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NASB | Matthew 6:14 "For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 6:14 "For if you forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins], your heavenly Father will also forgive you. |
Bible Question:
Forgiveness - Part 2 or 3 That being said, we must understand that when Christ was physically here on earth, the Old Covenant was still in full effect. Gal 4:4 states that Christ was born under law (Old Covenant law) and most of His teaching surrounded it. He Himself said that He did not come to abolish it, with His life, but to fulfill it. And having fulfilled the Old Covenant perfectly, He has brought in a New Covenant, a covenant of grace. Now, let’s take a look at the passage in question, Matthew 6:14: “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” I feel that the best explanation of this passage can be found in Matt 5:23, 24: "Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.” Here we see that Jesus says, ‘If you bring your offering to the altar (obviously a sin offering), and there remember that there’s a problem between you and your brother (another Jew), leave your offering, go make things right with your brother, then come back and offer your sacrifice.’ The Jews as a people, at this point in time, only knew of only one way to get forgiveness of sins – animal sacrifice. This system was still operational while Christ walked the earth. They understood that. It was the only system that they had every known for having their sins forgiven. And Christ never refuted it during His earthly life. Rather, He upheld the law. But He was also trying to get His listeners to look beyond the ceremony and tradition to see their hearts as God saw them. So He admonished them (my loose paraphrase), ‘If you’re coming to get forgiven by God, don’t just go through the motions. The law is summed up in loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself. So, yes, forgiveness is provided for you. But go beyond the requirements of the law and see that God cares about relationships. Try to heal those and then seek God’s provision of forgiveness and it will mean something to you.’ Christ condemned religious tradition for the sake of tradition alone. He wanted people to get past the rules to the relationships. So He says, ‘Forgive your brother, THEN come and offer your sacrifice. He NEVER said, ‘Don’t offer your sacrifice at the temple.’ Why not? Because that system, that pointed to His once-for-all sacrifice, had not YET been done away with. So why doesn’t He mention sacrifice in Matthew 6:14? I feel that it is because the Jews already knew what, under law, was required to provide forgiveness. If you had told a Jew at that time, “You sinned, you need forgiveness,” he would have tried to find an appropriate sacrifice and trotted off to the temple. But Christ was trying to show them that God looks on the heart. End of part 2 - see part 3 |
Bible Answer: Greetings Bill! I would only have two problems with this post! 1) Explaining Mt. 6:14-15 by refering to a sacrifice mentioned in Mt. 5:23-24 is quite a stretch. Mt. 5:23-24 is the only sacrifice mentioned in the entire Sermon on the Mount. 2) Most see the Sermon on the Mount as more than just an explanation of the Old Testament Laws. Most see the Sermon on the Mount as a presentation of the Kingdom of God. Yes, Jesus deals with the inadequate view of the Pharisees. But, He goes beyond their view to the better way. This would be the only point where we would disagree. I don't believe that the things written in the Sermon on the Mount can be relegated only to the Old Covenant. However, I fully agree with your view of forgiveness. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |