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FORGIVENESS COMES FULLY, FREELY, AND FERVENTLY.
In
the name + of Jesus.
Our Old Testament lesson is the end of the
story. To appreciate the magnitude of Joseph’s
mercy, let’s review.
Joseph was one of twelve brothers, and
clearly the favored son of Jacob. Jacob
gave him a lavish coat, suitable for royalty.
Joseph also gave his father a bad report about his brothers who were
tending flocks. Then Joseph had dreams
which foretold that he would reign over his brothers. All this stirred up Joseph’s brothers to
hatred and jealousy. They planned to murder
Joseph, saying, “Come now, let us kill
him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce
animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams” (Genesis
37:20). Cooler heads prevailed as Reuben, the oldest,
intended to send him back to his father.
But while Reuben was away, the other brothers sold Joseph to a passing
caravan.
Joseph ended up
being sold as a slave in Egypt. He was falsely
accused of raping his master’s wife and was banished to a dungeon. There, he interpreted the dreams of some prisoners. Eventually, Pharaoh learned of Joseph’s interpreting
skills and called on him to interpret some his dreams. Joseph told Pharaoh that God was informing him
of seven years of bumper crop followed by seven years of famine so severe that
no one would remember the good ol’ days.
He advised Pharaoh to appoint a wise man to prepare for the days of
famine. Pharaoh appointed Joseph as that
man.
The days of famine
came as promised. They also afflicted
Jacob and his family. Jacob sent his
sons to Egypt to get food. And who do they
buy their food from? Joseph! Only they did not recognize him. He looked like an Egyptian, dressed like an Egyptian,
and spoke through an interpreter like an Egyptian. Besides, they never expected to see Joseph again,
let alone ruling over Egypt! Joseph put
his brothers to the test to see if they were the same hateful, petty, jealous
men he had known. Once they demonstrated
repentance, he made himself known to them.
He told them to bring their families down to Egypt so they would survive
the famine. After all, if Jacob’s family
dies, the promise of the Messiah dies, too.
After decades of separation, Jacob was reunited with Joseph. Jacob lived for several more decades, and
then he died.
That brings us to
our Old Testament lesson. Joseph’s brothers
reasoned, “Joseph would not dare do anything to us while Dad was still
alive. But now Dad is gone. There is nothing standing in the way of Joseph
getting his revenge.” So, they sent messages
to beg for mercy. This reduced Joseph to
tears. Rather than seek revenge, Joseph
assured them of forgiveness. Forgiveness
comes fully, freely, and fervently.
First, forgiveness comes fully. Joseph forgave his brothers with no strings
attached. There was no, “I forgive you this
time, but if you cross me again you will pay.” Joseph did not bear a grudge or harbor resentment. He did not reduce them to servitude or make
them grovel. He cancelled their debt. There was no payback at all.
Joseph also forgave freely. He did not do this out of any sense of
obligation. He did not say, “Oh, you’re
my brothers, so I guess you deserve it.”
Quite the opposite, Joseph told his brothers, “You meant evil against me” (Genesis 50:20).
They did evil, and they meant to do it.
The brothers acknowledged it, too.
No one tried to downplay their sin.
If you have ever had someone sin against you and then later came to
apologize, you may have said, “Oh, it’s okay.”
But it wasn’t okay. If were okay,
no one would have had to apologize. Sin
is never okay. It is an offense against
God, and it inflicts harm upon others. Besides,
no one deserves to be forgiven. By its very
definition, forgiveness is not deserved.
Mercy is never shown because it was earned. It is simply given. So, if someone sins against you and comes to
confess, do not say, “It’s okay,” rather, tell him, “I forgive you.” This means that you do not hold anything
against him. You will not bring it up at
a future date. You seek no revenge and
hold nothing over his head. Forgiveness
comes fully and freely.
Joseph’s forgiveness of his brothers is but a glimpse of the mercy that
God the Father has shown to us. Our sins
have offended God and harmed others. We
have betrayed confidences. We have sold
out friends by casting blame on them rather than taking responsibility for our own
faults. We have held grudges which have spawned
into hatred. We have assumed God’s
forgiveness but have demanded satisfaction from those who have sinned against
us. There is nothing praiseworthy about
holding a grudge. Only in our minds is
it considered righteous. If someone has
done evil to you, what is noble about responding with evil toward him? Repent.
Forgiveness comes fully and freely.
That is how our Lord delivers forgiveness to you. Jesus came to release you from all guilt, to
cancel all your debt, and to purge your record of any wrong-doing. Jesus did none of this because you promised
better behavior or because you are sorry
now that you’ve seen the harm you’ve done.
