Forgiveness, Faith and Humility
Luke 17:1-10
Today’s passage is a curious
one. Some scholars have attempted
to describe it as a patchwork of quotations (there are similar sayings in the
other Gospels) taken from memory. The
context makes it clear, however, that these sayings are connected in this
instance. It is the connection
which gives this lesson its power.
(Luke 17:1-10 NIV) Jesus said
to his disciples: "Things that cause people to sin
are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come.
{2} It would be better for him to be thrown into the
sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these
little ones to sin. {3} So
watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents,
forgive him. {4} If
he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and
says, 'I repent,' forgive him."
{5} The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"
{6} He replied, "If you have faith as small as
a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in
the sea,' and it will obey you. {7}
"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or
looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the
field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'?
{8} Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get
yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and
drink'? {9} Would
he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?
{10} So you also, when you have done everything you
were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our
duty.'"
On Sin and Forgiveness
Almost casually Jesus tells his
disciples that things that cause people to sin are bound to come.
Western civilization has long pondered that point:
why is there evil in the world? After
all, God is omnipotent; He is also
righteous. Therefore He could
eliminate evil, right? And should,
right? So why doesn’t he?
The situation, alas, is a bit
more complicated than that. (For a
full discussion of the point, see C. S. Lewis’ classic work, The Problem of Pain). One
particular way in which it is complicated is by God’s decision to grant men
and angels a free will. He could
have made us robots – but robots are not human.
To be human means to have a free will – and that implies the
possibility of evil.
“Well,” says the sophist,
“that means that I’m off the hook! God
is responsible for this mess called evil, right?”
An old heresy (often compounded by saying that it causes grace to abound
more), but a heresy nonetheless. God
did not create evil any more than He created darkness when He created light.
Jesus makes it clear here that individual free will means individual
responsibility – the existence of evil is no excuse for the sinner.
The argument might be put this
way: look, traffic accidents are
bound to happen. Why, then, can’t
I drive down the street at a hundred miles an hour?
You can’t say for sure that I’m going to have an accident, right?
(The policeman’s response is, “tell it to the judge” – and it is
exactly parallel to Christ’s comment here).
Duty to my brother
Christ then outlines very
briefly my duty to my fellow man with regard to his sin against me.
This duty is amplified in Romans chapter 14, and the points therein are
worth summarizing:
-
·First (and this point does not appear in this passage directly) I am to
accept my brother without judging him. He thinks there are
holy days and saints? He drinks and I don’t? Fine,
let him. He stands and falls before his master, as do I.
-
·Next, I am to place no “stumbling block” (the original in the
Greek means a snare) in front of my brother. If he’s an alcoholic, I’m to offer him no booze.
Indeed, I am to be very strict about this – look at the better
alternative!
-
·If I do see my brother in sin, I am to “rebuke” him – in
short, let him know the consequences. This
takes courage, and courage takes motivation.
Here’s some:
(Lev 19:17 NIV)
"'Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor
frankly so you will not share in his guilt.
(James
5:19-20 NIV) My brothers, if one of
you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back,
{20} remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will
save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
-
I must do it; otherwise, I hate my brother enough to send him to hell.
-
I must do it; otherwise,
I share in his guilt – for I saw, and did not speak.
-
I must do it; it will
save his life and cover a multitude of sins.
-
And when he repents, I must forgive him – every time, no matter
how often it happens.
The Disciples’ Reaction
The disciples hear this and
react: “Lord, increase our
faith.” I suspect that is not our
reaction. But please remember they
have been with Jesus now for almost three years.
The lesson of the power of faith has been place within them, and from
their reaction we can look into their thoughts.
They saw a problem with this
Indeed, that part about
forgiveness is a difficulty. I
suspect it is what was on the disciples’ minds.
-
·
There is the rather ordinary objection to forgiveness.
Forgiveness does not feel nearly as good to most of us as revenge.
Even if we are cornered into it, we like to remind the forgiven that they
owe us one. But Jesus has taught
frequently on that, and I suspect the disciples were not going to push this
topic.
-
·
There is a more pointed objection.
“Be reasonable, Lord,” they might say, “You just don’t understand
how often I’ve had to forgive. There’s got to be some point at which I stop forgiving.”
But Jesus says no; as often as he repents, you forgive.
-
·
Please note that forgiveness is conditioned upon repentance (God
forgives when we repent; we should
do likewise with our brother.) We are not talking about forgiveness without repentance.
There is no true cheap grace.
-
·
We also tend to think of ourselves as responsible for the results.
