they have lost something...And this loss is that cost of forgiving...The one that has been injured is the one paying the cost, and the forgiver is willing to take that loss and that cost upon themselves...And most often it hurts and you can feel this sting, this hurt in your body...But the debt is paid by this forgiving act, the injury is forgotten (in the sense of needing to forgive the party again or over and over), and life moves on...Forgiveness is also about moving on...In forgiving, one no longer holds on to the hurt and losses caused by the one who hurt you...
Jesus teachings on complete forgiveness teaches us much about love...To be able to completely forgive another of their most tremendous hurt and pain, is a great showing of love...My sins caused Jesus to die on the cross...That is what sinning did to Him...Forgiveness in this sense, relates very much to the cross...He forgave us of our sins on the cross...And this forgiveness of mankind's sins, shows Unconditional LOVE...Forgiveness is love...One cannot forgive without having love involved in the act of forgiving another...This kind of forgiveness makes His statement to Simon, the Pharisee ring true..."Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown...But whoever has been forgiven little loves little."...Great LOVE, so greatly forgives...Complete LOVE, so completely forgives...