The Gut-Punch Prelude to Forgiveness

The Gut-Punch Prelude to Forgiveness.

“Forgive each other, just as God has forgiven you in Christ.” (Eph. 4:32)

Splagchnizomai  (splawnk – NITZ – oh – mi). Don’t let that strange, practically unpronounceable Greek word put you off. It turns out to be one of the most meaningful ideas in the gospels, and it describes Jesus to a T. Most Bible versions translate this word to mean “moved with compassion.” But somehow that translation doesn’t quite do it justice. One might even say it doesn’t go deep enough. The literal meaning of this word is “to have one’s bowels yearn,” which makes sense since the root word for it is “intestines.” Since the innermost organs were considered at that time to be the seat of human emotions, and since love is the emotion being implied, splagchnzomai could be understood as an experience in which true compassion has its beginnings from down deep in the gut. This word points to an intense emotional experience that is felt in the pit of one’s stomach. This profound compassion is not superficial by any means, not casual, not distant. This compassion is immediate and so deeply felt that it demands action. This compassion is so visceral that it must find an outlet, a target, in doing something physical and helpful.

Living Into the Gut of Christ. As we deepen our union with Christ, as we live into His reality and character, we also live into His compassion, into being deeply moved to our very innards. As theologian Jeff McSwain once said, “If we truly are ‘in Christ,’ then just as we’ve been given the mind of Christ, we’ve also been given the ‘gut’ of Christ. In all acts of compassion, believers can give credit where credit is due, to the Savior who in solidarity with humanity shares his sensitive gut with us.” And the more we live into Christ, the more our gut matches the gut of Christ. For the Christian believer, to see human need is to bring in us a gut reaction.

For a long time now it has been the heart, not the gut or intestines, that was considered to be the emotional center of the person. So we could paraphrase splagchnzomai to mean: to be heart-broken with empathy; to have one’s heart overflow with compassion; to feel one’s heart ache with concern; or to have one’s heart skip a beat with pity.

A Gut Feeling. This overlooked Greek word is used only a handful of times in the gospels, and practically every time it is used in reference to Jesus in His ministry. The gospel writers are trying to communicate that the compassion from Jesus comes from a very deep place. He is a Person whose heart could break with love. He is Someone who can feel compassion from the pit of His stomach. And of course, Jesus is never content to just feel this intense compassion, He has a driving need to demonstrate it. Jesus has a deep well of compassion that goes down far below the surface, deep into His innards. And He often dips down into that well whenever He sees human need. Jesus had a gut feeling in His ministry, and that gut feeling was compassion.

When Jesus is Deeply Moved. There are a number of gospel passages in which Jesus experienced splagchnzomai. It is important for us to see the contexts in which He was moved in His innermost organs. It is vital that we observe Him as this intense emotion moved Him to action. It is fascinating to witness His profound feelings after observing the people who were living like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36 and Mark 6:34); when He was surrounded by neediness (Matthew 14:14); when He observed the huge throng of people skipping meals just to hear Him teach and preach (Mark 8:2); when He encountered a man who was leprous and two men who were blind (Mark 1:41 and Matthew 20:34); when He came upon a grieving widow who just lost her only son (Luke 7:13). The gospel writers also reported that Jesus used this fancy Greek word splagchnizomai in three of His famous parables: The Unforgiving Servant (Matt. 18:21-35); The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37); and The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). By using this particular word in His stories, perhaps Jesus wants us to so identify with this idea that we would want to demonstrate it to others. Perhaps He wants us to feel compassion from the pit of our stomach like He did. If we are to follow this Man Jesus, we need His Spirit to develop the ability to dip deeply into the well of compassion, to develop a sensitive gut. And in two of those parables in particular, the gut-punch was the prelude to tremendous acts of forgiveness.

1. The Story of the Prodigal Son. “So the young son set off for home. From a long distance away, his father saw him coming, and the father was deeply moved with compassion (splagchnizomai) for his son. The father’s heart was overflowing with love for him, this son who was finally returning home. So the father raced out to meet him. He swept his son up in his arms, hugged him dearly, and covered him with kisses.” (Luke 15:20; also please read the entire story in Luke 15:11-32). 

