[Peter Eddington] But imagine this, you've never been so anxious and afraid in all your life, because you're facing death row. All that is left now is for the judge to pronounce your sentence. Your accuser has prosecuted you to the nth degree, and there's no getting out of the charges that you face. You know you're guilty actually. The courtroom trial has being battling for weeks, and your strongest defense has been no match for the perception of the jury. Talk about fear and anxiety.

The sheriff leads you to the front of the courtroom. And the judge asks you to stand. Your moment of conviction has arrived. All it takes now is for the judge to utter his sentence upon you. The jury stands, and the jury foreman hands the judge the obvious decision. You know you did it, and so do they, despite your most elaborate and painstaking petition. You've asked for the death penalty to be removed from consideration.

The courtroom falls silent as the judge calls things to order. He asks the foreman, "Do you have a verdict?” Of course sweat beads upon your brow and your shirt is soaked, as you anticipate the sentence, the death sentence and your heart is pounding. Your mouth is dry and parched as you watch him rise.

The rest of your life now depends on his words and here they come. “Your Honor, the jury finds the defendant not guilty.” "Not guilty? Not guilty?" "Yes. Someone else has come forward to pay the death penalty in your stead." It's as if a huge boulder has been lifted off your back, off your shoulders. The sheriff unlocks your handcuffs and says, "You're free to go." It's almost like you don't know what to do with yourself and you walk out onto the street, freedom from condemnation. Freedom from death row. Freedom from guilt. Life suddenly takes on new meaning. You're free from the prison cell. Free from the constant pressure of the charges against you. Free to begin a new life. Because you've been released of all charges.

But can you imagine how this would feel? I believe so. Everyone who has accepted the blood of Jesus Christ repented, been baptized, and received the Holy Spirit and become converted knows. Do you ever feel the weight on your shoulders when you know you need to repent of something, but you haven't yet? How long did you let it go on? You know what? King David knew how it felt. There's a very interesting and inspiring story in Psalm 32.

It seemed that David penned that particular Psalm after his sin with Bathsheba. Or perhaps after some other major incident. It shows that he knew how it felt to have God as his condemning judge. Maybe Satan was the jury foreman. The accuser, I should say. Then he expresses the joy and relief of experiencing God's forgiveness. Psalm 32 is known as a maskil, a psalm of instruction. It instructs us on the blessings of God's forgiveness and so we ask ourselves, “how open am I to instruction?”

Last week's observance of Passover was a time of remembering the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins. And through His resurrection we now have a new life, and it's a new life in Him. We have taken on the new man and we walk in newness of life. With the risen Christ living in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. The promise of forgiveness should compel us to confess our sins to God. But the burden of guilt is felt first, and there's a great lesson in this.

In the sermon today titled “Forgiveness and Mercy for Thousands” we're going to examine Psalm 32 and Exodus 34, to see just how deep God's mercy and forgiveness is for those who seek him. “Forgiveness and Mercy for Thousands.” I'll put the sermon into two main sections which we'll see in a moment.

To begin with, let's go back to a famous passage in the Old Testament to Exodus chapter 34, to the time when God miraculously carved out the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone. And as you may recall, Moses ascended to Mount Sinai with a second set of stones. Like the first ones that he smashed. And the second set of stones were for God to redo the Ten Commandments tablets.

Exodus 34, notice verse 1. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke." You see, Moses thinking, "Yeah. Thank you for reminding me."

Verse 4. "So he cut two tablets of stone like the first ones. Then Moses rose early in the morning went up Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him; and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone. And the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him.” Stood with Moses there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. Here's what God said. God said, here in verse 6, He “proclaimed the Lord” or the Eternal God, “merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." You see in verse 8, “Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped” after this proclamation.

This here is an a powerful announcement of God's gracious mercy forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin, and extending mercy to thousands. No doubt forgiving Moses for breaking the first set of Commandments. It's interesting the right after God reminded him that he broke the first set, then it was proclaimed how merciful and forgiving He really is. It's a pronouncement of who God is, His very nature. He's a merciful God at heart.

