Dear Friends in Christ,

Have you ever met a person who says "I can’t forgive him" or "I will never forgive her"? Certainly that’s sad when someone feels that way. But it’s far more than just sad. It’s actually terribly frightening. After all, don’t we ask God in the Lord’s prayer to forgive us as we forgive those who sin against us? Someone who refuses to forgive can expect to be treated the same way by God—and that is frightening, because if we’re not forgiven by God, we have nothing to look forward to but a future of eternal punishment in hell. No matter how badly someone may have sinned against us, or how many times—we Christians still have to be prepared to forgive them when they repent. There’s no way around that. The very heart and core of Christianity centers around the concept of forgiveness. Christianity is all about the forgiveness that Christ has given us. And true faith in Christ’s forgiveness enables every true Christian to be forgiving toward others. Our Gospel lesson spelled that out so clearly today (Mt 18:21-35).

What Jesus tells us to do, we learn by Joseph’s example, when we look at our wonderful text from the book of Genesis. Today we want the Holy Spirit to improve our skills and renew our determination as Christians to "Forgive Like Joseph."

We want to talk about forgiving, and we’ll do that in a minute. But first let’s put ourselves on the receiving end. Forgiveness is the greatest gift anybody can receive. And not being forgiven or feeling unforgiven is one of the most anxious thoughts that can fill our hearts. Just ask Joseph’s brothers. They were filled with dread and fear, because they weren’t so sure Joseph had forgiven them. In fact they were terrified because they thought he might make use of his almost unlimited power as the premier of Egypt to exact revenge on them, now that their father had died.

But let’s back up in the story a little bit, so we can recall just what was going on. I’m sure you recall how as a young man Joseph was treated so specially by his father, since Joseph was the firstborn of his father’s favorite wife, Rachel. Jacob spoiled him, and the other brothers became jealous. God himself had chosen Joseph for great things. He sent Joseph special dreams, which Joseph told his brothers. That made them all the more jealous and hateful toward him, especially since Joseph was the main character in those dreams and his brothers were always bowing down to him. Finally, when they couldn’t stand it any longer, their sinful jealousy and hatred drove them to sell their own brother as a slave into Egypt. They would have killed him in fact, if the caravan of traders hadn’t come along in the nick of time.

That’s a lot to expect someone to forgive, wouldn’t you say? Joseph had lost his home, his family and his freedom, even spending a couple years in a foreign prison, all because of his brothers’ jealousy. Years later, when the brothers were forced to come to Egypt to buy grain, Joseph introduced himself to them as their brother. He wept and hugged them and he told them that all was forgiven. But the brothers had trouble believing it. After all, they’d grown themselves a whole lot during those years Joseph was away. They were no longer the vengeful young men they had been. They now understood just how horrible a thing they had done, and their consciences would not let them rest.

When they settled in Egypt they brought their father down from Canaan to live in Egypt with them. But Jacob was an old man. When he died, the brothers got nervous again. Their old bruised consciences wouldn’t let them rest. They were still overwhelmed by what they had done, and had a hard time believing anyone, even Joseph, could forgive them. So they sent word to Joseph, saying, "Your father left these instructions before he died: ¹⁷ ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father."

When their message came to him, Joseph wept. At first glance, you might be wondering to yourself why Joseph started crying. After all, it seemed the most reasonable request. But it wasn’t the nature of the message that troubled him so deeply. It was the fact that he’d already told them from his heart that they were forgiven. He’d already promised to take care of them and protect them in Egypt. What troubled Joseph so much was that they couldn’t quite believe him. They weren’t sure they could trust him. He was sad that even after all these years, their family hadn’t been able to completely heal and be normal again. So ruinous is sin of our lives!

But Joseph was a Christian. He really did forgive! He’d been able to put the whole mess behind him and see it as a part of God’s eternal plan. Why? How? What enabled him to be so generous with his forgiveness?

It was the fact that he understood how God had treated him and forgiven him, despite everything. Joseph himself was a lot older now than he had been that fateful year when he was sold into slavery. As a mature man, Joseph could look back on the years of his youth and recognize how poorly he had handled things. He could understand how it might have seemed like he was bragging, the way he told them all the dreams in which he was the center and all the others honored him. Surely, Joseph must have relived those days many times in his mind, and wished he had done things differently. But he knew that God had forgiven and forgotten all his sins. What a wonderful sense of peace that gives—knowing that all the dumb things in our past are forgiven for Jesus’ sake. When you realize how generous God has been to you with his own forgiveness, it’s a whole lot easier to generously forgive those who have sinned against us.

Joseph also saw how well God had been taking care of him all those years. Sure he was sold as a slave, but then he was bought by one of Egypt’s high officials. In Potiphar’s house Joseph worked his way up to manager of the whole estate, as God blessed everything he did with the Midas touch. And when Potiphar’s wife falsely accused him and Joseph wound up in the royal prison, God again blessed his believing child, so that Joseph became something of the warden of his own prison. Finally, of course, God blessed him by giving him the interpretation of the Pharaoh’s dream of famine. God blessed Joseph by giving him the wisdom and foresight to plan in advance for the coming drought. And God blessed him with the throne of Egypt, next to the Pharaoh. When Joseph looked at how overwhelmingly generous God had been toward him, he couldn’t help but be a big hearted man. But take note: that’s only because he was a Christian. Lots of people have shot up the ranks of importance, stature and wealth only to become tyrants and jerks. Joseph was first and foremost a believer in his God—our God.

Because he was a believer, Joseph was able to see one more thing very clearly. He could see that despite the way it may have looked at the time, God was behind everything that happened. God had been steering and guiding his life, just where he wanted it to go. Joseph reminded his brothers that he understood that: "Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? ²⁰ You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. ²¹ So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. You know what a wonderful comfort it is, when God says in Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Joseph had learned first hand how true that is. God had taken the most convoluted of circumstances and made them work out in the most intricate plan. What an inner peace and joy Joseph must have had as he looked back on his life and saw God’s wise and guiding hand. He knew ever so personally what it meant to be a dearly loved child of God. That’s what made it easy for him to pass the same love on to his brothers, whom he had long since forgiven. You can understand why he cried. He was just so sad that they didn’t fully grasp the beauty and love in God’s plan yet.

You know, it’s the same things that enabled Joseph to love and forgive his brothers that make it possible for us to be loving and forgiving. Do you see the hand of God at work in your life? Do you see how he’s brought you where you are today—not by accident, but with a real purpose in mind? Have you ever wrestled with your conscience about dumb things you did years ago that you still feel bad about? And then remembered that God himself has wiped those things off your slate and forgiven them completely?

I’ve met people who can’t forgive. Some may even have called themselves Christians—but they weren’t. Don’t misunderstand. It’s not always easy for Christians to forgive. But it’s impossible for them not to forgive, because they know what God has done for them—not the least of which is that he died for all their sins.

Praise God that he has forgiven us our mountain of debt. That’s the heart and center of the message of the Bible, the message of Christianity. That means striving to forgive like Joseph, to forgive like Jesus, is the heart and center of our life here on this earth as forgiven Christians. Let’s make sure it always remains our highest goal in life. Amen.