Jesus’ freedom of forgiveness – Pastor Jade Yi

May the Grace and Peace from God be with each one of you. Amen.

願上帝的恩典與平安，賜給弟兄姊妹們。阿們。

Last Sunday, we wandered with Peter who stepped out of his comfort zone, the boat. He took the risk and had an adventure walking on the water to Jesus. We saw his faith which was tested and grew. By grace through faith, he was rescued by Jesus. After Jesus and Peter came back to the boat, the wind stopped. And the people on the boat worshiped him. Just like we are doing right now worshiping inside this boat, the church.

上個主日的經文，我們和彼得一起，大膽的踏出了船，走出了他的舒適區。在水上冒著危險走向耶穌的時後，他的信心受到了考驗並且也成長了。藉著恩典和信心，耶穌拯救了他。當耶穌和彼得回到船上後，風就停了。船上的人開始敬拜祂。就像我們現在一樣，在這艘船裡、我們的教堂，敬拜我們的主。

The boat, the church, is intended to be a safe place, where we learn about our faith in Jesus and practice what we confess to believe. Whenever we take risks and get wounded, Jesus is with us, he wraps our wounds and heals our brokenness. Whenever we are wronged and wrong others, Jesus is with us to humble us. He forgives our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Wherever Jesus is, we need to be with him so that we find our way back to the boat, the church, where the people of God gather to worship, to pray and to learn, to be healed and strengthened, and to be blessed and sent by God again week after week.

教會，也就是這艘船，本是一個安全的地方，在這裡我們學習信靠耶穌，並承認我們的信仰。每當我們冒險受傷時，耶穌就與我們同在，祂包紮我們的傷口，治癒我們的破碎。每當我們受到冤屈或冤枉他人時，與我們同在的耶穌，使我們謙卑下來。祂饒恕我們的罪，正如我們饒恕他人的罪。無論耶穌在哪裡，我們都需要與祂在一起，這樣我們才能找到，回教會的路上，也就是這艘船，這是神的兒女，聚集在一起敬拜、祈禱和學習，得到醫治和得著力量，並再次得到上帝的祝福和差遣的一個地方。

Today, we continue wandering with Peter’s faith journey. In Matthew 18, Peter is like a wet sponge, eager to learn about what Jesus thinks of forgiveness. Forgiveness is a huge life long lesson to everyone including Peter.

今天，我們來繼續隨同彼得的信仰之旅。在馬太福音第 18 章中，彼得就像一塊吸滿了水的海綿一樣，渴望學習到耶穌對寬恕的看法。寬恕對我們每一個人來說，是一生中，很重要的學習功課。彼得也不例外。

When Peter asked, “How many times should I forgive?” Peter might have expected a straightforward answer from Jesus. Well! Jesus gave a number that is not meant to be counted for. It depends on what Bible translation you have. Some translate it as “seventy-seven times” Some translate it as “seventy times seven” which is 490 times. Because of the nature of Biblical Greek, it can be translated either way.

當彼得問耶穌：“我該饒恕他人多少次呢？” 彼得可能以為耶穌會給他一個簡單的答案。出乎意料！耶穌給了一個不需要我們去數的一個數字。這怎麼說呢? 有些聖經翻譯為“七十七次”，有的翻譯為“七十乘以七”，那就是490次。由於聖經原文古希臘語的性質，這兩種方式的翻譯，都行得通。

Maybe, for Peter, the number of times matter to him. For some of us, we tend to assess what kinds of sins should be forgiven. For some of us, forgiving well matters more than anything else. Some might even ask, “Does forgiving mean forgetting?”

也許，對彼得來說，原諒的次數很重要。對某些人，他們更在意的是，什麼樣的罪應該被寬恕。但也有人會認為，好好的寬容他人比什麼都重要。甚至有人會問：“寬恕是否意味著忘記呢？”

What does forgiveness mean to Jesus then? Jesus knows forgiveness is hard and it can’t happen in isolation. That’s why he promises that he will always be with us as long as we pray together and ask for his help until we let it go. For Jesus, forgiveness is abundant and infinite. Jesus wants us to keep forgiving until we experience the freedom of forgiveness. The freedom of forgiveness is a way to experience God’s kingdom in our life. The freedom of forgiveness is what Christianity is about, isn’t it?

