New York UBF – NY University Bible Fellowship (NYUBF)

Luke Lesson 54 (2010)

FAITH AS SMALL AS A MUSTARD SEED
(FORGIVE AND BE FORGIVEN)

Luke 17:1-10
Key Verse: 17:6

“He replied, ‘If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it will obey you.’”

A pastor was asked to pray for a woman who was in her late forties. She was suffering from chronic stomach pains and arthritis. When the pastor prayed over her, he asked her if she was feeling hostility, anger or bitterness toward someone, and he felt led to ask specifically if she felt anger towards her sister. At first she said, “No. I haven’t seen my sister for 16 years.” The pastor asked further, “Are you sure?” Then she told him how years ago her sister had married a guy she loved and then later divorced him. “I cannot forgive my sister for that,” she admitted. “If you don’t forgive her,” the pastor told her, “your bones will waste away, just as David complained his did when he kept silent about his sin of adultery with Bathsheba.” When she heard his words she gave in. “What should I do?” she asked. The pastor told her to write her sister a letter, forgiving her and asking to renew their relationship. She wrote the letter immediately, but she did not mail it for several weeks. During that time she became more ill, until she thought she was going to die. Then she remembered the letter. Somehow she gathered her strength and drove to the post office and mailed it. The very moment she dropped the letter in the box, she experienced relief, and by the time she reached home she was completely healed.

It’s an amazing story that teaches us the necessity of forgiveness. When we don’t forgive others, it hurts us even more. Therefore, forgiving others is not necessarily for the sake of our offenders but for our sakes. In fact, our capacity to forgive the same person seven times every day is the key to our spiritual survival and happiness. In today’s passage, Jesus talked exclusively to his disciples about the necessity of forgiveness. According to Jesus, his disciples should watch themselves so that they would not cause others to sin and to forgive those who constantly offended them. Hearing what Jesus said, the disciples said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” (5) Jesus replied that all they needed is faith as small as a mustard seed. Let’s think about what it means to have faith as small as a mustard seed.

Look at verse 1-3a. “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves” It seems that the main topic of these verses is causing or tempting someone to sin within a Christian community. Jesus had been warning about the seriousness of the sin of the Pharisees, particularly the sin of their hypocrisy which led many people astray. (12:1-3) Causing or tempting others to sin can also occur even among the believers in Christ because Christians are not perfect. All Christians carry their emotional baggage with them, their human flaws and old habits which can be offensive and prone to cause trouble.

It’s not hard to remember someone who hurt us. We can remember very clearly what others have done badly to us. We don’t forget those memories, but we have an easier time forgetting what we have done to others. We are cleansed through the blood of Jesus, forgiven and saved by God’s grace. That does not mean that we don’t need to be forgiven by our brothers and sisters whom we have caused emotional damages and spiritual harms in the past. In fact, seeking reconciliation is an essential process of sanctification for each Christian. That’s why Jesus said in Matthew 5:23-24. “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”

Even though offenses made by us may not be intentional, they are still such a serious matter that it would be better for us to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around our neck than to cause others to sin. Here, Jesus didn’t mean that we should take his warning literally by throwing ourselves into the sea with a millstone tied around our neck. Look at verse 3a. “So watch yourself.” What does it mean to watch oneself here? It is translated in ESV (English Standard Version) as “Pay attention to yourself.” (ESV) Jesus often rebuked the Pharisees because they loved to point out other’s faults while they paid no attention to their own faults. Lack of self-examination often leads us to feel self-righteous and be spiritually blind. As Christians, we need regular self-examination. Probably, some of the best ways to examine oneself are meditation on God’s words, prayer, and writing a spiritual journal based on God’s words. Psalm 139:23-24 reads, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” It’s also good for us to have a peer group so that we can support and watch one another.
Just as it is necessary for his disciples not to cause others to sin, so it is necessary for them to forgive those who offended them or sinned against them. Look at verses 3b-4. “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents forgive him.” The disciple’s responsibility in helping those who fall into sin is twofold: admonition and generous forgiveness. For example, when King David sinned against God by committing adultery with Bathsheba and murdering her husband Uriah, God was displeased with him. And David was in deep agony in his soul. God could have struck him down with one blow. But God still loved David and was very patient with him. God sent the Prophet Nathan to help David. I wonder how Prophet Nathan responded when he first found out about what King David had done. I would not be surprised if he became very upset. Yet, he didn’t hurriedly rebuke David out of his anger, self-righteousness or even a mere sense of justice. He waited on God through his prayer. When he was told to go to David, he dealt with King David, a sinner, with sensitivity and wisdom, and courageously confronted him with his evil deeds. As a result, David could repent of his sins before God and be restored.

