Forgiveness Every Time

Mark 11:25-26. RV60


(25)  And when you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against any: that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
(26)  But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses.



Our Lord does not neglect the more pragmatic interpretation of his statements.  In these two verses  (verse 26 is considered by modern scholars to be a late addition, and is therefore omitted in many newer versions) our Lord adds the great "if" of prayer.

We might well ask our Lord why this requirement for forgiveness.  Many of us have had experiences which have left great bitterness, and forgiveness seems distant and difficult.  There are at least three excellent reasons:

First, there is the example of our Lord himself.  Though he was sinless, he was crucified—and forgave those who crucified him.  We are Christians, the imitators of Christ, and we should follow that example.

Next—and it is very blunt—there is absolutely no thought in the New Testament of our forgiveness without forgiving others.  At the very least, we should consider it a command of our Lord, and obedience at least our duty.

Finally, there is what might be called the "white glove" principle.
During the time of the Great Revival in England, crime dropped to such an extent that judges often found they had no criminal cases to try in their regular sessions.  This goes by the name of "maiden assizes."  The sheriff in such an instance presents the judge with a pair of white gloves—the symbol that the judge's hands are not spotted with the blood of a criminal being punished (often hung in those days).  The parallel is clear:  if we want our Lord to render justice to us, we must appear with clean hands in court.  This comes only by repentance—and forgiveness.

It may strike you as curious that most of the great saints understood this passage to mean that genuinely great things can be done by such prayer.  But then, they had that kind of faith, and they knew the power of prayer by a man of faith.  But one, Bede, gives the ordinary sinner some help here:

If you are a Christian of perfect faith, then you should ask your Lord for great things and miracles—for the sake of his church and its people.

If you are not a Christian of perfect faith, then go to the Father; forgive—and then ask to be forgiven.  Then see your faith increase.