In the message here, I want to cover two aspects of mercy and forgiveness. The first one will be receiving God's forgiveness, and the second one is about forgiving others. It would seem that King David knew of God's incredible mercy and forgiving will if only he would turn to God. The kings of old were required to personally read the law of God. To study the ancient scriptures, the ancient scrolls. In fact, even to write them out. David would be familiar with this pronouncement at the beginning of Exodus chapter 34.

First of all, number one, receiving God's forgiveness, and this is where we are now going to turn to Psalm 32. Psalm 32 Let's notice what King David wrote in this regard. Psalm 32:1 begins, “A Psalm of David. A Contemplation” or a maskil. It says, "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." So the superscription of Psalm 32 refers to as a maskil in most translations. The New King James calls it “a contemplation.” The Greek Septuagint translation takes this obscure word to mean “instruction.” Psalm 32 is an instruction. Something to learn from here in this classroom today.

The Nelson Study Bible states in its introductory there on Psalm 32, "It is generally believed that this Psalm like Psalm 51, has its origin in David's response to God following his infamous affair with Bathsheba.” You might add, and murdering Uriah. So this conclusion is based on the fact that David waited for a long period before confessing the sin mentioned in the Psalm, and the impression that his sin is now public knowledge, so he can talk about it. Because his sin with Bathsheba did become a public example.

Verse 2, "Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,  and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” So verse 2 says, happy is the man who no longer deceives himself. “Happy is the man whose sin is covered” we read in verse 1, "Happy is the man who is no longer guilty in God's eyes." There in verse 2. But David then contrasts the joy of being forgiven with the misery of hiding his sin.

Verse 3 shows that it took David a little while to reach this point. It took a little while for him to remember as Exodus 34, tells us that God is “merciful and gracious, longsuffering in abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands.” Because look at verse 3, "When I kept silent,” when I wouldn't admit it, “my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer.” David did not find joy in God's mercy when he tried to pretend that his sin hadn't happened. And this heaviness may have gone on for months before he finally acknowledged his sin.

Once again, as the Nelson Study Bible states about verses 3 and 5 "His silence was a stubborn resistance to admitting guilt. A hope that in time the sin and its penalty would go away. The more David delayed his confession, the more he suffered. David realized it was not just his conscience or his feelings that resulting him, but actually the heavy hand of God."

It's like you and me in the courtroom before the judge. Except here the judge is God, not just a worldly judge. There's no getting out of the charges we face. You know you're guilty. Your heart pounds, and your breath is heavy. Day and night because God’s hand is heavy upon us when we don't repent. The guilt is there. And then we see David acknowledge the solution. When David did at last confess in repentance God forgave him. So look at verse 5 now then, “I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden, and I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. And for this cause everyone who is godly,” anyone who claims to be of God or a Christian “shall pray to You in a time when You may be found; Surely, in a flood of great waters they shall not come near him."

David is telling us that repentance and forgiveness are the starting points of a relationship with God or even of restoring a lost relationship with God. He says, "A flood of trouble follows sin." There in verse 6. But the grief that comes from hiding a sin will not come near those who repent and take refuge in God." He says. Then verse 7, "You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance." Songs of deliverance. So this is one of the hymns in our hymnal today actually. “They’re blessed to ought to forgive and to Him God. That's right from here to whom God imputes no sin.”

But now notice verse 8, Because it appears that God is no longer being addressed, but that God is now speaking verses eight and nine. Because verse eight it switches and we see what appears to be God talking now, not David. "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you.” Don't be stubborn like a mule. Let God teach you.

The Nelson Study Bible says here about verses eight and nine, "The speaker changes and the Lord comes into the Psalm to instruct the people. He exalts the people not to be like a horse that will not go where its rider wants it to go. It has to be disciplined because it is stubborn. Whether it is actually God speaking here or not, the whole Psalm of course is an instruction from God that was inspired by God anyway. The psalm is a maskil, or an instruction to us.