Rebuking someone who has sinned is not easy at all. Rebuking is different from being critical or just saying the right things. It’s also easy to say the right things at the wrong time and place. In fact, rebuking a fellow believer seems to be too risky. We might lose our friend. But rebuking a fellow sinning Christian is our responsibility as a Christian. When Jesus said “rebuke”, he meant all Christians should be accountable to one another so that there may be true unity and fellowship among the brothers and sisters in Christ. Every disciple needs accountability. It is essential for all Christians and Christian fellowships.

Look at verse 4. “If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.’” Here, we find a problem. Can we say that the repentance of the person, who repeats the same sin and comes back seven times every day and says, “I repent”, is sincere? May be or maybe not. For example, a Christian man has anger problem. When he is angry, he says and does things that are totally shocking and hurtful. He becomes emotionally violent and verbally abusive. But after his anger subsides, he deeply regrets what he has said and done. His verbal abuse has already caused much emotional and mental damage in the lives of his loved ones. Then he says, “I am sorry. I repent. Please, forgive me.” And he repeats the same thing over and over. What should we do with this kind of person? Jesus said that we should forgive him.

Was Jesus implying that we should endure such abusive words and actions unconditionally until we are victimized? Maybe not! Obviously, this kind of person needs special treatment, a long process of emotional, mental and spiritual healing, being supported by the love, counseling and prayers from his immediate family members, friends and the community of believers. The main point of Jesus’ teaching in this section seems to be “forgiveness.” Forgiveness is the most fundamental component of the gospel.

But forgiveness is one of the hardest things to do. Jesus said that if we refuse to forgive those who sinned against us, our Father in heaven won’t forgive us either. (Mt 6:15) It does not mean that God’s forgiveness of our sins is conditional. It rather teaches us the necessity of forgiving others. When we don’t forgive others, we become unhappy and gradually lose our spiritual power. In some cases, we may even develop emotional and mental stress and physical illness. We may even die prematurely. There is concrete evidence that grudges and resentment contribute to many of our illnesses: cancer, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, migraine headaches. Our health is directly related to our ability to forgive. In fact, Jesus commanded us to forgive not necessarily for the sake of offenders but for our own sake.

Hearing what Jesus said, the disciples were shocked and said, “Increase our faith!”(5) They didn’t think that they had enough faith to forgive the same person seven times a day. Look at verse 6. “He replied, ‘If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree. ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” According to Jesus, the disciples didn’t need huge faith that they didn’t have. Jesus was reminding them that even a little trust in God’s power and ability can result in unbelievable change in people’s lives. A mustard seed is very small, smaller than the size of a sesame seed. Mulberry trees are as tall as 30-35 feet when they are fully grown. They are very difficult to uproot. In order to uproot this kind of big tree, we definitely need power-tools and heavy duty equipment. Even if we might be able to uproot such a huge tree, how can we plant it in the sea? It may be not possible even with today’s advanced technology. Jesus said that when we have faith even as small as a mustard seed, we can even say to the mulberry tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea. And it will be done.

