Forgiveness Leaves no Room for Vengeance!

17th Sunday after Pentecost, 10/9/11
Genesis 50:15-21


Forgiveness Leaves no Room for Vengeance!
I. It cherishes the grace of God.
II. It mimics the actions of God.


Perhaps you’ve heard that revenge is a dish that’s best served cold.

Someone else once said, “He who takes revenge is like the bee, which by stinging others loses not only its sting but often also its life.”

It’s true, isn’t it? The person who lives to seek revenge often loses their life. All happiness and contentment are gone. There is no positive purpose to their life. Love slowly seeps out of their hearts until none is left. And when they get their revenge, what really has been accomplished? Only the ruin of another life.

How much better to be able to forgive and to forgive completely! But that’s the difficult part, even for us who have gathered here today. To forgive completely can be difficult at times because the hurt we feel runs deep.

The hurt could have run deep in Joseph’s heart. Who would have faulted Joseph, one of the twelve sons of Jacob, if vengeance had become a good part of his life? But that’s not what we hear at all from his words as recorded by Moses in Genesis 50. Instead, his words breathe an air of loving forgiveness and genuine Christian concern. Joseph had the ability to forgive completely. And once he had done that, there was no room for vengeance.

As Christians, we strive to possess, display and extend that same forgiveness. But there are times that we struggle. And thus we need the reminder and the encouragement that forgiveness leaves no room for vengeance. May the Holy Spirit gives us such a forgiving heart as he works in us through this portion of God’s word this morning.

Part I.

Many of us recall the story of Joseph and the special coat he received from his father. We also recall how much his brothers hated him because he was their father’s favorite son and what his brothers did to him. They were plotting to kill him but changed their minds and sold him into slavery. He was falsely imprisoned but then received from God the ability to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams about the 7 years of abundant crops followed by the 7 years of famine. In return, Pharaoh elevated Joseph to the second in command in all of Egypt.

That sounds like a rags-to-riches story, but actually it didn’t happen overnight and, remember, Joseph didn’t ask for any of this to happen. In a way, his brothers had ruined this young man’s life. He was forcefully separated from his beloved father, Jacob, and his brother, Benjamin, for years. His hateful brothers had stolen all that from him. Yes, he was enjoying life now, but he had suffered much for a long time. And it was completely the fault of his 10 brothers.

Fast forward several decades. Joseph’s father, Jacob, died. He was no longer there to influence the behavior of his sons. And this was the thought filled their minds, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” They figured it was pay-back time. And who wouldn’t think that way? After all, it was a perfect storm for vengeance to strike. Their father was dead and could do nothing to stop Joseph. Joseph had all the power in Egypt to take revenge. With a single command, he could order it to be done and no questions would be asked. And the brothers admitted they deserved it. They had done something terrible. Sure, decades ago they had admitted their guilt to Joseph and had heard his forgiving words then, but who could forgive so completely? They wouldn’t be so ready to do so if they were in Joseph’s place.

So they offered to do the only thing they could think of. Our text says, “His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. ‘We are your slaves,’ they said.” They offered Joseph their servitude if only he would spare their lives. In short, they were willing to try to appease what they assumed was Joseph’s vengeful spirit with the offer of their most prized possessions—their lives.

But they failed to know their brother Joseph. You see, Joseph knew the grace of God. Let me explain. Joseph knew that he was a sinner just like his brothers. In fact, he may have recalled that he fostered their hatred of him by telling them his dreams about ruling over them. While we don’t hear of Joseph’s sins, no doubt they occurred daily just as ours do. Joseph knew them all too well. But he also knew the grace of God. He knew that his God was the God of full and free forgiveness, the God who was slow to anger and abounding in love for sinners. He was the God who had promised to send a Savior into the world using Joseph and his 11 brothers who would become the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph knew that he was unconditionally forgiven by God.

