Key Verse: "So watch yourselves. If your brother sins,
rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him."
Luke 17:3
There really isn't anything new here in these statements of
Jesus. We have touched all of these themes before. He states His concern for
the "little ones," (Matthew
18:6). He restates His theme of forgiveness, (Matthew
18:21-35). He is speaking to a different audience, but His message
is consistent.
Judas is the one exception. Judas heard it all, including
Jesus' warning: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but
woe to that person through whom they come." (Luke
17:1) Judas heard this. If only he had heeded this warning. I think that it
is significant that Jesus spoke these words to His disciples, not to the crowd.
If only Judas had also remembered Jesus’ words concerning
forgiveness. Even Judas would have been forgiven if He had asked.
These words of Jesus, all of them, are not just lessons for
us. Jesus lived what He taught to show us how it should be done.
Jesus calls us to watch ourselves. (Luke
17:3) He calls us to examine ourselves to learn if there is any sinful way
in us. We are human and susceptible to sin. Just as we would like to be
forgiven, so we too need to be willing to forgive others. Often, we blow it
again and need to ask for forgiveness again and, hopefully, others will do the
same toward us.
Jesus also reminds us here to hold one another accountable.
"If your brother sins rebuke him, if he repents, forgive him. (Luke 17:3)
Forgiveness doesn't mean ignoring sin for the sake of peace. God often told the
people of Israel to rid themselves of the uncleanness among them. The same is
true for us, especially within the church community. We cannot afford to ignore
one another's sins. That weakens the body and keeps the ministry unhealthy.
Help each other to get healthy. Forgive when they stumble again and encourage
the healthy part of one another to become strong.
The disciples would need to remember this after the
crucifixion. It wouldn't do to have them tear one another apart and point out
the ways that they had each sinned against Jesus. Instead, they would all
need to acknowledge one another's sins, confess and then forgive one another.
We don't read of the disciples fighting among each other after Jesus’ death.
If they had been men of the world only, they certainly could have started up a
blame game that would have trumped any in world history. Instead, they clung to
each other for comfort and safety. They must have remembered Jesus’ words here.
Only with Jesus would this have been possible.
Could you, in your church, be that healthy and loving toward
the others in your congregation? Do you watch yourself, guide little ones to
safety and offer forgiveness, again and again, to those who ask?
Hymn: "Holy God, We Praise Thy Name"
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