you talkin' to me?

often, Christians think Jesus is hard to understand.  i sure did.  these days, He is much more clear to me.

the toughest thing about Jesus is that He often says things that directly contradict the 'gospel of grace' that we read in acts and the epistles.  read for yourself:

• Matthew 6:12 
• Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
• Matthew 6:14-15 
• For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
• Matthew 18:21-35 
• Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"  22Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.   23"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.   26"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.   28"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.   29"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'   30"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.   32"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.  33Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.   35"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
• Luke 6:37
• "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
• Luke 11:4
• Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation. ' "
• Luke 17:3-4
• So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.  If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him."

the above are but one example - Jesus is directly saying that people MUST forgive other people perfectly in order to be forgiven themselves.  we can try to wiggle out of what He is saying, we can try to explain away His 'hard teachings', but He means exactly what is right there on the surface...

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and yet, i totally believe in the gospel of grace; i totally believe that we do NOT have to forgive other people perfectly in order to be forgiven.  thus, i believe we are saved in direct contradiction to the words of Jesus.

why is that?

it's because Jesus is not speaking to me.  in fact, Jesus is speaking 2000 years ago to a people convinced they would make it to heaven if they obeyed the letter of the Law.  Jesus is 'raising the bar', introducing to the 'spirit of the Law' - the perfection of God Himself.  Jesus is showing them that no-one lives up to God's righteous standard, not even those who seem to obey the letter of the Law.

it's all meant to lead them to a knowledge of personal sin and their need of Him as Savior.

as such, it does not apply to any Christian.  today, God encourages us to forgive others, but He does not require it.  our salvation is a free gift, no strings attached.

Takeaway
in the Gospels, Jesus is not always talking to you; often, Jesus is actually talking to the people He was talking to.
Application
be very careful when you want to apply the words of Jesus to yourself or other Christians.  ask yourself if Jesus might be trying to convince the people He was talking to, self-righteous people, of their sin and their need for a Savior.