And he also knew the truth of the words that we speak today in the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” The gift of God’s full forgiveness to us on a daily basis leads us to forgive others on a daily basis no matter what their sins against us are. When we’re called on to forgive the relatively few sins that others commit against us, God calls on us to recall the innumerable sins he has forgiven us. And when we do that, then revenge is out of the picture.

Forgiveness leaves no room for vengeance. It cherishes the grace of God.

It’s evident that Joseph cherished the grace of God. How about you? Well, we like to think that we do. After all, we made the effort to be here this morning to receive the grace of God in word and sacrament. And that’s a good thing. But there are times when we don’t appreciate God’s grace…like when we find it difficult to forgive someone. Maybe a better way of saying that is when we’re holding a grudge, even just a tiny one. They’ve wronged us by what they said or did or by what they didn’t say or didn’t do and while we don’t hate them for it, we can’t think of anything good any longer to say to them or about them. After all, they can’t even recognize how they’ve wronged us. So, while we don’t actively plot to get our revenge, we also don’t have any plans to offer them a forgiving heart. That’s a form of vengeance and forgiveness leaves no room for vengeance. A heart without vengeance is a heart that knows and believes the only reason our God forgives us is because he is loving and gracious. He forgives us freely. His Son died on the cross for your sins and mine even before we had committed a single one. And when we recall how our God has forgiven us, then he also gives us a forgiving heart toward others. That’s a heart full of love, a heart with no room for vengeance.

Part II.

Famous people are often asked, “Who is your hero?” or, “Who has been the greatest influence on your life?” The answers often offered are a parent or a teacher or another famous artist or athlete. But on occasion, a very rare occasion, you might read or hear someone answer that question with, “Jesus Christ.” And for a Christian, isn’t that the truth? We want to be like Jesus. We want to do the things that Jesus does. We want to be as loving and truthful as he is.

We see Joseph doing that very thing in his dealings with his brothers. The most obvious Christ-like activity is the way he forgave his brothers. It’s apparent that he had done so even before they had asked him to. How Christ-like is that?! He wanted them to know with all their heart and mind that he didn’t bear any grudges against them. Notice what our text says, “When their message came to him, Joseph wept.” He realized that their past sins against him still were a wedge in their relationship with him, so much so, that they couldn’t even speak to him directly about it, so they sent a message to him. But he had already forgiven them completely and wanted to assure them of it.

Furthermore, Joseph knew that if there were to be any consequences for their sins, that was up to God. He rhetorically asked them, “Am I in the place of God?” The Lord God said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay” (Dt. 32:35). Joseph knew that his job was not to see to it that his brothers paid for their sins. Rather, his job was to forgive them from his heart, fully. That’s Christ-like.

In fact, Joseph knew that his God called on him to speak and act kindly toward his brothers. Listen to what Joseph told them, “‘So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.’ And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.” Amazing, isn’t it? After all they had done to him, who would have faulted Joseph if he had told them, “Now that dad is dead, you’re on your own. I don’t care if I never speak to you again”? But that wouldn’t be Christ-like, would it?

In short, Joseph placed the entire matter into the hands of his God. Joseph saw God’s hand in what had happened to him. He told his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” It didn’t happen quickly, but God used the wicked actions of his brothers to accomplish some tremendous blessings for countless people. The same thing happened with our Savior. Wicked men crucified him. But Jesus placed his life into the hands of his Father and his Father used his crucifixion as the greatest blessing for all people.

And that’s what happens when forgiveness leaves no room for vengeance. It allows us to mimic the actions of God.

Our Lord Jesus knows how hard it is for us to forgive others the way he did. In fact, he knows it’s impossible for us. But that’s why he came to this earth—to perfectly forgive others in our place and to die for our sins in our place. That was his astounding love for us in action. That love now fills our hearts and from that love flows the ability to mimic the actions of our God in loving those who sin against us. May our God empower you to show that kind of forgiveness and Christian love toward others! Amen.