[This reflection by David Makanjuola was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 20/Apr/2025]
Martin’s sermon last week reminded us about Jesus’ words on the cross – “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing”. I was talking to someone after the service, and we discussed whether it mattered that the person who has wronged you needs to repent before you forgive them.
When we try to forgive, we often feel it needs to be earned. You will have heard of people saying things like ‘I can’t forgive him, he’s shown no remorse for what he has done’. Or, ‘I think he’s really sorry for what he’s done, so I’ll let him off this time’.
Forgiving doesn’t come naturally to us. Anyone who has watched an action film knows that the plot is:
- 1 – the hero has a bad thing done to them or their family.
- 2 – The villains gloat over things for a while.
- 3 – The hero exacts revenge.
To the onlooker, there is something satisfying about seeing the villains get what they deserve.
In Luke’s gospel, Jesus talks about a man who: planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.
Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’ “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.[1]
Picture yourself as one of the tenants who killed the man’s son, expecting very harsh treatment from his father, and then just as the son is about to die, you hear him say “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing”.
That is what Easter is about. You could think of it perhaps, as action film in which the plot is:
- 1 – the hero has a bad thing done to them.
- 2 – The villains gloat over things for a while.
- 3 – The hero forgives them.
To the onlooker, there is something odd about seeing the villains not getting what they deserve, but to the villains, this is life changing stuff.
Not getting what you deserve, but rather, being forgiven even before you’ve asked, before you’ve repented or shown remorse … Wow! It is clearly not something you earned. It is called grace, and it is a gift.
Paul, the apostle puts it this way in his letter to the Ephesians “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
So, back to my conversation with the person I was talking to after the service last week. We decided that if Jesus didn’t wait for us to repent before forgiving us, we should do the same to anyone who has wronged us. Don’t wait for them to earn it. Give it to them as a gift.
Happy Easter!
Resources:
[1] Luke 20:9-19
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Last Sunday’s reflection: A Glimmer of Hope by Martin Shorey
Contributed by David Makanjuola; © David Makanjuola