You and I should be sorry. Any
promise we would make to God to pay him back for our sins is laughable. Repay how?
The slave in Jesus’ parable pledged to pay back to his master what
amounted to millions of dollars. On a slave’s
wage? Right! He could never repay the debt. Out of mercy, the master simply cancelled the
debt—the whole debt.
God the Father cancelled your debt, fully and freely. Well, free to you anyway. Jesus covered the cost for you. God the Son, in obedience to his Father and
out of love for you, came to pay the full price for our sins. He who is eternal paid the price for all
people of all time. He who is immortal
subjected himself to death for us who earned the sentence of eternal death. He who is from heaven suffered the torments
of hell for us. He who is forever
blessed was divinely cursed when he hung from the cross. Jesus made the full payment for all sin. Every last one.
Forgiveness comes fully and freely.
That is what Jesus’ resurrection from the dead proves. Jesus’ resurrection assures you that the
payment for you is complete. The wages
of sin is death, but the wage has been paid in full. Therefore, Jesus lives. Therefore, you will too. Jesus lives and holds no grudge against you
for what he had to suffer for you. On
Easter night, Jesus appeared to his apostles who were hiding in fear, guilt-ridden
over abandoning Jesus, ashamed of their failures. Jesus appeared to that sorry group and
declared, “Peace be with you” (John 20:19).
There was no resentment.
There were no strings attached, as if Jesus said, “Peace be with you,
but not for long if you don’t shape up.”
Forgiveness came fully and freely.
And it still does for you.
Forgiveness comes fully, freely, and fervently. It has to because we are still hounded by
guilt and shame. The devil makes sure
that we remember our sins. He continues
to accuse and taunt us over them. Consider
Joseph’s brothers. Do you think they ever
forgot how they treated Joseph? Could
they ever forget selling him into slavery?
Joseph was a teenager when he was shackled to chains and dragged away by
a caravan, looking at his brothers in disbelief, crying out for mercy, trying
to understand why they would do this to him.
His cries for mercy got quieter and changed to sobs. The sobs got quitter as the caravan slipped
into the distance. Meanwhile, the
brothers coldly counted their money as they even more coldly ignored Joseph’s
pleading. I am sure that day was seared
in their minds. What else could explain
their own pleading, falling on their knees before Joseph, and offering
themselves as his slaves?
But listen to Joseph’s response.
Twice he said, “Do not fear” (Genesis 50:19,21). Then he said, “I will provide for you and
your little ones.” Thus he comforted
them and spoke kindly to them” (Genesis 50:21). I am sure this was not a one-time incident. Joseph would have assured them again and
again, “I forgive you.” He continued to
provide and to care for them. He continued
to demonstrate kindness to them. His
forgiveness was not mere words. Our Lord
does the same. Forgiveness comes fully,
freely, and fervently.
See how our Lord pours out his mercy upon you! It was poured upon you in your baptism where
Jesus washed away all your sins and clothed you in his own righteousness. It is declared to you in the absolution each
Sunday. And for those sins that will not
stop haunting you, it is applied personally to you in Private Absolution. There, Jesus’ voice speaks through the mouth
of his minister: “I forgive you in the name of the Father and of the Son + and
of the Holy Spirit.” He pours it into you
again as you eat and drink his body and blood which were given and shed for you
for the forgiveness of sins. Our Lord
comes again and again to sinners to assure you that you are redeemed, restored,
and forgiven through Jesus precious blood.
For our Lord desires you to be his and to dwell with him forever. He tells you so again and again. Forgiveness comes fully, freely, and fervently.
Now,
if forgiveness has come to you this way, it shall also come from
you this way. Others have sinned against
you. It is not okay. It is evil.
Perhaps it has left a scar.
Perhaps the wound has never healed.
Whoever has done this to you does not deserve to be forgiven. But forgiveness is not about being paid back;
it is about cancelling the debt fully, freely, and fervently. It is about having the mercy of our Lord pour
over from us so that we are God’s people not only in name, but also in practice. St. Paul encourages us, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and
slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved
children” (Ephesians 4:31 – 5:1).
Is that hard? Yes, because we are not God. But we are recipients of God’s mercy. We have the benefits of Jesus’ forgiveness. We have been relieved of guilt and have had our shame replaced with God’s peace and joy. What a privilege to bestow those blessings upon others, to reflect the mercy of God, and to release them from fear, guilt, and shame—not because it is deserved, but because it is good. This is how wounds are healed, burdens are lifted, and broken relationships can be reconciled. Forgiveness comes fully, freely, and fervently.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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