Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 10
In the Q&A, Justin raises the “step beyond forgiveness”: not only forgiving, but praying, “do not charge them with this sin,” like Jesus and Stephen; what would change in your heart if you began interceding for the offender’s mercy rather than secretly hoping for punishment, and what might that reveal about whether you’ve truly forgiven?
Another way to ask: Justin talks about going past forgiveness to praying, “Don’t hold this sin against them,” like Jesus and Stephen. If you started praying for mercy for the person who hurt you instead of wanting payback, what might change in you, and would it show you’ve really forgiven?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The speaker suggests that interceding for an offender’s mercy may be evidence that forgiveness has become real and complete—“we have really laid it all down.” If we still hope for punishment, it may reveal we haven’t fully forgiven from the heart, even if we say we have.
- Justin notes Jesus didn’t only forgive; He asked the Father to forgive: “Father, forgive them.”
- Justin observes Stephen’s prayer under stoning: “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.”
- Justin highlights our common conflict: we may forgive but still “hope that God will punish them.”
- The speaker replies: Jesus didn’t require this explicitly in the Sermon on the Mount, but “that’s probably what he wants us to do.”
- He proposes a test: “Maybe that is a sign of we’ve really forgiven when we can truly intercede… please don’t punish them for this.”
- He connects it to Jesus’ model: “He doesn’t ask us to do something he didn’t do himself.”