那麼，饒恕對耶穌來說又意味著什麼呢？耶穌知道寬恕是一件不容易做得到的事情，而且不應該是一個人要去面對的事。這也就是為什麼，祂承諾只要我們一起祈禱，祂就會永遠與我們同在，在禱告中，我們請求祂的幫助祂的陪伴，直到我們對彼此的寬容和原諒，以及對過去的錯誤和傷害能夠放下。對耶穌來說，寬恕是無限的而且永不缺乏的。耶穌希望我們能不斷的寬恕，直到我們經歷到寬恕的自由。 寬恕的自由是我們在生活中能夠體驗神國度的一種方式。寬恕的自由就是基督教的核心，不是嗎？

Do you remember what Jesus said before he died on the cross? In Luke 23:34, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” We tend to assume our offenders or wrongdoers know our pain. And we give a cold shoulder as a warning sign and expect that they will apologize to us. When it doesn’t happen, the relationship is broken, and the trust is lost.

你還記得耶穌死在十字架上之前所說的話嗎？在路加福音 23 章 34 節，耶穌說：「父啊，赦免他們！ 因為他們不知道自己在做什麼。」我們常習慣性的假設，冒犯我們的人或做錯事的人會知道他們對我們造成的傷害的痛苦。我們用冷戰作為警告，並期盼他們會向我們道歉。如果沒有發生，彼此的關係就隨之破裂，彼此的信任也就隨之消失了。

God creates each of us uniquely. That’s why we express our emotions and our thoughts differently. That leads us to respond and react to conflicts differently. And we need to be aware of our own communication style, our strength and our own weakness, so that we can avoid dominating and manipulating others. If we don’t, we either victimize others or play victims. On the cross of Jesus, we don’t see domination and manipulation. We see the freedom of forgiveness.

當上帝創造我們人類時，都賜與每一個人，有著自己獨特的個性。這就是為什麼在表達情感和想法時，我們會用自己不同的方式來表達。相對的，我們對人與人之間的衝突摩擦，自然會傳達不同的反應和回應。重點是，我們需要了解自己的溝通方式、甚麼是自己的優勢和劣勢，這樣我們才能避免去統治他人或是操縱他人。如果我們不注意，就會傷害到他人，或是自己開始扮演起受害者的角色。在耶穌的十字架上，我們看不見所謂的統治和操縱。我們看到是寬恕的自由。

The first verse we read today says that if a sibling in Christ sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If you are listened to, you have regained that person. Let us focus on this part, “If you are listened to, you have regained that person.” The phrase to gain someone in biblical Greek, κερδαίνω (kerdainō), also means to spare someone. Therefore, it also means to save or relieve someone from an experience or action.

今天經文的第一節說，如果在基督裡的兄弟姊妹得罪了你，在你兩人私下一起的時後，指出錯誤。如果你被傾聽了，你就重新找回了那個人。讓我們注意這一句話，“如果你被傾聽了，你就重新找回了那個人。” 在聖經古希臘文的原文中這個詞彙，”重新找回了那個人”，”κερδαίνω (kerdainō) 也可翻譯為 “饒恕那個人。” 這意味著 “使那個人從某種經歷或行為中被拯救出來或是赦免那人的經歷和行為”。

In this context, once we are listened to, it’s our call to let it go and to spare that person from an experience or action that causes conflict. We can’t fix anyone but only God can renew that person in Christ. 在這樣的情況下，只要對方傾聽了我們，能放下此恩怨和寬恕那造成衝突摩擦的人，就只有我們自己了。我們無法改變修復任何人，只有上帝才能使人在基督裡成為新造的人。

Who in your life needs forgiveness? Or is there anything you need to forgive yourself for? If so, how do you find forgiveness for yourself? Our relationship with God matters, which is the vertical line of the cross. Our relationship with our siblings in Christ also matters to God, that is the horizontal line of the cross. We surely can experience God’s kingdom in our midst if we take Jesus’ cross and Great Commandment seriously enough. The church is a place where the freedom of forgiveness is experienced and where we give thanks to God for it. That’s what Christianity is about. Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

有誰在你生命中需要寬恕呢？或是你有需要原諒自己的事情嗎？如果是這樣，你如何能為自己得著寬恕呢？我們與神的和睦關係很重要，那是十字架中的垂直線。我們與在基督裡的兄弟姊妹的和睦關係對神來說也很重要，那是十字架裡的水平線。如果我們認真對待耶穌的十字架和大誡命，我們便能經歷到神的國就在我們當中。教會是讓我們能夠體驗到 寬恕的自由 的一個地方，也是我們為 寬恕的自由 來感謝主的地方。這就是基督教的核心。感謝上帝賜耶穌基督給我們，我們的救主。阿們。