Verse 10, "Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; but he who trust in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.” Once again, it's like mercy to thousands when we trust in God. Verse 11, "Be glad in the Lord and rejoice you righteous; and shout for joy, all you upright in heart." King David then comes to remember the great mercy of his God. Maybe he was remembering that God does show mercy to thousands as was proclaimed on Mount Sinai. That's a great reminder for us too. It's all about turning to God in repentance, receiving forgiveness and receiving mercy. Having the weight of sin lifted from our shoulders and none of it's possible without the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins and then our new life then as brothers and sisters of His.

Just over a week ago, at the Passover service, we participated in the foot-washing ceremony. But there may be an aspect of this that you haven't considered before. As Jesus knelt down to wash his disciples' feet, no doubt He pondered where His disciples had come from, and how far they had yet to go in their conversion. Perhaps Jesus thought, "Do they really deserve to have their feet washed by their Savior? By Me?" As He washed John's feet, perhaps He was reminded that it was John who wanted to destroy a whole city with a bolt of lightning from heaven. "Kill them all." And it was the same John who demanded that Jesus not allow people who are not part of the inner circle to follow along, to be part of the group. Was John worthy to have his feet washed by his Savior after that kind of behavior?

And then there was James. Perhaps it'd be good to skip over washing his feet. After all, he wanted the seat of honor and special treatment in the Kingdom. He certainly didn't seem to be humble, and his mother only made matters worse. Let him wash his own feet. And how about Philip? He had little faith and told Jesus, there wasn't enough food to go around to feed the large crowd that was gathering. He flunked the test of faith.

Everyone knows the story of Peter. Sure he walked on water for a brief moment. And then he sank in desperation probably couldn't even swim and screamed out for Jesus to save him from drowning. He lost belief almost right away. When Jesus was about to die, Peter said, "That's not going to happen to you. We're not going to let you die." Peter even drew a sword and cut off someone's ear. Jesus had to put it back on.

As it happened later that night, the disciples fell asleep maybe snoring while Jesus was praying to the Father. They couldn't stay awake on the most crucial night of Jesus' human life. The disciples seemed to be fair-weather friends. And then as we think on these accounts we know that during Jesus' most sore hour of trial, not one disciple stood with Him. In fact, a stranger had to be brought along to carry the cross. Perhaps a disciple should be washing Jesus' feet not the other way around. But no, verse 10 here in the Psalms reminds us that “he who trusts in the Lord mercy shall surround him.” Mercy to thousands.

If Jesus walked in here today, would you let him wash your feet? I think we'd all say “no.” Wouldn't we say, "No, no, you don't wash my feet. Who washed yours? Even then I wouldn't feel worthy, right?

Would He see your imperfections and sins and wash your feet anyway? He did with His disciples and He'd wash your feet too. Because even though He sees our shortcomings, He will extend mercy and forgiveness when we turn to God. Jesus had mercy on His disciples. God is a merciful God. It's in His nature. It's who He is. And Jesus was kind and forgiving of the shortcomings. He knelt before them, took their feet in His hands and washed their feet. As we understand in washing the disciples' feet Jesus is washing ours too. You and I are in the story because we are his modern day disciples. We're being cleaned is not from dirty feet, but from dirty sins. This cleansing is not just an interesting idea or a gesture, but a necessity.

Because Christ then said to them in John 13, "If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you are also to wash one another's feet." He said, "I've given you an example that you do as I have done to you." Jesus did not say, "If you do not wash your own feet you have no part in me." Because we cannot wash our own feet in this way. We cannot cleanse our own sin. We cannot remove our sin because our feet must be in Christ's hands. Of course the washing of each other's feet can’t actually cleanse us of sin either. Only Christ's blood can do that.

Think about this a little bit as we move on, and let's look at the second part of the equation because this leads us into it. It's important for us to repent and receive God's forgiveness, to have the heavy weight of sin removed from our shoulders. Now let's look at forgiving one another.

Part 2, forgiving one another. I'd like to recall the story of Joseph forgiving his brothers and it's in Genesis 37, at least that's where it begins. Genesis 37. You no doubt remember it well. But we're going to get a little extra information out of it here.

