Sharing Love From Sweden - JESUS SHOWED THE WAY OF FORGIVENESS - Eva Haglund

JESUS SHOWED THE WAY OF FORGIVENESS

Eva Haglund

The Bible tell us not to be bitter to others but to forgive others. It is so easy to judge one another but we are not called to judge others. Bitterness does not lead to anything good. We just do not feel well ourselves by being bitter.  In Eph5:31 we read “ Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you.”

It can be easier to forgive when we think about that we have been forgiven OUR sins - when we received Jesus because He as a lamb without fault paid the price for us. Jesus wants us to show mercy to each other as He has shown mercy to us.  It does not mean we cannot say no and to admonish anybody. If people are bitter to anybody it sometimes can be followed by judging words being angry and gossip and a lot of wrong talking about this person can be the result. But Jesus taught us to show love and forgive.

Peter said in Matt.18:22, ”Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times? Jesus said to him, I do not say to you, up to seven times but up to seventy times seven.”

In Gen 37:23-24 we can see when Joseph's brothers treated him bad and cast him into a pit. Then he was sold by his own brothers to a foreign country as a slave. The brothers I think were jealous of Joseph and chose to sell him. This must have felt like a shock for Joseph to be sold to a foreign country as a slave leaving his home. Still Joseph forgave his brothers. In Gen 45:2 is written about him when his brothers came to Egypt and met him: “And he wept aloud and the Egyptians and the house of Farao heard it.”

We see here the love Joseph had for his brothers in spite of what they had done to him. He cried when he saw his brothers again. His heart was touched by his love for them when he saw them anyway.

In Matt 26:49 we read when Judah betrayed Jesus “Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying “Whomever I kiss, He is the one, seize Him. Immediately he went up to Jesus and said “Greetings,Rabbi!” and kissed him. But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” Judas treated Jesus bad and betrayed Him and gave Him a kiss to show who it was, who was Jesus.

Jesus could have been bitter to him having been betrayed by Judah, but he was not. Instead He called him friend and wanted to help him and admonishing him and we read the words in Luke 22.48 “ Judas are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” 

In Matt 5:43- 48 Jesus says “You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy” but I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do so?.” 

Here we see that Jesus wants us to forgive people, to love also our enemies. He tells us to bless them who curse us. He tells us to pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you and I have noticed that it can easier to forgive anybody if you begin to pray for the person who offended you.

In Acts 7:59 we read about when Stephen was stoned for his faith. “And they stoned Stephen and he was calling on God and saying “Lord, Jesus receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice ”Lord, do not charge them with this sin.”

In Isaiah 61:7 we see that the Bible tells us “Instead of your shame you will have double.” In Luke 6:21 Jesus says that “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.” Blessed are you when men hate you and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven."

Christians can be bad treated but the reward is then big in heaven. He tell us to rejoice then. We must not forget that we also can get spiritual attacks. In the the Bible are many words of comfort. In Isaiah 54:17 it is comforting to know “no weapon formed against you shall prosper,and every tongue which rises against you in judgement you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of Lord and their righteousness is from me.”

If we have been bad treated we can get comfort in the Word of God. In Isaiah 40:11 we find the words ”Comfort, comfort my people.” It is good to give comfort to people. Many need comfort. Jesus was very bad treated even before He was crucified. He met a lot of hate and rejection.  He knows what it can be to be abandoaned also by friends. Just before His big suffering His friends left and His close friend Peter denied Him three times. We read in Luke 22:60-62 that He was mocked and scourged, being very painful. In Isaiah 53 it is written that “He is despised and rejected by men.”

Jesus choose anyway to suffer because of His love for us. It can be easier to forgive when we think about how much Jesus loves us. He suffered so much for us. Jesus showed the way of forgiveness when He endured the deepest pain at Calvary, and yet saying in Luke 2:34 “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

I do not think we understand a drop in a sea of the pain Jesus carried at the cross. In this pain He choose to forgive and gave His life also for the soldiers who hated Him. Jesus really showed the way of forgiveness. To forgive is also showing love.

Jesus/Yeshua showed the greatest love to us.

Eva Haglund