Introduction
As followers of the Lord Jesus, we all know very well the Lord’s Prayer. In our family, we recite the Lord’s Prayer a few times throughout the day. Perhaps many of us memorize the Lord’s prayer and recite it regularly, but do we grasp entirely into our hearts the meaning of the Lord’s prayer and the importance of what we say when we pray this prayer, or do we just mechanically recite it?
Teachings About Forgiving Each Other
In the Gospels, the Lord Jesus teaches us, in many places, to forgive and love each other, including our enemies. In this section, we look at the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13, where the Lord Jesus teaches His disciples and us how to pray; the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:21-35; and we remember the Lord Jesus’ words of forgiveness while on the cross in Luke 23:33-34.
Matthew 6:9 Thus then you pray: Our Father in the heavens, Hallowed be Thy name.
Our prayer must start in this way. God the Father is the most important, the most Holy. Three in One, but the Father is the most Holy One. The Three, God the Father, the Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, cannot be separated, but the Father comes first.
10 Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, as in heaven, also upon earth.
“Thy kingdom come; …” This asks for the second coming of the Lord Jesus when He comes and rules on earth during the Millennial Kingdom; this really is the time when the Father’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil.
“For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.” Some manuscripts omit this part of the verse, but it should be considered part of the original Gospel.
Verse 12 of the Lord’s prayer tells us, “and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors,” which means that in our prayer, we are asking the Lord to forgive us sins towards Him in the same way as we forgive others doing wrong to us. This act of forgiveness on our part is crucial to understand, and the Lord Jesus further addressed this in the parable of the unforgiving servant, as found in Matthew 18:21-35.
Matthew 18:21 Then Peter, having come, said to Him, Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I will forgive him? Until seven times?
22 Jesus says to him, I say not to you, Until seven times; but, until seventy times seven!
The real meaning of the number here is that it is beyond our count; it means that we should never stop forgiving.
23 Because of this, the kingdom of the heavens has become like to a man, a king, who desired to settle accounts with his servants.
“Because of this, the kingdom of the heavens has become like ...” There are no specific words to describe the kingdom of the heavens. The Lord Jesus tells parables to make it easier for the listeners to understand. He presents two things to compare to each other.
Note that not everything in this parable has a symbolic meaning that can be linked with some activity during the judgment day.
24 Then he, having begun to settle, one was brought to him, a debtor of ten thousand talents.
This verse has a deeper meaning than what it appears. To owe that much to the Lord of heaven, the Father, the person must have lived the life unlawfully to God, and with a hardened heart, this servant ignored the voice of the Lord in his heart. The amount owed to the Lord increases when you ignore the voice of the Lord; this is called ignorance and rebellion towards God; with their mouth, they speak blasphemy, and with a disrespectful heart, they bring sorrow to their soul.
25 But he, having nothing to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and the wife, and the children, and all as many as he had, and payment to be made.
This verse shows the consequences of the servant's actions, the suffering of watching, and the pain he feels because all his deeds have brought suffering to his whole family. When the judgment day comes, his eyes will see the suffering of his family because of the way of life he lived and led his family. He led his whole family to live the same way as he did, and all will be punished in the same way. We need to note that the Lord does not judge the children for the sins of the parents unless they follow the same sinful life (See Ezekiel 18:20).
26 The servant, therefore, having fallen down, fell on his knee to him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay to you all.
27 Now the lord of that servant, having been moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
The servant did not ask for forgiveness, but he recognized the lord’s authority and begged for patience. He also promised to “repay all.” By this, the servant admitted his own faults and willingly accepted the punishment, asking only for patience. The lord forgave him the debt, but the consequences of his actions would still follow.
28 However, that servant, having gone out, found one of his fellow servants, who owed him a hundred denarii, and having seized him, he choked him, saying, Pay what you owe.
29 So, his fellow servant, having fallen down, begged him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay you.
30 But he was not willing; rather having gone, he threw him into prison, until he should pay that which was owing.
These verses show clearly how we humans are towards each other. The servant received forgiveness from his lord but did not show others the same forgiveness he received. We are the same way; we come asking for mercy and forgiveness from the Lord, but we do not do it to others.
31 Therefore, his fellow servants, having seen the things that were done, they were exceedingly grieved, and having come, told to their lord all that had taken place.
32 Then having called to him, his lord says to him, You evil servant, I forgave you all that debt, because you begged me;
33 did it not behoove you to have also shown mercy on your fellow servant, as I also had mercy on you?
When the Lord has shown mercy to you, because the Lord has great mercy to all humans, you should learn as well to show mercy to others.