The Forgiving Father. It has been suggested that Jesus wanted to communicate the nature of His Father in this pivotal parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. Jesus here shares His own experience with Abba Father. He in effect defined the meaning and substance of the Father in this parable. In Jesus’ mind, this is what His Father looks like, a Father who is deeply moved with compassion. He in fact is redefining the inaccurate picture of the Father as an overbearing ogre full of power and authority, who loves to punish and threaten, who at times is distant and indifferent and other times a cruel taskmaster. Jesus paints a picture of the Father that contrasts with all that, a Father as Abba, a kind and forgiving God who wants what’s best for each person, a Father who genuinely cares for each person in the human family with an eternal love, who desires an intimate personal relationship with His children. Doesn’t Jesus’ picture of the Father here make you want to be His child? Consider the actions and attitude of the father in this parable:

1. A father who didn’t take offense when personally rejected by his son and asked to split his inheritance before the father even dies;
2. A father who patiently endured humiliation at having his own son waste his inheritance;
3. A father who responded with compassion when his wayward son returns home penniless;
4. A father who was actively waiting for his son to return, on a continual lookout for his defeated son, a father who seemed poised to show mercy;
5. A father who publicly degraded himself by running, which fathers aren’t supposed to do, to meet his son;
6. A father who physically embraced his wastrel son, saving him from the eventual village gauntlet;
7. A father who continued to pour out grace and compassion by repeatedly kissing his renegade son. This is a reversal of the typical scenario in which the repentant son is expected to kiss the father’s hands or feet;
8. A father who restores the prodigal son to full family status, giving him the father’s feasting robe, the family signet ring, and a pair of sandals that would distinguish the son from hired servants;
9. A father who threw a huge village feast with a fatted calf, feeding at least 100 people. Instead of rejection, the father threw a celebration;
10. A father who would absorb another public insult by leaving his post as the host at the feast in order to search for his ungrateful elder son;
11. A father who patiently accepts the elder son’s unwarranted insult and bitter attitude.

This is how the Son pictures the Father. Who wouldn’t want to join His family?

2. The Story of the Unforgiving Servant. “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as his servant was not able to pay, the king commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before the king, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me! Just give me more time and I will repay you all that I owe.’  Then the king was deeply moved with compassion (splagchnizomai) for that servant, released him, and forgave him the debt…” (Matthew 8:23-27; please read the entire story,  18:21-35).

The Outline of the Story: There was a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. One of those servants owed the king the equivalent of several million dollars. A ridiculous amount. Hopelessly in debt. No way that servant could pay that back, ever. After much begging and pleading, the gracious king was deeply moved with compassion, he had pity on this impossibly indebted man. His heart went out to this servant to the extent that he relieved this servant of his entire debt. “The king was deeply moved, and released his servant, and forgave (“aphiemi”) his entire debt.” (18:27). The king forgives that unpayable debt, knowing full well that the servant was in a hopeless situation. Right after that monumental act of forgiveness, that forgiven servant went to another servant and grabbed him by the neck, demanding this other servant to pay him what he owed, which was just a few dollars. So the ungrateful servant threw the other servant into prison until he paid up, even after the servant begged and pleaded for forgiveness. Well, the king found out, demanded toe presence of the unforgiving servant, and it was one big wake-up call. The king pointed his finger at that servant and said he was wicked. “You scoundrel! Is this the way you respond to my mercy? Because you begged me, I forgave you the massive debt that you owed me. Why didn’t you show the same mercy to your fellow servant that I showed to you?” (18:32-33).  In other words, the king declared to him that he freely forgave him for his mountain of debt, and yet he couldn’t forgive that little mole hill of a debt? That’s disgusting! March yourself to prison, and you’ll stay there till you pay me in full for your old debt, which, by the way, is never. And Jesus closed this parable with these resounding words, “In this same way, my heavenly Father will deal with any of you if you do not release forgiveness (“aphiemi”) from your heart toward your fellow believer.’” (18:35). Dear disciples, Jesus is saying, this is your lot in the life to come if you don’t genuinely forgive someone who has offended you.

“Aphiemi” = (a Greek word translated as forgive, used 46 times in NT); to release a debt; to send away; to let go; to remove a burden; to cancel what is owed by another; to set someone free from an obligation; to generously remove the penalties associated with a person’s wrongdoing. “… forgive us our debts (“aphiemi”), as we also have forgiven (“aphiemi’) our debtors .” (Matthew 6:12); “… forgive (“aphiemi”) us our sins, for we ourselves forgive (“aphiemi”) everyone who is indebted to us.” (Luke 11:4).

In Other Words, Forgiveness is… to let an offense go, to no longer hold an offense against someone, without bringing it up again; to decide to put a wrong done to you on the back shelf and move on; to give up the right to justly punish someone in your heart; to send away from your spirit the right to hold a grudge, or keep score, or seek revenge, or stand in ultimate judgment of a person who has offended you; to release God’s grace to go to work in an offender as well as in you the offended one; to freely pardon someone’s offense and thereby create a space in the heart of both parties for the Holy Spirit to do His transforming work; to embrace the divine process whereby forgiveness of others is how we live into God’s forgiveness of us; to work out and put into action God’s forgiveness of us by our forgiveness of others; to generously demonstrate an act of merciful lovingkindness that cancels the penalties of the wrongs done to us.

“So put away all bitterness, rage, and anger, all insulting and slanderous language, and words that injure others, as well as every form of malice or spitefulness. Instead, be kind, tenderhearted and compassionate, forgiving one another as quickly and completely as God forgave you in Christ.” (Ephesians 4:31-32).