Within hours the videotape went viral and the police officers
were charged with police brutality. However,
a month later, four of the officers were acquitted. A few months later the fifth was acquitted by
a hung jury and widespread riots were the result with 53 people killed and over
two thousand were injured.
It was during these LA riots that Rodney King appeared on
national television and offered a question that would become his trademark in
life and in death – “Why can’t we all just get along?” At the time no one could successfully answer
that question. Indeed, I don’t remember any
attempts to answer it. So what’s your
answer to Rodney’s plea? Selfishness? Short-sightedness? Immorality?
Interestingly, Jesus would offer none of those suggestions, instead He’d
point to the human heart.
Have you ever noticed how frequently and how stridently
Jesus speaks of forgiveness? To Jesus,
forgiveness isn’t a casual sidebar, it’s central to His teaching. In fact, it’s at the heart of all Jesus came
to teach and to live.
Now why do you suppose Jesus placed such a premium on
forgiveness? Do you think it’s because
He, like Rodney, wants everyone to be nice?
Do you think it’s because He doesn’t really care about justice? Or is it because He’s naïve to the extent of
human evil? Not on your life! No. Forgiveness
is at the heart of Jesus’ teaching because He knows that without profound, “to
the bone” forgiveness, there’s no getting along with God, ourselves, or anyone
else. Without forgiveness there is no
freedom. Without forgiveness there is no
healing. Without forgiveness there is no peace. Without forgiveness there is no release from
pain, guilt, or anger. Without
forgiveness there is no antidote to the root of bitterness that grows as a
spiritual cancer in the lives of Christians and non-Christians alike. The truth is that Jesus, more than any other
person who ever walked this planet, understood that forgiveness is the key to
everything important in life.
That’s why, this week, we are beginning a 13-week look into
the matter of forgiveness in a series entitled, “The Heart of the Matter: Forgiveness.” And this week we begin where Jesus begins - with
the human heart. We will be in Mark,
Chapter 7 where, in answer to His critics, Jesus lets us in on the foundational
truth of forgiveness. It is a truth that,
over the years, I have repeatedly discovered is missed and lies at the heart of
one’s inability to forgive.
In preparation for Sunday’s message, “Bad to the Bone,” you
may wish to consider the following:
1. Our
companion text – Ezekiel 36:26-29.
2. How
often does the word “forgiveness” appear in the Scriptures?
3. What’s
the definition of forgiveness?
4. In
Mark 7 the Bible tells of Pharisees and Scribes coming to challenge Jesus. But this is not the first time they’ve come
to challenge Jesus. Can you find the
previous examples?
5. What’s
at the heart of their problem with Jesus?
6. Why
do they come at Him through His disciples?
7. What’s
interesting about Jesus’ use of Isaiah 29:13?
8. In
what way do the critics fail to go deep enough?
9. What’s
the greatest failure of religion?
10. What’s the
answer to our deepest problem?
See you Sunday!
