Quiz: Find the sentence in Mark 11:20-25 that doesn’t seem to belong.
In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins” (Mark 11:20-25).
I picked verse 25 (“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins”.) To me, it seems like a leftover Mark had to stick somewhere. Why not here? (And since this is my blog, verse 25 is the correct quiz answer.)
What did Jesus say? And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins” (11:25). I stand praying (typical posture for Jewish prayer). “A still, small voice” in my head reminds me I haven’t forgiven Toby for wrongly criticizing me before two friends. (I picked “Toby” so as not to create trouble. I know no Toby.) “Forgive him!” Jesus commands.
The original Greek word translated “forgive” is apheeame. In 4:36 it’s translated, “And leaving the crowd . . . “. In 7:8, “You leave (set aside, reject) the commandment of God . . . “. And in 11:6, “And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go” (11:6). “Forgive” suggests a sense of leaving behind a vengeful attitude, letting go of the idea that our offender owes us something, setting aside the wall we’ve allowed between us. When we pray and remember we’re holding something against someone, Jesus commands us to let it go, to forgive.
Why did Jesus say it? ” . . . so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” Seriously, this is a shocker! Jesus will “give his life as a ransom for many” (10:45b). But we forfeit that freedom if we refuse to forgive someone who’s wronged us.
“[S]o that” explains Jesus’ purpose for forgiving others. We open the way for our Father to forgive our sins. Don’t forgive and we close the way to our Father’s forgiveness.
Remember Jesus’ parable of the unmerciful servant? His master wrote off his trillion dollar debt (I’m thinking U.S. here), but he refused to forgive a fellow-servant who owed him lunch at McDonald’s. When the master heard, he threw the merciless servant in prison. Then Jesus warned (this should scare us), “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart” (Matthew 18:35).
Lest we think this is just a leftover stuck on, remember Jesus taught disciples to pray, ” . . . and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). And added, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14,15).
I know of families who profess faith in Christ, but refuse to speak to sons or parents. Having pastored 44 years, I’m sure there are Sunday Lord’s Supper–partakers holding grudges against other partakers. Are these folks forgiven of their sins? Jesus commands “forgive” so they–and we all–could be.
Why did Jesus say it here? Usually when I assembled one of our children’s toys, I found a part leftover. In the context of 11:20-24, verse 25 seems a leftover stuck on. It’s not, of course. So why did Jesus say it here? I’ve got three (hopefully educated) guesses . . .
First, Jesus presumes his followers will pray for forgiveness of sins. Sin-forgiveness is one of the “whatevers” (11:24). It’s true that in Jesus’ death all our sins are forgiven; forgiveness doesn’t depend on our confessing each sin each night. However, pray seldomly for forgiveness and we begin to regard our sins (and therefore Jesus’ sacrifice) lightly. It’s good to remember our moral bankruptcy before our holy God and our absolute dependence on his mercy through his crucified Son. And “whatever” our sin, it’s forgiven (as long as we are similarly merciful to others)!
Second, Jesus calls us to follow him together. After Jesus’ ascension, the Twelve would set out in different directions to make disciples. Wherever they would go, they would plant churches and believers would live in relationship with one another. To maintain unity and bear effective witness of Christ, the believers would have to forgive one another as God in Christ had forgiven them (Ephesians 4:23). And the Father would enable them to do that, making this another “whatever” Jesus has in mind.
Three, only the Lord knows what “whatever” might include. I don’t want to limit God in my thinking. I want, like a child, to believe our Father will do full-of-wonder “whatevers” in response to our prayers. But neither do I want to trivialize Jesus’ “whatevers” to mean a convenient parking space or a pretty dress. He may give both . But in this promise Jesus is focused on “whatever” we need to follow and serve him in this anti-Christ world into which the kingdom of God has come near.
Come to think of it, forgive isn’t a command stuck on. It’s a command that sticks out!
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