Forgiving Those Who Don’t Get It

Forgiving Those Who Don’t Get It

You have heard the law that says, “Love your neighbor” and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:43-45

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”

Luke 23:34

The wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord.

1 Corinthians 2:7-8

When someone does something that hurts you, what is your first reaction? Do you want to hurt that person back? Do you want to make him or her pay, or at least make sure the person understands what he or she has done wrong? Most of us do. In fact, everything in us rebels against forgiving someone who just doesn’t get what he or she has done or simply is not sorry.

But Jesus proposed a radical way to respond to people who hurt us. He suggested that we pray for them. Jesus himself went beyond preaching this radical forgiveness. He lived it out at the lowest, hardest moment of his life—as he was being nailed to the cross. Hanging on the cross, he asked God the Father to forgive the people who didn’t get it when they rejected and killed their only source of salvation—the Son of God.

And for all the people who didn’t get it, the day is coming when they will. They will feel the pain of regret over their rejection of and hatred toward Jesus. Revelation 1:7 describes the scene: “Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him—even those who pierced him. And all the nations of the world will mourn for him.”

We don’t have enough love on our own to forgive like Jesus. But he can fill us with his love so that we, too, can forgive those who hurt us—even when they’re not sorry and don’t even get how they’ve hurt us.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

Does someone have to be sorry in order for you to be willing to forgive him or her?

When Jesus said, “They don’t know what they are doing,” what do you think he meant?

What does Jesus’ example tell us about how to respond to those who don’t deserve our forgiveness?