Genesis 37, beginning in verse 3, "Now, Israel loved Joseph” or Jacob loved Joseph “more than all his children." He was the favorite baby of the family because he was the son of his old age. Also, “he made him a tunic of many colors.” I guess that tunic really stood out. Everybody noticed it. Verse four, "But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.” Couldn't even get in a kind word. I guess it's a good lesson about trying favoritism amongst your kids, right?

Verse 5, "And then Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more." You remember the dream. Joseph said, "I had a dream, you guys were all going to fall down and worship me." That goes over really well, doesn't it? Can you imagine that? I don't know where his discernment was. I wouldn't tell them, just let it happen one day.

Then verse 17, so skipping on a bit. The brothers have gone off and Joseph didn't know where they were. He went looking for them chased them down. “Joseph went after his brothers and found them out in Dothan, and when they saw him coming from a far off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him." Can you imagine? They really hated him. “Then they said to one another, ‘Look, this dreamer is coming. Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, “some wild beast devoured him.” We shall see what will become of his dreams.’” They figured if he was dead, there's no way they could bow down to him then.

Verse 21, "But Reuben heard it,” the eldest, a little bit of sense maybe. “He delivered him out of their hands and said, ‘Let's not kill him.’” Let's just beat him up and sell him. You know how the story goes. Joseph was eventually sold by his brothers and ended up in Egypt. Through an amazing course of events he becomes the number two ruler in Egypt. Second only to Pharaoh. Then his father Israel, Jacob dies. The brothers are thinking, "Dad's gone, now we're in trouble."

We go forward to Genesis 50. Genesis 50. Look at verses seven and eight, Genesis 50:7-8. “So Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt.” The entire Secret Service went along, all the body guards, all the family, all the elders of Egypt. And verse eight, "As well as all the house of Joseph. All his family, his brothers, his father's house. Only the little ones and their flocks and their herds did they leave in the land of Goshen.” So the kids stay behind, and the flocks. And of course remember the first Exodus hundreds of years later was from Goshen right here. This is where Joseph and all these Israelites ended up living. So the first Exodus was out of Goshen here.

Verse 14, “And after he'd buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father. When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, ‘Perhaps, Joseph will hate us, and actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.’ They sent messengers to Joseph saying, ‘Before your father died he commanded this.’” Verse 17, "Thus you shall say to Joseph, ‘I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you.’" Confess your sins. Admit you were wrong. "Now, please forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father.’ And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.”

If Joseph's judged the situation from the perspective of his own human nature, he would avenge himself now. He would avenge himself on those who hated him, and tried to destroy him. So Joseph's brothers trapped, and unable to flee, they tempted to butter him up by humbling themselves before him. So most like a fulfillment of the dream. And they pleaded with him as the servants of Jacob's God and Joseph was brought to tears.

Verse 18, "That his brothers also went and fell down before his face and they said, ‘Behold, we are your servants.’ Joseph said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God?’” And no one else's to be bowed down to like this or even worshiped. That's only for God.

Joseph directs them not to fear him, but to fear God. To humble themselves and seek God's forgiveness for what they did, and he assures them of his own kindness to them. Notice verse 20, “But as for you, you meant evil against me.” That's right. “But God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day to save many people.” And recall what Joseph did in Egypt to save many people from famine and other things.

"That therefore, do not be afraid," Verse 21, “I will provide for you and your little ones.” I'll give you food, I'll take care of you, give you housing. “And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.” So those we love we forgive. We must not only do well for, but speak kindly to all.

Are we any different from Joseph when it comes to forgiveness of wrongs committed against us? Or should we seek revenge? We know that there's no difference. And the example was set by Jesus Christ, too, and outlined in the gospels on how we ought to treat one another. To the point even of loving our enemies, including forgiveness and not bearing ill will or a grudge against another.

Look at Colossians 3, I want to read verses 12 and 13. Colossians 3:12-13, Paul says to the Colossians, "Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved." If you are part of the elect, if you are now considered holy, having God's spirit in you, here's what you should do "Put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”

At the beginning here verse 12 and 13, it's almost like a listing of the fruits of the spirit, isn't it? Similar to Galatians 5. "But even as Christ forgave you, you also must do." So how does the world tell us to deal with an injustice? If we've been sold into slavery by our brothers, if we've been left for dead in a pit, how do we deal with life's injustices? How does Hollywood deal with a complaint against another? Against a wrong deed? Well, you don't have to look far, but things like “The Godfather” movie, they tell us how you deal with it. Kill your opponent, destroy your enemy, murder their families, cut off their fingers, cut off their ears, get revenge. Violence, that’s the answer. And so it goes for almost any movie scenario today.

