I had mentioned a while back that I really wanted to share something that I learned about the Jewishness of Christ. I am telling you what, I have absolutely been blown away by some of my faulty Western thinking. Let me give you an example. A long time ago I pondered and pondered what in the world made 12 men, of all walks of life, just pick up and follow Christ. Was there some mysterious glow about Him? Did they know off the bat that He was the Christ? Then, I read about the culture then and how Jesus was indeed a Jewish Rabbi. Rabbi’s literally had disciples or maybe a better word would be apprentices. They would literally follow the Rabbi (teacher) and go where he went, do what he did, and soak in what he said. Here is a quote that I loved from Yose ben Yoezer from the second century B.C. : “Let your house be a meeting place for the rabbis, and cover yourself in the dust of their feet, and drink in their words thirstily.”
*Edited to add: The covering yourself in the dust of the Rabbis feet was a saying regarding how much the Rabbis would walk and teach along the dusty roads. I just loved that. As He led, they followed and literally covered themselves in the dust of the Rabboni’s feet!
So of course He would have come to His chosen people and been Jewish like they were. I am no scholar but I love that it wasn’t some weird freakish thing for him to have the disciples. He was the fullness of the Godhead bodily but He was also a Jewish man. You did not become a Rabbi until the age of thirty so it just excites me to know that as tradition went Jesus would start His earthly ministry at the age of thirty! I am just wild about Him!
Dig this. Forgiveness. A BIG DEAL. A huge undertaking when we have been wronged. Also, sometimes we really struggle with forgiving our own self. Yet some of us have been wronged BIG TIME. I am about to burst with excitement as I type this. I pray I don’t bang the keys off of my keyboard. Get this scene with me. Peter comes and poses a question that I think we have all asked before, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” (I have included the verses at the bottom) How many sermons have you heard on this reply that are incorrect? Western thinking looks at that verse without digging any deeper and reasons that we need to forgive 70 times 7. Then, we reason oh 490 times! That is not what Jesus is saying and all of the disciples would have known exactly what Jesus was saying by what He didn’t say. Seven is symbolic of completeness in the Word. So, Jesus is referring to the following in Genesis 4:23-24:
23 Lamech said to his wives,
“Adah and Zillah, listen to me;
wives of Lamech, hear my words.
I have killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for injuring me.
24 If Cain is avenged seven times,
then Lamech seventy-seven times.”
Lamech was a descendent of Cain. Cain was murderous and evil and killed his brother Abel. So, Lamech in these verses is wanting what is beyond complete vengeance. Jesus blew Peter’s question out of the water by saying, without saying, to the extent that Lamech wanted what was beyond complete vengeance is the extent to which I want you to forgive. A forgiveness that is absolutely other. Absolutely radical and only possible through the Holy Spirit. No small task but this was Jesus’ answer and obviously it is not beyond the power of the Holy Spirit which resides in each believer. With the LORD is forgiveness. We are not capable of true forgiveness apart from Him. Psalm 130 my anthem 3 If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness;
therefore you are feared.
Forgiveness sets US free. It releases us from being in bondage to our bitterness and unforgiveness. Let me give you a quick application that may help you. It will require work but it is worth it. Whenever I have really struggled with forgiving someone I have taken out some scriptures of blessing and etc and inserted the person’s name in the verses and prayed for them. I would start out and say, “God, I no more want _______ to be the apple of your eye but I just pray that you would bless ____ and guard them as the apple of your eye.” I would go on with scriptures praying this way until God changed my heart toward that person. I am telling you it works! Gods word works. It is not a formula but the only thing I know to tell you. I would end up really wanting Gods mercy and blessing to fall on that person. Often times the person that has hurt me the most has been the one that I have allowed closest access to my heart. It is also humbling to think of how much I have been forgiven. This life is hard but we need to take it day by day and fight this good fight until He calls us home. Unforgiveness will cause bitterness and spread like gangrene it will hurt us and cause the waters around us to become bitter. It will literally eat us alive. Another way that helps me is I journal and just tell God all that is on my heart right or wrong. That is just part of casting my burdens on Him. He cares for you and me. Any thoughts?
Matthew 18:22-35
22Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26“The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
30“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
Have u heard Rob Bell teach on this? Its pretty similar- I think u would dig it;)
Excellent post, Jenny. I like your connection between Jesus statement and that of Lamech. My son was the first one to make that connection for me only a few weeks ago.
Also, I like your new blog. You are doing well with it. And you are a good writer.
wb
Wonderful post Jen – It is so exciting when you can connect scripture like that and the Holy Spirit opens your eyes up to something you have maybe heard repeatedly but He makes it fresh alive and new!
Thank you for sharing! Hugs friend.
What a great reflection on Jesus and forgiveness. Thank you very much for your insights.
I enjoyed this jenny – great insights and forgiveness – true forgiveness.
lovin’ your new blog look,
Beth
Yeah! I’m glad you didn’t forget to come back to this thought…:)
What a great post.
I loved the Rabbi lesson and the dust of their feet. It made me think of when Jesus tells the disciples to shake the dust of their feet if they found they weren’t welcome in Mathhew 10:14. Not sure if one has to do with the other but it is what came to mind.
So cool how the more you learn about the smaller details, how much richer the whole picture gets.
I need to study more Jewish culture or rather start…:)
And thanks for the beautiful reminder of the power of true forgiveness that only comes from the Lord and with the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Blessings,
Michelle
Great post and a subject I have often thought about….so glad that I stopped by….
I can’t even remember how I found your blog (maybe via a comment you left somewhere with a smiley face…). Anyway, I really enjoyed this post.
Hi Jenny, just read this. I had to read it several times to try and understand the “completeness of vengeance” of Lemach. Because I didn’t really understand it when I read it in the Bible anyway. But I do understand the Holy Spirit and how a believer could not forgive fully with out Him. I continue to pray for the HS to help me as I walk in forgiveness daily. But what rocks my world is that Jesus could weave the Scriptures, from hundreds of years in the past, into sentences charged with power and meaning that changed the lives of His followers forever. Thanks for the enlightenment! mo
We were just studying forgiveness as it relates to patience recently. We ended class with your Psalm 130:3 anthem. Powerful lesson and post, thanks jenny.
((hugs))
tammy
Hi Jenny, Hi Jenny, I have read your blog many times but haven’t visited in many month’s. God stop, he sent me your way tonight . I have been walking with a mother a pastors wife for the past 19 months after the death of her 17 year old son. She asked me a question yesterday that has really upset me for her. She asked of God sovern will in lite of choices. I also lost a son 13 years ago and we have been friend for longer than that. She asked in reference to my belief of appointed time of death as God’s sovern will. Then she asked if I thought choices would play into it and I said I did believe someone could as your friend did may have taken by his choice his live early,but God allowed . Then she asked if I thought as in her son could have taken himself out of God sovern will through disobeying her . She then told me her son knew he was not allowed to ride with a new driver and it was a given rule. They were going to a football game traveling at night out of town and she thought the dad was going to be driving. It has grieved me so for her that she is thinking this way. I will reference to her this blog for a healing heart. She is also doing a teaching next month at a church other than hers and she asked me to help her with some things on bitterness. So all this goes together so amazingly, only God.