MODERN TORTURE

READING: MATTHEW 18:21-35

Verse 35: “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

This verse concludes what Jesus was teaching the disciples on this occasion. He wanted it to be ingrained in them that they had to forgive others when others offended them. Further, He wanted them to embrace that kind of forgiveness as something that had to come from their hearts. In other words, insincere expressions that just sounded like statements of forgiveness, would not be acceptable. Jesus drove home the seriousness of this teaching. He told them that if they did not forgive in this manner, His heavenly Father would turn them over to the torturers or tormentors. That sounds very scary. No person knows the complete mind of the Lord with regard to being turned over to tormentors. However, to some degree probably even to a significant extent, the torturers would be our own emotions. The direct results of unforgiveness are anger and resentment which can then escalate to hatred and bitterness. The Bible says that bitterness defiles a person. The effects that responses like these can produce in a person, are potentially devastating to the point where they may truly constitute torture. Therefore, in this verse of scripture there is a powerful lesson that was not just for the disciples. For them and for contemporary Christians equally, forgiving from the heart avoids emotional torment and promotes freedom and peace. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. Do people who do so realize they are choosing torment?

2. What is it about forgiving that is difficult for so many?