The thing that requires the greatest faith (Future Grace #5 of 7)
The disciples spent a lot of time with Jesus. That’s how “discipleship” worked back in Biblical times. Whereas we’ve reduced the concept to “
... the breed of discipleship they experienced was a life-on-life encounter whereby the rabbi imparted everything he knew and did to his students.
As a result, the students learned they could do anything the rabbi did.
“My rabbi does _____________,” they reasoned, “therefore I can, too.”
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The episode of Peter walking on water makes more sense when you understand this dimension of their discipleship model...
Do you remember Peter’s statement to Jesus?
“If it really is you, then tell me to walk on water” (Matthew 14:28).
Rather than being a great statement of faith, his boldness to step on a wave through increased winds and stride across the sea makes more sense when viewed with the backdrop of the discipleship paradigm. His rabbi was there on the water; therefore, he could be, too.
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Here’s where it gets interesting…
Of all the things the disciples COULD HAVE asked Jesus to teach them how to do, the only thing they requested was “teach us to pray.”
Furthermore, the only thing they asked for Him to increase their faith about was when He taught them about forgiveness…
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One of the disciples asked Jesus how many times he should forgive someone who wronged him. He even offered Jesus a GRACIOUS answer…
Conventional Jewish wisdom was that you forgive an offender three times. So, Peter DOUBLED it and ADDED to it.
He came up with 7. Should he forgive an offender DOUBLE plus ONE what anyone else would do? Surely that would be gracious.
Jesus moved the line a bit.
A long bit.
Not 7. And not 70. But 70 TIMES 7! (Matthew 18:21-22).
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In our culture, we get forgiveness wrong. We think of it as emotional feeling. Or a mental shift only.
Jesus told stories and demonstrated that forgiveness not only acknowledges that a wrong took place, but that the offended then does something radical. They let it go.
And they demonstrate the heart of the Father with their ACTIONS, exhibiting His kind of love by how they walk it out. In fact, the way the offended walks it out is actually the EVIDENCE of how they perceive the forgiveness they’ve received from their heavenly Father!.
A cold shoulder? A freeze out? They’re demonstrating they don’t feel they’ve received much forgiveness. So, they don’t need to dispense much…
Radical grace? Radical reconciliation and restoration…? Again, an overflow of what they perceive they’ve received…
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Links
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