We Are to Forgive Others Because…

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them. (Luke 23:34 KJV)

The Gospels describe Jesus being whipped, beaten, and then nailed to a cross. As He hung there, waiting to die, some of His last words were “Father, forgive them.” Forgiveness was His response to an unjust trial, being lashed by a whip with weighted strands that lacerated the skin, inflicting unimaginable pain, having spikes hammered through His hands and feet, and being left to die on the cross in agony. While on the one hand, His reaction is very surprising, it also makes perfect sense when we read what Jesus taught about forgiveness throughout His ministry. He not only taught it—He embodied it, both in His life and His death. He practiced what He preached.

Jesus’ forgiveness reflected His Father’s forgiveness. In the Old Testament, when God revealed Himself to Moses, He said of Himself, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” (Exodus 34:6-7) God was saying that forgiveness is one of His divine attributes, that it is rooted in His character. This point is made throughout the Old Testament, for example: “But thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness.” (Nehemiah 9:17)

When we forgive others for things they have done to us, this reflects our understanding of divine forgiveness. We are to forgive others because we have been forgiven. Jesus died so that our sins could be forgiven, and we are called to forgive others when they sin against us or wrong us. —Peter Amsterdam [1]

You may feel that what you’ve suffered is unpardonable, beyond forgiveness, but God can lift that burden and give you a change of heart. The miracle-working love of God is love enough to forgive—and to help you forgive. —Gabriel Sarmiento

[1] Activated The Call to Forgive