“God anointed Jesus… with power” (Acts 10:38), and there must surely be no greater expression of that power than in forgiveness. And we humans have no greater need than to tap into that power. Real, active forgiveness is ours in Christ.
This is a forgiveness that includes forgetfulness, for the Psalms tell us that God buries our sins in the sea of His forgetfulness, never to be remembered any more. That’s forgiveness!
The record of a sick man will help us to see the forgiving power of Jesus Christ. A paralytic man was brought to Jesus by four of his friends (Matthew 9:1-8). Jesus saw their faith and said to the sick man, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” The religious crowd standing around considered this blasphemy, but Jesus boldly declared that the sick man would be healed to demonstrate “that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins” (verse 6). And the man was healed, and the crowd “glorified God, Who had given such power unto men” (verse 8). In His earth walk, Jesus expressed the power of forgiveness and He has not changed.
Another record, that of a sinning woman, will also help us. When Jesus was having a meal at the house of Simon, a Pharisee, a woman came into the room with an expensive box of ointment. As she cried, her tears fell on His feet and she wiped them with her hair and anointed His feet with the ointment (Luke 7:37). Simon knew the woman, who had the reputation in the city of being a sinner, and thought that if Jesus were a prophet He would know that a sinner was touching Him.
Jesus took the opportunity to teach Simon a lesson on human dignity. He said to Simon, “Seest thou this woman?” (verse 44). Jesus saw her as forgiven; Simon saw her as a sinner. Jesus saw her as what she could be when the forgiving power of Christ was applied; Simon saw her as what she had been. How do you see those around you?
In Eastern customs, kissing the feet of Jesus was an act of begging forgiveness. So Jesus told Simon, “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven…” and to the woman He said, “Your sins are forgiven”. Other guests at the dinner said, “Who is this that forgives sins also?” Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace”. Yes, the forgiving power of Christ is a powerful act that restores human dignity and self esteem, and gives the recipients a position in the family of God and a brand-new life in Christ. And that power is still available today. Have you felt it?
But what about the suffering saints? After we have become Christians, we still need the power of forgiveness. First we need to forgive ourselves — of our mistakes, our guilt, our human flaws, our resentments, our greed. Dr William Sadler, a psychiatrist, said: “The sincere acceptance of the principles and teachings of Christ with respect to the life of mental peace and joy, the life of unselfish thought and clean living, would at once wipe out more than half the difficulties, diseases, and sorrows of the human race.” In Shakespeare’s Macbeth we find the line: “Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased?” Christ can. He has forgiven us; let’s forgive ourselves.
As Christians we need to also forgive others — this is part of the Law of Compensation, as Emerson calls it. “Judge not, and you shall not be judged; condemn not, and you shall not be condemned; forgive, and you shall be forgiven; give, and it shall be given unto you…” (Luke 6:37-38). We need to forgive others their faults, their imperfections, their wrongs — real or imagined. Forgiving others enables us to get into the flow of God’s forgiving power.
The great truth is that “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8) — and that means that the forgiving power of Jesus Christ is just the same today. It’s yours for the asking. Go on, go ahead and ask!
It’s funny how when we think of power we often think of destructive force, like hurricanes or typhoons or governments. Israel was looking for its Messiah to be like this and completely missed the greatest power the world had ever seen in action—love! It was the detonator that brought healing and deliverance to men looking for solutions from the outside. God worked through his son to bring this power to bear on the inside of man where the work really needed to be done! And it’s no different today as we live in a world that looks for someone to fix everything outside themselves. But the love of Jesus Christ works on the inside—on the heart. We are the powerful lovers in this world today, surgeons on the hearts of men and women with the tool of love, reaching out to those steeped in guilt and condemnation. We carry the good news that the slate has been wiped clean and the way to God’s heart open. What a great privilege to demonstrate this by demonstrating his forgiveness!