“When He saw their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” Then the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, “Who is this who is speaking blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” When Jesus perceived their questionings, He answered them, “Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the one who was paralyzed—“I say to you, stand up and take your bed and go to your home.” Immediately he stood up before them, took what he had been lying on, and went to his home, glorifying God.” (NRSV)

The Pharisees did not understand who Jesus was. It was common for great teachers or prophets to come and go. Teachings on repentance from sin and turning back to God was customary. However, they knew that the actual forgiving of sins was something only God could do. Which is easier to say? The implication Jesus makes is clear: the act of healing a paralyzed man is the same as the act of proclaiming forgiveness over him. So, for the Pharisees, hearing Jesus proclaim forgiveness over the paralyzed man was an act of blasphemy.

Rather than debating the Pharisees over His right to forgive, Jesus just did it. He said, “I do this so that you may know I have the authority to forgive sins,” and then Jesus looked at the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up and take your bed and go to your home.” Sin has paralyzed all of us in some way. There is only one cure. Forgiveness. Forgiveness is central to the gospel. It is why Jesus came. He was poured out as an offering to satisfy the wrath of God, so that the forgiveness of God could be experienced.  

Jesus has the authority to forgive sins, but did you know that as a child of God and a brother or sister of Christ, so do you? When Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, He said to them: “If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” (John 20:23 NLT). Our position in Christ gives us the authority to forgive. This is an important concept to grasp. If the message of the gospel is God’s forgiveness, then as messengers of that gospel and image bearers of the divine, we are to be reckless forgivers.

God takes forgiveness seriously. For example, in Matthew 6:15, Jesus taught that if we refuse to forgive someone else their sins, then God would refuse to forgive our sins. In Mathew 18:22, Jesus taught there should be no limit to our forgiveness. In Luke 11:4, Jesus included both the asking for forgiveness and the forgiving of others in His teachings about how to pray. The reason why God takes forgiveness seriously is ultimately because forgiveness is an expression of love. “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love… since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and His love is perfected in us.” (1 John 47-12 NRSV). In 1 Corinthians 13:5, Paul is sharing with us what love looks like in practice. One of the most important practices of love is that it keeps no record of wrongs against anyone. To keep no record of wrongs is to live in radical and reckless forgiveness.

Keeping a record of wrongs, or let us just call it what it is, unforgiveness, keeps us paralyzed. When listing out sins, we often forget to include unforgiveness as a sin. But be assured, choosing not to forgive is just as heinous in God’s eyes as murder (1 John 3:15). When we choose not to forgive, two things happen:  1) we place ourselves under spiritual bondage; and 2) we murder the person we do not forgive. Unforgiveness keeps us spiritually bound in chains to sin; we become bitter, angry, obsessed, resentful, and hateful. We place the person we choose not to forgive in a box and refuse to the let them grow, live, and be free. In so doing, we have murdered that person in our hearts. And, by our actions we may seek to murder their reputation, their character, their careers, and their relationships. We posture ourselves as their gatekeeper, holding the keys to chains that we think bind them. In reality, the unforgiver is actually the one who is bound in chains but doesn’t know it. The unforgiver does not hold the keys to their chains, only Christ holds those, and He has already unlocked them.   

Now, here is the truth – In Christ you are forgiven. To those who want to think ill of you because of what you have done will also have to think ill of Christ, because on the cross, Christ became your sin and shame. He exchanged His righteousness for your unrighteousness. He did this so that you could be called the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). If Christ saw fit to become your sin, so that you can be righteousness, why do you choose to hold back forgiveness to another? Why do you try to steel away an opportunity to cover someone else in Christ’s righteousness? Peter understood this concept when he wrote, “Above all, my brothers and sisters, love each other. Because your love will cover a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8).

Forgiveness is a posture of covering. It is like putting on fresh clothes to cover up nakedness. It seeks to protect and serve, not murder and defile. Forgiveness gives, always. It gives us the freedom to stand up and walk. Christ has given us the authority to forgive. Do not abuse your authority in Christ by holding onto a spirit of offense; rather give grace in all situations. The question “should I forgive?” should never cross a Christian’s mind. Rather the question we should be practicing daily is, “which is easier, to say get up and walk or your sins are forgiven?” They are one in the same. By forgiving, we empower the other person to walk. Because, just like Jesus, whose forgiveness empowered the crippled man to walk, we have the capacity to help a fallen brother or sister to stand, to walk. That is who God is calling us to be. We are the forgivers.