Scripture Reading
Our focus today is on forgiveness — what Jesus said about it and how He modeled it.
From the cross, in Luke 23:34, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
And in Matthew 6:14–15, He said, “If you forgive others when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”
Forgiveness is one of the most talked-about things Jesus ever taught — and yet one of the most misunderstood.
Why Forgiveness Is So Hard
Unforgiveness is the poison we drink, hoping it will kill someone else — but it never does. It only poisons us. It hardens our hearts, clouds our thoughts, and distances us from the God who has already forgiven us so much more than we can comprehend.
Forgiveness doesn’t mean pretending something didn’t happen. It doesn’t mean “it’s fine,” because it’s not fine. It doesn’t mean “no worries,” because some things do hurt deeply. And it doesn’t mean “we’re all good” when a relationship has truly been broken.
Forgiveness doesn’t erase what happened — it just refuses to let the past poison our present.
Illustration: The Speeding Ticket
Let me tell you a story. Years ago, when my son was still in a car seat, I got pulled over. I looked in the rearview mirror, saw those flashing lights, and heard my wife say, “Are we caught?” And from the back seat came a little preschool voice: “Daddy, not again.”
The officer came to the window, and he was not impressed. He let me have it — told me what I could have done to my family, how I was endangering lives. He could have fined me, maybe even worse. But instead, he gave me mercy — less than I deserved.
Now imagine if he’d gone a step further — escorted me safely to where I was going, handed me a hundred dollars for dinner, told me to slow down, and blessed me on my way. That would’ve been grace — more than I deserved.
That’s what God does for us. Forgiveness requires grace. And grace is always more than we deserve.
Grace Received
Forgiveness starts with God’s grace flowing downward. On the cross, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them.” He wasn’t just talking about those who nailed Him there. He was talking about us.
We don’t even fully understand our sin. We don’t grasp how much it grieves the heart of God when we go our own way, slam the door, and say, “I know better.”
Our sin isn’t just breaking rules — it breaks God’s heart. And yet Jesus took that hurt, absorbed the pain, and chose forgiveness. He removed our sin “as far as the east is from the west.”
Romans 5:8 says, “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
That’s grace received — God giving us more than we deserve, even when we were at our worst.
Grace Believed
The second flow of grace is inward — grace believed.
Some people struggle to believe they need forgiveness. Others struggle to believe they can actually be forgiven. The longest distance in the world is often between the head and the heart — knowing about grace but not feeling it.
We replay our past like it’s not covered by the cross, as if the blood of Jesus wasn’t enough. But it is.
In John 8:11, Jesus told the woman caught in adultery, “Neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin.”
He didn’t say, “Try harder next time.” He said, “You’re free now. Go live like it.”
Romans 8:1 reminds us, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
If you’re in Christ, you are forgiven — fully and finally.
Grace believed brings peace restored.
Grace Extended
Finally, grace must move outward. Forgiveness is grace on the move — grace in motion.
Jesus said in Luke 6:37, “Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
That’s easy when someone bumps your cart at Costco — but what about the deeper wounds?
In Matthew 6, Jesus said, “If you forgive others, your Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
That sounds conditional, but it’s not about salvation — it’s about relationship. Jesus wasn’t teaching how to get saved; He was teaching how to stay close to Him.
Unforgiveness doesn’t make God turn away from you — it just makes it hard for you to feel close to Him. It’s like a blockage in the flow of grace.
Refusing to forgive doesn’t mean God stops loving you. It means you stop living in the fullness of His love.
When you release others, you release yourself.
Letting Grace Flow Again
So where might the flow of grace be blocked in your life?
Maybe it’s downward — you struggle to believe God could really forgive you.
Maybe it’s inward — you know the truth but can’t feel it in your heart.
Or maybe it’s outward — someone has wronged you, and you can’t let it go.
Forgiveness doesn’t always mean reconciliation. Sometimes a healthy boundary is necessary. But forgiveness always means releasing the other person from your judgment — just as God has released you.
Forgiveness doesn’t make light of sin — it makes much of grace.
