Day 77, Mark 12 
Since I mentioned some
of today's reading in my last commentary, I think I'll mention some of our last
reading in today's commentary! Specifically, I would like to consider Jesus'
words about forgiveness in Mark 11:
Whenever
you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your
Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. But if
you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your
transgressions (Mk. 11:25-26).
It is obviously a very
serious thing not to have your transgressions forgiven by God. If He does not
forgive us, then He is still holding our sins against us. If He is holding our
sins against us, then we will have to be repaid for them. That should motivate
us to forgive others!
What does it mean to
forgive? When God forgives us, He no longer holds our sin against us. Our
"debt" is erased and our relationship with Him is restored. We are
reconciled. So when we forgive another person, it should also result in
reconciliation. When we see that person, we should no longer be angry with
them. Yet so often, folks claim they've forgiven someone who has sinned against
them, but there has been no reconciliation. A little probing reveals that they
are still angry with the person whom they've supposedly forgiven.
The reason for this is
because they are trying to obey one of Jesus' commandments while disobeying
another one of His commandments, namely, His commandment to confront those who
have sinned against them. They attempt to "forgive" people whom
they've not confronted and who have not admitted their sin or asked for
forgiveness. True forgiveness and reconciliation only occurs after sin has been
admitted and forgiveness has been requested.
For this reason, God
doesn't forgive everyone, but only those who repent (Mark 1:4; Luke
3:3, 24:47; Acts 2:38). And that is why Jesus told us:
If your
brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins
against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, "I
repent," forgive him (Luke 17:3-4).
Of course,
confrontation and reconciliation is possible with fellow believers, but often
not so possible with unbelievers. In those cases, we should obey Jesus'
commandment to "love our enemies." It is certainly possible to love
someone yet not forgive him, as God loves people yet He doesn't always forgive
those whom He loves. I've written more extensively on this topic here if
you care to study it more.
Mark highlights some
questions posed to Jesus, first by some Pharisees and Herodians who wanted to
trap Him, then by some Sadducees who were hung up on their pet doctrines, and
finally by a scribe, whose heart was apparently pure. That scribe understood what
many then and now have missed---that there are some commandments that are
greater than others. Namely, that loving God and neighbor "is much more
than all burnt offerings and sacrifices" (12:33). His understanding
provoked Jesus to tell him that he wasn't "far from the kingdom of
God" (12:34). Christians can easily find themselves side-tracked from what
is most important, and in so doing, drift from what should be at the core. We
should strive to obey all of Christ's commandments, but if we zealously obey
the lesser ones while ignoring the greater ones, we can become like Pharisees
who "strain out a gnat and swallow a camel" (Matt. 23:24).
It is interesting that
contributions to the temple treasury could be made in full public view. It was
likely designed that way by those who knew that people generally give more when
they receive public praise, since so many give, motivated not by love, but by
self-love. This is why Jesus told His followers to give in secret.
Jesus' comment on the
size of the widow's gift is a window into the righteous judgment of God. He
considers how much money we have before determining the praise-worthiness of
our gifts, looking at percentages and sacrifices more than dollar amounts.
"From everyone who has been given much, much will be required" (Luke
12:48). Help us, Lord, to understand how much we have!
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