Jesus had just taught them the Lord’s prayer. He told them instead of babbling and saying many words, they should pray to God, remember who He is, and ask for help enough for today. Keep us from temptation and Satan and his designs.
But Jesus said some challenging things in this prayer.
Matthew 6:12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Everything else in this prayer is focused on God alone, but right here, there is a comparison: “as.” I am unsure I want God to forgive me only to the limit of how I have forgiven others.
He doubles down. Interestingly, He doesn’t double down on any of the other aspects of this example of how to pray. He goes on to emphasize forgiveness:
Matthew 6:14–15 14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
These are Jesus’ words. He communicates that forgiveness is conditional. This is very unsettling for me and many whom I have taught. I don’t know how to express in a short devotional all the teachings about God’s forgiveness in the scripture, but to put it simply, He forgives unconditionally those who come to Him because of the death and resurrection of His Son.
Well, if that is true, then how is it possible for me to come to Jesus and ask for His forgiveness? If I choose not to forgive others, I won’t be forgiven.
We are discovering that though salvation and forgiveness from God are things we can not earn, they require us to give up and trust Jesus with everything. Everything, including our grudges, grievances, and legitimate hurts from others.
Because God fully forgives us when we surrender to Him, we can also forgive others by drawing on His endless love and forgiveness. His forgiveness requires our confession and acknowledgment of sin. Similarly, God calls us to forgive others’ sins against us, leaving judgment to Him alone.
Only God has the right to judge and punish sin; even governmental authority comes from Him. When we refuse to forgive, we attempt to usurp God’s role, which is absurd. Yet, the deep hurts and injustices make forgiveness challenging unless we genuinely believe that He will deal with it and we can trust Him.
I think this is what Jesus is getting at; we must place our faith in God entirely. We need to trust Him with our whole lives. We need to trust Him to forgive us and trust Him with those we have been hurt by.
Jesus’ words may be unsettling, but they are what He said. He is asking us to trust Him and to forgive others.
Matthew 6:14–15 14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
