Should You Forgive? What Jesus Says About Forgiveness

Are you good at offering forgiveness?

While society says revenge is your only option, God tells us that if anyone slaps you once, invite them to hit you again (Matthew 5:39).

Crazy idea. Or is it?

God is the Good Judge. Eventually, He will judge everyone for everything they’ve ever done. That means judgment is not your job.

So what is?

Forgiveness.

Unconditional Forgiveness

The phrase “seventy times seven” usually referred to something everlasting or eternal. Basically, Jesus told Peter to keep forgiving, over and over. There should be no limit to forgiveness. No cap to grace. Only freedom.

Later in Matthew 18 after Jesus talks with Peter, He tells a parable. A servant had a large amount of debt, but the master had mercy on him and forgave the debt completely.

However, the servant turned around and threw another man into prison for not having the money to pay his debt.

The master discovered his servant’s wickedness and threw him into prison.

The lesson? We should forgive others simply because God, our master, forgave us. If we don’t, are we actually Christians (Ephesians 4:32)?

Radical Forgiveness

Forgiveness is weird to the world. We see things such as wanting our rivals to hurt like we did as normal.

But is revenge and bitterness the right way to glorify God? Is it obedience? Is it a reflection of His everlasting, unconditional love?

Forgiveness Equals Freedom

Forgiveness is not necessarily forgetfulness. It is love despite flaws, and compassion despite debts. It promises new life for both sides.

You can let go of the bitterness.

You can understand the other side.

But if you hold on to the hatred, you’re just as trapped as your enemy.

To Forgive or Not to Forgive

Even dying on the cross, Jesus begged His Father to forgive His killers (Luke 23:34).

He could have been angry about the torture. He could have hated those who hated Him. What did He gain from loving them?

Yet Jesus wanted them forgiven.

Have you been faced with the question of whether to forgive or not to forgive?

Have you ever wondered if it’s okay to take revenge? What about the eye for eye and tooth for tooth stuff (Leviticus 24:19–20)? If it’s so easy for Him, why can we not leave the forgiving to God?

It’s hard to forgive our persecutors. In some cases, it takes a miracle.

But, as you’ve probably guessed by now, it’s necessary (Matthew 6:14–15).

We must forgive. As children of God, we can’t hate our enemies.

Jesus wasn’t bitter as He hung on the cross.

Some of us like to hold anger with clenched fists, but it’s not worth the effort. Reflecting God means reflecting His forgiveness, too. Letting go of the bitterness and hatred can feel foreign at first, but guess what?

That’s worth a lot.