Fully Realized Forgiveness...the Test Of Love-2 Series

FULLY REALIZED FORGIVENESS...The TEST of LOVE/Trust-II—Luke 7:36-50

Attention:

HITLER’s REALIZATION?

The following is presented as true yet many doubt its truth.

On September 28, 1918, during WW-I a Private Henry Tandey, a British soldier serving near the French village of Marcoing, encountered a wounded German soldier, but rather than shoot him, he spares the life of an upper 30-ish aged Lance Corporal.

As Tandey later told sources, during the final moments of that battle, as the German troops were in retreat, a wounded German soldier entered Tandey’s line of fire. “I took aim but couldn’t shoot a wounded man,” Tandey remembered, “so I let him go.” They were close enough to see into each other’s eyes. The German soldier nodded in thanks, & disappeared.

In another battle, Tandey would later earn a Victoria Cross for “conspicuous bravery.”

Tandey did not know the identity of the German soldier or the future atrocities to be associated with his act of 'forgiveness'. A photograph ran in London newspapers of Tandey carrying a wounded soldier at an earlier battle in Ypres, France in 1914. This scene was later portrayed on canvas in a painting by the Italian artist Fortunino Matania glorifying the Allied war effort.

Then British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, traveled to Germany in 1938 to engage Adolf Hitler in a last-ditch effort to avert another war in Europe. He was taken by the führer to his new country retreat in Bavaria. There, Hitler showed Chamberlain his copy of the Matania painting, commenting, “That’s the man who nearly shot me.”

Hitler would state in 1941, “When I returned from the War, I brought back home with me my experiences at the front; out of them I built my National Socialist community.”

Hitler didn’t fully realize his previous forgiveness received. He had a notorious lack of regard for life!

Thru these tests, one's authenticity becomes conclusive.

Jesus called Simon the Pharisee to task regarding two demonstrations of love.

A forgiveness that is fully Realized is reflected in a reciprocal/proportional appreciation.

!You can know whether God’s forgiveness is fully realized in your life!

?Where/How is that fully realized forgiveness tested?

9 tests of Realized Forgiveness.

Previously we found that Realized Forgiveness is tested in the crucible of...

1. RECOGNITION(:36-37a-b)

2. OPPORTUNITY(:36-37)

3—Realized Forgiveness is tested in the crucible of...

PERCEPTION(:38, 39)

Explanation:(38, 39)Contrast/Deserving vs. Undeserving

:38—“& stood at His feet behind Him weeping; & she began to wash His feet with her tears, & wiped them with the hair of her head; & she kissed His feet & anointed them with the fragrant oil.”

This anointing incident should not be confused or conflated with the similar incident recorded in Mat. 26:6-13, Mk. 14:3-9 & Jn. 12:1-8(which three seem to render the same event).—D. A. Carson, ‘The Gospel According to John’

The woman “stood” behind Jesus as He reclined at the table. “His feet” were thus openly bared behind Him as He faced the table. As she was standing, she was weeping. She purposely wet Jesus’ feet with her tears &, evidently bent down leaving her standing position, continuously “wiped” his feet with her hair.

She simultaneously “anointed” Jesus’ feet with the perfume. Jesus’ feet were thus beyond clean for they had the essence of sweetness upon them. This woman’s actions revealed the real heart of the inviter...the Pharisee(Explained Specifically in :44-46)....

1)The commonly acceptable thing to do for any guest would be to wash his feet—a task usually assigned to slaves(:44).

2)The uncommon thing to do was to weep in their presence & use those tears for cleansing.

3)The uncommon thing to do was to was to use one’s own hair as a towel for cleansing another’s feet.

4)The uncommon thing to do was to anoint the guest with overly expensive perfume...To treat this guest as royalty deserving special favor.

*“The word in the N.T. occurs here, of the prodigal's father (15:20), of the kiss of Judas (Mk. 14:45; Mt. 26:49), of the Ephesian elders (Ac. 20:37). Kissing the feet was a common mark of deep reverence, especially to leading rabbis”—RWP

“Standing”—isthmi—1) To cause or make to stand, to place, put, set; 2)To stand. Strong—a prolonged form of a primary staw(of the same meaning, & used for it in certain tenses); To stand(transitively or intransitively), used in various applications(literally or figuratively).

“At”—para—Preposition—1) From, of at, by, besides, near. Strong—a primary preposition; properly, near; i.e. (with genitive case)--From beside(literally or figuratively), (with dative case) At(or in) the vicinity of(objectively or subjectively), (with accusative case)--To the proximity with(local [especially beyond or opposed to] or causal--On account of.

“Behind”—opisw—Adverb—1) Back, behind, after, afterwards. Strong—To the back, i.e. Aback(as adverb or preposition of time or place; or as noun).

“Feet”2X—pouv—1) A foot, both of men or beast. Strong—a primary word; A “foot”(figuratively or literally).

“Weeping”—klaiw—1) To mourn, weep, lament—1a) Weeping as the sign of pain & grief for the thing signified (i.e. for the pain & grief), 1b) Of those who mourn for the dead; 2) To weep for, mourn for, bewail, one. Klaiw is to weep audibly, cry as a child. Strong—To sob, i.e. Wail aloud(whereas dakruw is rather to cry silently).