The power of God is beyond human reason, limitation and imagination. What is impossible with men is possible with God. (Lk 18:26; Mt 19:26) And we can experience God’s power when we have faith even as small as a mustard seed. If we believe that God can change us through the grace of forgiveness of sins and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can continue to exercise our faith, meaning that we can continue to ask the forgiveness and offer forgiveness those who offend us.
It’s easy to hurt one another in many ways. One contributing factor is that cultural differences are hard to overcome. Cultural difference is not necessarily just between different races or ethnicity. In fact, all human relationships are cross-cultural. Therefore, a lot of reconciliations have to be done every day more and more among the believers, so that they can continue to grow and be transformed into the vessel through which the Holy Spirit can work. We have a great vision to serve the whole world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. But how can God use us if we pretend to be united and are not forgiving one another? Someone may say, “I have nothing to forgive and be forgiven.” But that’s not possible.

I heard the beautiful story of the spiritual revival in Korea around 100 years ago. There are many different views about the real cause that could have started the spiritual revival in Pyung Yang. One of them, which I believe is true, is that the revival started when the Canadian missionaries and the Korean elders began to forgive one another for the offenses they made between them and accepted the cultural differences between them. They publically confessed their sins and asked forgiveness with repentance. When they forgave each other, they became truly united and a great spiritual revival swept the entire nation.

Having spoken about the power of faith, Jesus told his disciples the parable of the unworthy servant in verses 7-10. Read verses 7-10. “Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the sevant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Would he not rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink’? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servant; we have only done our duty.’” Why would Jesus suddenly tell the parable of the unworthy servant to his disciples who were asking him to increase their faith? (5) What is the parable of the unworthy servant related to Jesus’ previous teachings on the subject of forgiveness in verses 1-4?

Jesus wasn’t spouting random ideas here and there. His major theme is forgiveness. What really hinders us from experiencing God’s power in life and ministry is an unforgiving attitude. It’s only by God’s grace that we are forgiven and called to be the disciples of Jesus, the ministers of the gospel, missionaries, Bible teachers, and shepherds of God’s flock. However, if we begin to think that we are entitled to the honorary positions, reward and privilege because of our hard work and achievement, we lose genuine servant-ship. We become self-righteous and lose our genuine servant’s attitude. Although we started our Christian life with the grace of Jesus, it’s easy for us to stop living by God’s grace and live by legalism. And as a result, we lose our gospel faith. We don’t even recognize the difference between living by the gospel and living by legalism.

Saint Paul was a hard working and fruitful servant of God. There were so many people who were jealous of his success and slandered him behind his back. But Paul was so forgiving of them. However, he had never lost his genuine servantship all his lifetime. What was the secret? It’s because he not only preached the gospel but also practice the gospel in his daily life. He said in 1 Corinthians 15:9-10, “For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them – yet not I, but the grace of God what was with me.”

Many people live with a victim mentality and are reluctant to forgive others. They blame others for their misery. But Jesus said that we should forgive them, not necessarily for their sake but for our sake. When we don’t forgive others, we become unhappy and spiritually powerless. Some people even begin to develop emotional, mental disorders and physical illness. Jesus said in his sermon on the mountain, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken to your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Lk 6:36-38) God’s mercy is unlimited. God’s grace of forgiveness of sins is overflowing. Because we have been abundantly forgiven by God, we are able to forgive others in turn. Forgiveness is a very big part of good Christian living. There is a direct connection between forgiving others and being forgiven. How capable are we of forgiving the same person? Our capacity to forgive is the key to our spiritual survival, success and happiness as Jesus’ disciples. Is there any wisdom of God for us to make us wise, powerful and truly fruitful? Yes, there is -the gospel of Jesus Christ, the grace of forgiveness of sins. Christ died for our sins on the cross, shedding his blood so that our sins may be forgiven. The gospel of the forgiveness of sins in Jesus can change people. It can change the world and bring God’s kingdom on earth.

May the Lord help us to restore our gospel faith, so that we may ask forgiveness and forgive others who offend us. In the midst of all offenses that were made against him, Jesus on the cross prayed, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do.” Forgiveness! This is the gospel. This is the hope for everyone. This can be the beginning of our spiritual revival that is to come. If you are a Christian who believes in the gospel of forgiveness of sins, gospel faith is planted in you. Please continue to hold on to the gospel and exercise your faith in it. You will experience God’s power and miracles in and through your life.