Focus

 Luke 17

Jesus teaches several different lessons in Luke 17. Some are about faith while others are about 'the Day of the Son of Man.' In the very beginning, though, is tucked away a short little lesson on forgiveness. Jewish scholars would certainly question whether a person deserved forgiveness if, when they sinned against someone and asked to be forgiven, they planned to do it again. Jesus, though, sets up a case of a person who sins and genuinely asks for forgiveness.  They really are sorry for the harm they cause. Should they be forgiven? Most of us would agree that, yes, that person should be forgiven if they really are sorry, and Jesus agrees. 

What if someone sins on repeat, though? What if someone does the same harmful action over and over throughout the day? Wouldn't you begin to question that person's genuineness? Wouldn't you think "they don't really mean it. They are just asking for forgiveness even though they hate me." And if they come back the next day and do the same thing, wouldn't we be even more sure of it? This would not look like repentance and forgiveness; it would look like someone playing you for a fool.

Yet, Jesus says, "Even if its personal against you and repeated seven times through the day, and seven times he says, 'I'm sorry, I won't do it again,' forgive him." It seems that Jesus is instructing us to accept someone's genuine repentance, even when the circumstances seem to be pointing in the opposite direction. Perhaps we are to stay more focused on the individual and what they say, rather than the circumstances surrounding them.