If he repents, and then sins again, somehow we have failed to turn our
brother around. We are not
responsible for that; we are
responsible for our own actions. Each
of us stands or falls before the Master.
-
·
Our difficulty is in that we want to do things the way the world
does them – in our own power, not in his. But where is the source of your strength?
They saw a solution: increased
faith
After three years of watching
and learning from Jesus, the disciples know that this man can do anything.
They also know the power that faith has in their relationship to him.
It is, to them, the solution to the problem.
They know they can’t do this on their own.
-
Remember the man with the demon-possessed son? (Mark 9:24): "I
do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
The disciples know they are not capable, but they know where to
ask fo
-
It is a general principle of
the faith that strength is made perfect in weakness.[1]
The problem most of us have with that is that we want our strength and
God’s strength. God never offers
us that choice; he offers us our
strength or
His strength. The choice must be
made!
They saw a source of the solution:
Jesus Christ
How natural it must have been for them to see not only the problem and
solution, but also the source of the solution:
Jesus.
-
We often fail to recognize it,
but Jesus is the “author and perfecter” of our faith.[2]
We so often think that we created and grew our own faith, that we forget
where to go to get more.
-
The disciples knew this from
personal experience. The reaction
was a gut one. Would that ours was
the same!
-
Again, they had the choice of
“whose strength.” They chose
Jesus.
Faith like a mustard seed
The metaphor
Jesus likes to use metaphors; they
so seldom go out of style, in any language.
This is a good one, for faith, like the mustard seed,
-
Is small – but is growing. Most of us are quite capable of complaining how little is our
faith. Fine – but is it growing?
That’s what he’s looking for.
-
Is alive – not just a specimen on the shelf.
If it is alive, it is doing something, even if it’s planted in one
place.
-
Is intended to grow to a great size.
Give it long enough, water it well, and it will.
Remember, as with all seeds, God gives the increase.
Questions
Jesus now gives us the key to
faith: humility.
The parable of the servant here seems obscure, and some have suggested
that it is out of place. It is not;
it is the key to the entire passage.
Faith is key to our relationship with God, and this parable talks about
our relationship with God. Often,
in his parables, Jesus poses a series of questions to his hearers to provoke
them to thought. Look at the ones
he uses here:
Would he say….
Would he tell the servant to fix
his own meal first? He would not,
and Jesus’ hearers knew it well, many of them being servants.
We need to remember how our righteousness is viewed compared to our
Father:
(Job 22:2-3 NIV)
"Can a man be of benefit to God? Can even a wise man benefit him?
{3} What pleasure would it give the Almighty if you were righteous? What
would he gain if your ways were blameless?
We need to remember that,
compared to God, our righteousness is as nothing. And we need to act accordingly.
Would he not rather say
No, he would tell the servant to
serve, and expect it to be so. Why?
Because the master provides for the servant, and this is his due service
for it.
(Psa 16:2 NIV) I
said to the LORD, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good
thing."
Would he thank the servant
No, he would not; it
would be the servant’s “place.” It
would not be a right relationship. The
servant must understand that place. And
if he does?
(1 Pet 5:6 NIV) Humble
yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due
time.
There it is again;
by humbling ourselves, God lifts us up;
by humbling ourselves, God clothes us with power.
Thomas à Kempis put it this way:
If
a man give all his wealth, it is nothing; if he do great penance, it is little;
if he gain all knowledge, he is still far afield; if he have great virtue and
much ardent devotion, he still lacks a great deal, and especially, the one thing
that is most necessary to him. What is this one thing? That leaving all, he
forsake himself, completely renounce himself, and give up all private
affections. Then, when he has done all that he knows ought to be done, let him
consider it as nothing, let him make little of what may be considered great; let
him in all honesty call himself an unprofitable servant. For truth itself has
said: “When you shall have done all these things that are commanded you, say:
‘we are unprofitable servants.’“ (Luke 17:10.)
Then
he will be truly poor and stripped in spirit, and with the prophet may say: “I
am alone and poor.” (Ps. 25:16.) No one, however, is more wealthy than such a
man; no one is more powerful, no one freer than he who knows how to leave all
things and think of himself as the least of all.
If I am truly humble:
-
I will accept my brother, for how could I presume to judge him?
-
I will place no stumbling block before him, for my Master would
look upon that with horror.
-
I will rebuke him in earnest simplicity;
I have no pride to lose, but my brother to gain.
-
I will forgive him every time – for I have no pride left to be
wounded in the forgiving.
Lord, increase our faith.
