The Forgiveness of Jesus

   “He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him.  He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him.” (John 1: 10 – 11)

   Jesus was denied by those He came to save.  The Jews of His time were seeking a Messiah with worldly powers; one who would restore Israel to its’ former greatness.  They were not looking for a Messiah who would teach forgiveness of one’s enemies.  Since Jesus wasn’t their idea of what the Messiah should be they crucified Him.

   It’s easy to look back over two thousand years of Christian teaching and experience and place blame on the Jews who denied Jesus.  We are human, when something bad happens we usually look for someone to hold accountable.  For the death of Christ, the Jews of His time were easy to blame.

   I’d love to think we are different, but I fear we are very like the Jewish leadership who rejected Him and those he came to save who denied Him.  Sadly, we’ve not done a very good job of learning from their mistakes.  We still want the Messiah that suits our desires; the one who does what we think should be done.

   Jesus taught a very simple lesson of love and forgiveness; love for God; love for one another and forgiveness for all.  We, on the other hand, prefer punishment and retribution.  If someone harms us our first reaction is usually to seek to repay that wrong.  We forget the words of Jesus on the cross, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” (Luke 23: 34).  He could have had retribution for their sins against Him but chose forgiveness instead.

   If we are to accept Jesus, we too must choose forgiveness over vengeance.  We can’t pick and choose; we can’t love some and hate others; we can’t seek revenge when we are wronged.  We must forgive and love those who harm us just as Jesus did from the cross of our salvation.

   “If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.” (Matt 6: 14 – 15)