What Does Jesus Say About Forgiveness?

Forgiveness sounds great in theory. Most of us like the idea of being forgiven, but actually forgiving someone? That’s a different story.

Jesus talked about forgiveness a lot, not in vague slogans, but in conversations with people who had made serious mistakes and were trying to figure out what to do next. So let’s slow down and listen to what He actually said and watch how He lived. 

Big Ideas

• Jesus’ forgiveness is for everyone. No one is too far gone. Anyone who turns to Him can receive mercy.
• Forgiveness shows the love of Jesus. When we forgive people who hurt us, others see what God’s love looks like.
• Jesus made forgiveness possible through the cross. We don’t earn forgiveness. It’s offered because of what Jesus did.
• Jesus calls His followers to forgive others. Forgiveness becomes part of life with God.
• You don’t have to forgive alone. The Holy Spirit helps us do what feels impossible.

3 Things Jesus Taught About Forgiveness

Here are three big ideas from the words and life of Jesus that help us understand what forgiveness is and why it matters.

1. Jesus’ Forgiveness Is For Everyone

Jesus spoke about forgiveness in a way that made it clear it wasn’t reserved for a small group of “good” people. It’s open to anyone, anywhere.

In Luke, Jesus explained why He came in the first place:

… “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:31-32 NIV

Jesus’ mission wasn’t to seek out top recruits for a spiritual club. He came looking for people who knew they needed help, who’d messed up, and needed forgiveness. We see throughout the stories of Jesus that He regularly forgave all kinds of people.

Forgiveness Shows the Love of Jesus

When Jesus was on the cross in Luke 23, He was hanging between two convicted criminals who had also been sentenced to crucifixion. One of them used his dying breaths to insult Jesus, but the other simply said, 

“... this man has done nothing wrong… Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Luke 23:41-42 NIV

Because the criminal—the convicted criminal who did something horrible enough to be sentenced to death—acknowledged the truth of who Jesus was and asked to be part of Jesus’ family, he was instantly forgiven. That’s all it took. Jesus told him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

This is proof that we—yes, you and I—are forgivable, even on our worst days, if we just look to Jesus and ask.

Jesus’ love is big enough to handle all your sin, shame, and nastiness. He promises to clean you, redeem you, and make you more like Him. And He wants to because He loves you. You haven’t gone too far; you are not unforgivable. Jesus loves you no matter what.

Try This: Tell Jesus about something you need forgiveness for and ask Him for mercy.

Learn more about God’s grace.

2. Jesus Made Forgiveness Possible

Throughout His ministry, Jesus forgave people directly. In one story, a paralyzed man was brought to Jesus, and Jesus told him, “Friend, your sins are forgiven” (Luke 5:20). The religious leaders who overheard this were shocked. They knew that only God could truly forgive sins—and they clearly didn’t understand who they were listening to.

They were right about one thing: Forgiveness ultimately belongs to God. And Jesus was revealing that He had the authority to offer it.

But Jesus didn’t just forgive a few people here and there during His time on earth. He came to deal with the root problem behind our need for forgiveness in the first place: the sinful nature of all humankind.

At the Last Supper, Jesus explained what His death would accomplish. Holding up the cup, He said, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).

Jesus Forgave His Enemies

In other words, the cross wasn’t an accident. It was the way forgiveness would be opened up to the world.

Because Jesus took the weight of all our sin onto Himself, forgiveness isn’t something we have to earn, strive for, clean ourselves up for, or prove we deserve. We are incapable of doing any of those things anyway. Forgiveness was made available only through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.

While Jesus hung on the cross listening to people mock Him, suffering through the most agonizing pain one can imagine, struggling to even take a breath, Luke 23:34 says Jesus called out to God, saying, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” 

He was talking about the people who whipped Him, spat on Him, and dishonored Him. Even while He was suffering at the hands of the people He came to save, the words He fought through horrible pain to say were those of forgiveness.

But the point here isn’t that the people deserved forgiveness. (They didn’t.) The point isn’t that Jesus was obligated to forgive them. (He wasn’t.) The point is that Jesus offers forgiveness to anyone, anytime, no matter the situation.

Try This: Take a moment to thank Jesus for making your forgiveness possible. If you’ve never asked for it before, tell Him you trust what He did on the cross and ask Him to forgive you. Get some guidance on asking for Jesus’ forgiveness here.

3. Jesus Calls Us To Forgive

In Matthew 7, Jesus compares people to fruit trees. We distinguish an orange tree from a pear tree because of the fruits that grow from them. We know what they are because of what they produce.

Similarly, Jesus says, we know people by what they produce—their words, their actions, and their integrity (or lack thereof). Good trees produce good fruit, just like good people produce good words, actions, and lifestyles. 

Jesus is saying that people will know who loves God by their ability to be kind, tell the truth, live lives of peace and integrity, and forgive. In other words, if we aren’t forgiving the people who hurt us, how are they going to know that we’re following Jesus?

Forgiveness Isn’t Optional

Jesus talked about how Christians should forgive a few other times in the gospels.

Peter, a friend and disciple of Jesus, once asked Jesus how many times he should forgive someone who keeps hurting him. Jesus answered,

… “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Matthew 18:22 NIV

On another occasion, Jesus also taught His followers to pray,

“... forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Matthew 6:12 NIV

In other words, forgiveness is meant to be a normal part of life with God.

This doesn’t mean that Christians will never mess up. Of course we will—and God has abundant grace for us in those moments. It means that when we forgive, people see the love of Jesus in us. 

When we look back and see who we were before we accepted the love of Jesus—when we see all the sins we committed against God that He was ready and willing to forgive—it becomes easier to forgive someone who wrongs us. And then that person can feel a small bit of the joy Jesus gave us when He forgave our sins. 

1 John 4:19 says we love because God first loved us. We know how to love, and we have the ability to show love to others, because we’ve experienced the never-ending, never-changing, all-consuming love of God firsthand. 

I think forgiveness works in a similar way. We can forgive because we have a front row seat to Jesus’ radical, world-changing forgiveness every single day. We also have stories of His forgiveness throughout the Bible. 

You Don’t Have to Forgive Alone

The very same supernatural power that Jesus used to forgive His executioners now lives inside of you and me because of the Holy Spirit. 

Jesus promised He would send the Holy Spirit as a Helper, and forgiveness is one of the many things He can (and will) help us through. You don’t need to figure out how to exercise forgiveness all on your own. You have the help of the best Forgiver the world has ever seen. So ask Him through prayer to help you forgive.

Try This: Think of someone who hurt you and ask the Holy Spirit to help you begin forgiving them. Even if it’s just a small step, choose to release the bitterness and ask God to grow forgiveness in your heart.

Why Is This Important?

One day—maybe today—you’ll be faced with the choice between bitterness and forgiveness. One option leads to hateful words and actions, and the other points a mirror to the love Jesus showed us on the cross.

And one day—maybe also today—you’ll do something to hurt someone else; perhaps by accident, perhaps not. When that happens, and regret and shame start whispering in your ear, it’s going to be an incredible comfort to know that Jesus has abundant grace and forgiveness for you if you just look to Him and accept it. 

The need to forgive and be forgiven are both normal human situations that everyone has to reckon with, which is why Jesus gave us resources to help us—like the Bible, the Holy Spirit, friends and mentors, and the Church. 

No matter where you are in your walk with Christ, Jesus’ forgiveness is for you, your friends, and your enemies. When people see you living in forgiveness, they will see the love of Jesus in you. And that’s why it’s so important.