34 And having been angry, his lord delivered him to the jailers until he should pay all that was owing.
35 Thus also My Heavenly Father will do to you, if you do not forgive each his brother from your hearts.
This parable, of course, has a profound meaning; we see the enormous debt the unforgiving servant had because of his indifference to the voice of the Lord and rebellion toward the Lord. However, regardless of who we are, we all owe so much to the Lord because, as the Bible tells us, no one is without sin (Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:8), and when we sin, the consequences of our sins impact our lives and our family lives. We should further note that this parable can be linked to the judgment day that will come upon humans; the principle presented will be applied at that time, and the parable applies to two kinds of Christians (true Christians and Christians in name) and the rest of the world. The Christians in name will be judged with the rest of the world on the judgment day, but the true Christians have been saved already; there will be no judgment on them at this time.
When reading this parable, one might ask themselves, how should I live my life on earth to make sure that I will be saved and escape the judgment day and be counted as a true follower of the Lord Jesus? In this parable, the Lord Jesus teaches us three important things. First, He teaches us that all things cannot happen unless the Lord of heaven, the Father, agrees; it is upon the Father’s decision to make things happen. Second, the Lord wants to see from us true humbleness and us begging for mercy from our hearts, and then He will offer us forgiveness. And third, the principle of mercy shown in this parable will be applied on the judgment day. Here, we need to note that when the Bible talks about the judgment day, it refers to an angel’s day length of time, not a human’s day length of time of twenty-four hours.
Furthermore, the last two verses, which refer to the judgment day events, are significant to understand. We all may want to know what is counted for to be judged and not judged on the judgment day. However, we must take notice that the Lord will always point to the heart (“if you do not forgive each his brother from your hearts”) and not to the mind or mouth; the heart is the first place to be used for judgment. We may not say what the heart thinks and believe so that we are not guilty, but for the Lord, the heart’s thoughts are louder than the mind’s thoughts. He can hear the thoughts of the heart. Therefore, for us to be safe, it is essential to believe truly in the Lord Jesus from our hearts, and this will lead us to the right place; those who believe in the Lord Jesus and follow the Lord’s teaching will have a place of waiting for the judgment day. True believers in the Lord Jesus will pass through their own judgment as well, but not at the same time as the nonbelievers.
The Lord Jesus addresses this parable to the disciples, but the principle of this parable applies to all people. We are all children of God; we are all created in His image. Some believe, and some do not believe in the God of the Bible, but to each one, the Lord gives in their heart the knowledge of God, the Creator of all things, and all will be judged for that knowledge of God in them (See Romans 1).
When we meditate on forgiveness, we should connect it with some of our personal experiences. Often, especially when we are tired, we lose patience with our children, spouses, and perhaps fellow believers or coworkers and become annoyed or even angry. For us as humans, it is tough to be good to each other and love each other from our hearts regardless of the situation. Still, our Lord Jesus paid the greatest sacrifice for us on the cross, and He was not angry with us even as He hung on that cruel cross; so, we should never forget His great sacrifice, and that sacrifice should motivate us to be good to one another. Whenever we are angry with our fellow believers or even with our coworkers, we should remember the crucifixion passage and the Lord’s statement while He was on the cross, which we can find in Luke 23:33-34:
Luke 23:33 And when they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left.
See Comments Matthew 27:33-38 and Comments Mark 15:22-28.
34 And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. Then dividing His garments, they cast lots.
See Comments Matthew 27:35 and Comments Mark 15:24.
“And Jesus said, Father, forgive them …” All believers should notice the loving heart of the beloved Son of God. Even in His most painful time in human form, even as the drops of blood are pouring down from His wounds, in His heart, and in His mind, all the Lord Jesus wants is for the Father to forgive them all because they have crucified all Three at this time. The Trinity of God has been crucified there on that cross.
“Then dividing His garments, they cast lots.” The greed of humans never ends, even for the garments of the dead one they cast lots to share, but as they shared the beloved Son of God’s garments, they all have shared the sin against God as well. As the verse says, they have shared His garments among them, and all who have part in this have equal sin as the one that has pierced the nails into His flesh, the unforgivable sin: they have shared part of it as they have cast lots upon His garments. One begotten Son the Father has, and He has been crucified. They follow orders, but when they share the garments, all responsibility for their own actions falls on them. Taking the garment off the Lord Jesus’ body has exposed the nakedness of His body and brought shame to the dead one, and that is no different from piercing the nails into His flesh. As believers, we know as well that the beloved Son of God has been crucified, but He has never truly died. When they have taken His garments off, it is considered to bring shame on Him because the beloved Son of God is always living. If you have disgraced Him in any way, you have done it to the Creator as well.
Conclusions
In conclusion, true forgiveness is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ and in the work of the cross. We cannot be good on our own; we need the Lord Jesus each day, and we need His help to give us a forgiving heart. Therefore, in every situation, we must pray and listen to the Holy Spirit’s voice in our hearts to be genuinely good to each other, truly love each other in the church and outside the church, and show compassion to all God’s children.
Meditation Tasks:
- Pray to the Lord to reveal to us where we need to forgive and allow Him to heal our hearts so that we may become compassionate and forgiving so we can be forgiven as well by Him.