Everybody need forgive somebody (1)

The Soldier's Coat

Imagine you meet a soldier walking down the street in the first century. You see the sparkle in his eyes as he meets you. Joy radiates off his face as if he has won the lottery. You ask him why.

He shares that his work today started out in an ordinary way. He had no way of knowing that his day would turn and become special, a veritable red-letter day, a day to be celebrated. When the events unfolded, the soldier could barely contain his joy. Today he won a new coat.

The soldier has just been looking for someone to tell the story to, to recount his remarkable good fortune and to show off his new coat. First, he stopped by the office to clock out for the day. He proudly turned and primped for his coworkers and the ladies who operated the home office. "Check it out! I am styling today. Get a load of this coat! I won it. Can you believe it?" The soldier wanted everyone to see the spoils of his victory that day. The women at the office marveled at the beauty of his fine new coat.

After leaving the office to make his way home, the soldier just had to stop by the tavern to show it to his buddies. He'd grab some wine and show off his new coat. This thing was special, and the soldier wanted to brag. "Check out this new coat I got today. Can you believe it? Look at the fabric. This is some coat!" His friends smiled, laughed, and patted him on the back. What a fine day indeed.

The soldier's enthusiasm bubbled over as he walked into his house. He knew his wife was not going to believe this one... a new coat, and such a finely crafted one at that. For soldiers, days like this were few and far between. "Honey, check it out. What do you think? Not a seam on this beauty. Can you believe that I won this at work?"

"That is a fine coat," she replied. "How'd you get it?" "Well, it started like a regular day at work," he said. "Me and the fellows were out on the hill like we always are. I was minding my cross; Bart and Laz, they were minding theirs. I had a fellow up on mine who the crowd really hated for some reason. They yelled at him. They spat at him. They cussed, they mocked, and they even poked him with sticks. One guy went right up to the guy on my cross and stuck some vinegar on a sponge and stabbed it around his mouth. I mean, they really could not stand this guy. And the thing is, this guy hanging on my cross had a really nice coat. This beauty—I mean, look at it! So me and the boys decided to cast lots for this coat. Not a bad coat for an old Jew. We cast lots, and I won. Can you believe it? It is such a beauty. Everybody says so. Never seen any coat like it before."

Imagine you meet that soldier on the street, and he shares this story. Surely you walk away wondering many things. Why do you wonder? Because when you think about it, it really is remarkable, isn't it? Jesus died hanging on the cross, and as they cast lots for His garments, He looked down at the soldier you just met and said, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing." Jesus gazed into the eyes of this soldier, who gleefully looked forward to showing off his new coat. Then, He forgave him.

As He undergoes an excruciating death, and is subjected to humiliation by the crowd, Jesus actually pauses and offers forgiveness. Astonishing. He stares into the eyes of evil, darkness, and death, and rather than cowering or cursing or complaining about the pain, Jesus unlocks the door of forgiveness right there in front of everyone. Wow.

In fact, when you read the Gospels, this much is clear: Jesus seizes this forgiveness thing, and He just won't let it go. Everywhere Jesus goes, He either teaches about forgiveness or He offers it to someone. Zacchaeus. Peter. The woman at the well. The woman caught in adultery. When Jesus teaches His followers to pray, He tells them to ask for forgiveness and for the strength to forgive other people.

Every place you open the Gospels, Jesus is sounding the bugle of forgiveness. The truth is obvious: Jesus, very simply, is all about forgiveness. So much so that His first sermon is just one word, "Repent!" as He makes it plain that we need forgiveness. And His last words are uttered to the Father from the cross on behalf of the soldiers below. "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

In other words, forgiveness is literally the first and last message in Jesus' entire ministry. That alone teaches us how very important forgiveness is to our God. And how important it should be to us.

Forgiveness will unleash a power in your life that is underrated and often ignored. Frankly, that power is life-changing. It is underrated mainly because it is underused. We fail to capture the power of forgiveness because we are afraid of it, because we have grown comfortable in our familiar wounds, or because we are sinfully stubborn. But the power is there waiting for us. That is why I have written this little book. Because everybody needs to forgive somebody. And Jesus shows us how.