Let's turn to Matthew 18. Look at the parable of the unforgiving servant. It's also known as the ungrateful servant, or the unmerciful servant, or the wicked servant. The parable of the unforgiving servant is a parable of Jesus which appears in only one of the gospels. And it's right here in Matthew 18. We're told that it's important to forgive others as we are forgiven by God. Very similar to the Colossians 3:13. Matthew 18:21, "Then Peter came to Him and said, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Seven times?’” Six times? What's my limit? Because I'm not going over that. Believe me.

Jesus said to him, in verse 22, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” Christ said there is no limit to forgiveness. Because that's what He's like. He's merciful and forgiving. That's in His nature.

Verse 23. So then Jesus alone launches into this parable and He says, "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle accounts, one was brought to him, who owed him 10,000 talents.” And one talent equals 6,000 denarii of the day. So this is 60 million denarii. Verse 25 says, "But as he was not able to pay,” Who has 60 million denarii lying around? “His master 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 him saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I'll pay you all.’ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him and forgave him the debt.” The master here is figuratively Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ forgave the debt. This debt was unpayable. Of course he couldn't pay. The figure was so high he could never pay it back. It required the mercy of the master. 60 million denarii was actually more than all the cash even held in the government's bank accounts of the day. Even the feds couldn't have paid it back.

If you're like someone coming up to you today and saying, "You owe me $10 billion." What? Who has $10 billion? You and I incurred a debt because of our sinfulness. But the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our Master, makes it possible for us to be washed clean, to be forgiven. We're told, "Don't let the weight of guilt stay on your shoulders." Like King David did. Exodus 34 reminds us, merciful and gracious is God. Keeping mercy for thousands. In other words, for everyone. Repentance and forgiveness are the starting point of a relationship with God and of restoring a relationship if we've lost it. The master forgave his servant.

Look at verse 28, "But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat,” and pinned him against the wall, and said, "Pay me what you owe!” It was 100 denarii compared to 60 million.

Verse 29, “So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me I'll pay you all.’ But he would not, but went and he threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.” Verse 32, "Then his master after he called him said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.”

Verse 35, "So my Heavenly Father," So it is Jesus talking here. "So my Heavenly Father also will do to you, if each of you from his heart does not forgive his brother his trespasses." The talent in this parable as I said was worth about 6,000 denarii. So that first debt is 600,000 times as large as the second. And 10,000 talents was also known as a myriad, which was the highest Greek numeral. And the talent was actually the largest unit of currency in like a $1,000 bill today or something. So the 10,000 talents was the largest easily described debt. It's like saying a billion today or something.

For comparison, the combined annual government taxes of Judea, Samaria and Idumea was only about 600 talents. And one denarius was a day's wage. 10,000 talents would be about 200,000 years of wages for that man. Who's got 200,000 years of wages to pay back a debt? It's an impossible debt for us to pay back to God. But it isn't really important to know how many denarii there are in the talent. Should we put on the test for later?

Well, actually, the most important part of the parable is not just a vast this difference between the two debts, but that each of us must forgive one another from our heart, as our Father has forgiven us. Seventy times seven. Or in other words, there's no pre-set limit.

The lesson here is to extend mercy and to forgive one another. Let's think about that Passover foot-washing ceremony again. Because Christ said in John 13, as we read last week, "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet." And in many ways it too is about forgiveness.

In the ancient East, everyone's feet got caked in dust and mud and dirt. And the servants of the household saw to it that their guest’s feet were washed when they entered a home. And here, Jesus is assuming the role of a servant. But in fact, sometimes even the servants were not required to wash their guest’s feet. They gave water to the guests to do it themselves because even a servant wouldn't stoop quite that low to wash even an honored guest's feet. Quite often that was the case and they gave them water to do it themselves.

