Among the three personal requests Jesus includes within His Model Prayer—for daily sustenance, forgiveness, and deliverance from evil—only the middle one receives additional comment (verses 14-15). His instruction clarifies the second half of the request in verse 12 (see Luke 11:4): “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (emphasis ours throughout). Our Savior wants to ensure that His disciples do not miss the severe implications of seeking forgiveness while withholding forgiveness from those who have wronged us. As God freely forgives those He calls—despite their horrendous sins against Him—He expects the elect to follow His example and show mercy to others.
The verb tenses in this request, faithfully translated into English, are instructive. The petitioner asks God to forgive him as he has already forgiven those who have sinned against him. Luke's version of the Model Prayer adds a slight twist, reading “for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us,” which in Greek is in a continuous tense, perhaps better rendered, “as we keep forgiving.” These tenses suggest that God's original forgiveness at justification is a singular act of grace on His part, but our ongoing forgiveness contains a condition: If we fail to reciprocate forgiveness toward others, God may withhold His mercy from us.
The Greek word behind “forgive” in Matthew 6:12 is aphiēmi (Strong's #863), which in classical Greek meant “to send off” in a variety of nuances: “to hurl [a spear],” “to release,” “to let go,” or “to let be.” In Scripture, it is often used in the sense of “to leave,” as in Mark 1:20, where Zebedee's sons “left” their father to follow Christ. It can also mean “to set aside,” used in Mark 7:8 to describe the Pharisees “laying aside” God's law in favor of their traditions. In Mark 12:19, the Sadducees try to entrap Jesus with a story about a man who dies and “leaves his [childless] wife behind.” When the woman anointed His feet with costly oil in Mark 14:3-9, Jesus uses aphiēmi in the phrase “let her alone” (verse 6). Sometimes, it can mean “to allow” or “to permit,” as in Mark 5:37, where Jesus allowed only Peter, James, and John to witness His transfiguration.
The Greeks used aphiēmi to mean “to remit” or “to forgive or pardon” in both a secular (to forgive monetary debt) and religious (to forgive a fault or sin) sense. It describes a dismissal or release from obligation. As its many usages suggest, the spiritual sense not only implies absolving a sinner from paying what he owes (Mark 11:25), but it also retains the undertones of “laying aside,” “leaving behind,” “letting go,” and “leaving alone.” When God forgives someone, the debt is wholly removed, never to be revisited or reinstated; it is “laid aside,” “left behind,” “let go,” and “left alone.” It should be the same when people forgive others.
Notice how Jesus phrases this request: “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” It may seem insignificant, but in this way, Jesus emphasizes the human element of the process of forgiveness: We are to forgive the person, not just the infraction. If a person remits a debt on a purely business or legal level, the forgiveness is real, but it has a negligible impact on the relationship between the debtor and debtee. The transaction has been essentially faceless and emotionless, and while the debtor is undoubtedly grateful, there is scant guarantee of a continuing association.
Instead, God desires not just forgiveness but also reconciliation. The debt, offense, or sin has caused a breach in the relationship, and forgiveness removes the hindering element so the involved parties may return to peaceful, positive, harmonious interactions. He has reconciled us to Him through the blood of Christ (Colossians 1:19-21), and He wants us to reconcile with others, especially those in the faith from whom we have become estranged by sin or offense.
