Reading
SAA Notes
The Court of the Gentiles was turned into a market, so that there was no place where Gentile believers could come and pray. Jesus shows us what God thinks about such practices.
SJA Notes
* Mighty God, Your Word is mighty. Please write it deep and permanently on our hearts today and onwards.
“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
This is a hard word, important and weighty.
What is Jesus saying here?
That God’s forgiveness of our sin is predicated on our own capacity and measured action of forgiveness?
In Matthew 6 our Lord Jesus gives us a pattern for pray (as opposed to empty phrases and false prayer-types), and one of the segments of that prayer is,
“… And forgive us our debts, and we also have forgiven our debtors.”
Jesus tells us that we should be regularly praying to God and in that to be bringing this to God.
Jesus is the once-for-all sacrifice. It is His finished work on the cross that has won us freedom from our sin. We do _nothing_ to earn or deserve or merit salvation.
But is Jesus speaking of salvation here when giving us wisdom on forgiveness?
Jesus is speaking to believers, to those _already_ saved.
As with Israel being given the law _after_ they were brought out of Egypt, so God saves us UNTO good works, a big important one being forgiveness.
We have been forgiven much. Let us respond with a heart of forgiveness to those who wrong us.
* Loving God,
Thank You for saving us from our sin, Your forgiveness to us writ large in Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice at Calvary.
Please help us forgive as we have been forgiven.
Amen.