But Jesus actually humbled Himself, and did what others wouldn't even think of doing. We have to admit that we have walked dirty roads in this life, and that our feet are caked in sin. But Christ takes our feet in His hands and washes us clean through His sacrifice for our sins. And He forgives us.

John also wrote in 1 John 1, "If we say we have no sin, we're fooling ourselves.” Everybody has sinned. Everybody has issues. None of us are perfect. And we won't be pure until we admit our guilt before God. We have to stand before the judge, before the Eternal judge and repent. And then our death sentence is pardoned.

When we allow the sacrifice of Christ to cleanse us, we are then able to wash the feet of those who have hurt us. To forgive our neighbor, to love our neighbor as ourselves, to even love our enemies. And perhaps this is why the foot-washing ceremony is reserved in the Passover service for baptized members who've already figuratively accept Christ washing their feet. We figuratively let Christ wash our feet. And this is a key element in forgiving our fellow human beings. We cannot forgive anyone more than God has forgiven us. Only by letting Him wash our feet, forgive us of our sins, we then understand what it means to wash someone else's feet.

And you remember that Jesus finished washing all of His disciples’ feet, including Judas, the feet of His betrayer. He gave his traitor equal attention. And God will never call us to do what he has not already done himself. We can forgive our enemies, not just our friends.

I have to tell you a small personal story about foot-washing. There was a time many years ago, when I filed into the room, set aside for the possible foot-washing service, where I paired up with a fellow employee who eventually left the United Church of God. I know right where I was sitting out there in the warehouse, and at that time we did not see eye to eye on the direction of the church's administrative team, the president or some of the Council of Elders.

And the relationship between the two of us was extremely strange, and we both knew it. We filed out, and there we were staring at each other face to face with a basin of water between us. It was just a short while later that this person left United to help start another offshoot organization. He was instrumental in causing it to happen. But you know what? As I washed his feet, a certain peace came over me and I forgave him in my heart. I didn't agree with that I knew he was about to do in betraying all of us, but I had a certain peace of mind as I washed his feet, and knew that I was just following the example of what Christ said we were to do.

The whole ceremony is very important for us to consider carefully each Passover season. As I finish up here, remember that Psalm 32, is a powerful notice of God's gracious mercy. He forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin and extends mercy to thousands. He will extend mercy, in other words, to everyone who turns to Him.

Remember about receiving God's forgiveness, firstly, then also secondly, about forgiving others because as He forgave us, we too then forgive one another because none of us are perfect. We all have a long list of issues, don't we, and problems that we're working on?

Repentance and forgiveness are the starting points of a relationship with God. If we’re fallen short like King David did, we then must go on our knees and restore that relationship with God and not let that heavy burden be upon our shoulders. Certainly not let it go on for months like King David did. It's a good reminder for us during this past week that we've now concluded of Passover and Unleavened Bread. It's about turning to God in repentance, receiving forgiveness, and receiving mercy. He is very merciful. It's in His nature. And none of it's possible without the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins and our new life as brothers and sisters in His family.

The parable of the unforgiving servant is a message to all of us too. As God forgave you, forgive one another from the heart. You have to really mean it. King David came to recognize how the heavy burden of sin upon his shoulders could be relieved. By seeking that repentance and forgiveness from God. Throughout this year, remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us sins. It's not just for one week out of the year, really.

We’ve been reminded that through His resurrection, which took place during the Days of Unleavened Bread, we were reminded that we have a new life in Him, that we too, one day will be resurrected and become a spirit being. We take on a new man and walk in newness of life, sin free. Not just for one week, but every day of the year. Because as Paul told the Corinthians "We truly are unleavened.” So just because you had a piece of Vegemite toast last night, doesn't mean that you are now leavened. Spiritually speaking because we have accepted Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, we are now unleavened before God. And as we seek His mercy and forgiveness, as we slip up, we remain unleavened. We're truly are unleavened when we are His sons and daughters, filled with His Spirit.

Take on the new man, continue to walk in newness of life each day, sin free, with the risen Christ living in you through the power of the Holy Spirit.