Meditations Upon Mark 11:24 - Part Four

 

Meditations Upon Mark 11:24 – Part Four

Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

 

These final two verses of the eleventh chapter of the Gospel of Mark address a few important components of Christian discipleship: prayer, forgiveness and reciprocity in forgiveness. First, what is prayer and why is it important for discipleship development? In the Roman Empire, which is the context in which this book is written, pagans prayed to the courts and powerful authorities to grant their wishes and thereby strengthen their lives. Weak people articulate their heartfelt desires to powerful people. Vulnerable and marginalized people hoped that the judicial and political lords would be gracious in hearing their pleas and granting their wishes. In contrast, rebuffing emperor worship and unbridled allegiance to the Roman government, Christians believe that all power lies in the hands of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ. Primarily, they appealed to Him to hasten the emergence of His kingdom on Earth. They posited that the reign of Christ would result in a fundamentally just and equitable society. A certain level of human dignity would provide for all people, extend legal rights, and offer freedom to them to actualize their abilities in accordance with the Lord’s will. Christian disciples prayed to Christ for revelation and manifestation of His law, the Word of God. The Christian idea of power, law and authority transcended the fierce power of Rome. Disciples shunned emperor worship in exchange for appealing to Christ to utilize His divine power to accomplish His will. Contemporarily, disciples appeal to the Lord of the universe to glorify Himself through their daily mysteries, experiences, challenges and joys.

 

Please note the implication that prayer transforms disciples’ desires, wishes and petitions into means and mechanisms of honoring and glorifying God and seeking His will. “The Lord’s Prayer” centers upon this spiritual objective. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus offers a very human and understandable request that the Heavenly Father spare Jesus the bitter, agonizing and reprehensible cup of crucifixion. Yet, Jesus accepts that the Father’s will is best. “Nevertheless, not my will but Thy will be done.” Prayer is a transformative process in which disciples receive discernment, revelation and empowerment from the Holy Spirit to mature to the point of saying “Nevertheless” and seeking only to fulfill God’s will.

 

Before formally defining forgiveness in biblical terms, I would like to cite three incredible examples of forgiveness. Twenty years ago in October 2006, a mentally deranged man entered an Amish one-room school in Lancaster Pennsylvania and killed ten girls. The international press corps descended like vultures upon this community to observe the breadth and depth of this immeasurable tragedy. People of faith internationally recoiled in shock and disgust. To their chagrin, the Amish community did not react with anger, disgust, bitterness and blood lust. Through the power of their faith, they communally forgave the man who inexplicably slaughtered their daughters. Incredulously, they visited the family of the murderer who committed suicide following his dastardly deed. They prayed with his family and shared condolences. One of the victims’ family invited the man’s family to her funeral. Most incredibly, the Amish community attended his funeral and grieved with his family. Modeling the Lord’s teachings on forgiveness, the Amish community extended an unconditional pardon to the perpetrator whose mental illness and unresolve intrapsychic challenges possibly explain his actions on that fateful fall day two decades ago. Truly, they believed and demonstrated to the global village that vengeance belongs to the Lord. (Amish Grace and Forgiveness - LancasterPA.com – link active as of 23 September 2026)

 

Second, a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving Day in 2004, four teenagers utilizing a stolen credit card bought several items among them being a twenty-pound stolen turkey. Carousing in a car afterwards, their collective adolescent mentality agreed to take the frozen turkey and hurl it out of one of the backdoors. The object struck and shattered a woman’s windshield. It demolished the steering wheel causing her to lose control of the vehicle. Surprisingly, she survived this horrific incident which would necessitate multiple surgeries, some facial reconstruction and extensive rehabilitation. The major effects were brain damage and paralysis. Within miles of her home, this woman was returning from attending a concert. The unbridled immaturity and unconscionable indifference of four teenagers radically and suddenly changed her life. Their criminal behavior and incivility were obvious causes for righteous indignation and thirst for legal retribution which the local district attorney originally sought. Astoundingly, the victim asked for leniency for the perpetrators who faced potentially lengthy prison sentences. She attended the court proceedings and publicly forgave the oldest culprit for whom a twenty-five-year sentence lurked. Various news outlets reported this act of pardon, redemption and possible transformation. The victim told the young man that she hoped he would take advantage of the judicial mercy that he would receive and “make something of his life.” She did not wish to discard him to the human rock quarry of incarceration. Instead, she hopes that he would demonstrate his gratitude through his lifestyle choices. Some news reports detailed a very emotional moment of embrace between the two of them as he apologized through loud and penetrating sobs and she tearfully reiterated her genuine forgiveness. One account said that there was not a dry eye in the courtroom. Regrettably, the victim of that accident died fifteen years later. Notwithstanding her neurological and physical limitations, she became a motivational speaker who addressed prison, religious and general audiences about the necessity and transformative power of forgiveness. In death as in life, she leaves an immeasurable legacy and lesson about compassion and pardon. (A Woman Who Famously Forgave A Teen For A Violent Frozen Turkey Prank Has Died – link active as of 23 September 2026)

 

Esau’s forgiveness of Jacob is the third example. (Genesis 32 and 33) Recall Jacob twice deceives his brother. He cheats him  out of his birthright for the cost of a bowl of lentil soup and then Jacob tricks their father, Isaac, and steals Esau’s blessing. When the latter appears before the father, only verbal crumbs are left to impart to him. The riches of the land and the Lord’s blessings have been bequeathed to the younger son. Rebekah assists Jacob in executing his deception of Isaac and duplicity toward Esau. Taken for a fool a second time, Esau becomes murderously angry. He would have committed fratricide had not his parents intervened to save Jacob’s life by instructing a servant to send him away to their relatives. Twenty years  later, a confluence of circumstances causes a reunion between these brothers.

 

Jacob, frightened of Esau’ volcanic anger which he assumes is as potent as it was two decades ago, plans a strategic approach to this unavoidable reunion. Jacob fears his  brother’s wholesale retaliation. More specifically, Jacob fears that Esau will annihilate Jacob and his entire household. He remains alert and anxious throughout their meeting. As deceit lies intrinsically in Jacob’s character, he is unable to fully trust Esau’s genuine forgiveness of Jacob. Still, in Genesis 33:10, utterly moved by his brother’s compassion, consideration and graciousness, Jacob describes the reunion with his brother as equating with seeing the face of God given Esau’s genuine kindness and favor. Jacob’s humility reflects the power of genuine forgiveness. As its recipient, he marvels that God could transform his brother’s heart. In  two decades, Esau’s murderous rage dissipates. Upon  seeing his brother, Esau dramatically and exuberantly embraces Jacob and weeps joyously. For Jacob, their reunion was probably a surreal experience as he could not imagine its converse. I suspect that Esau during the interim period of two decades reflected extensively about his brother’s transgressions. Chances are he considered his immaturity, aimlessness and divided mind which prevented him from fulfilling his rightful place as the elder brother and primary heir. How could he have willingly consented to exchanging his birthright for a bowl of lentil soup? If not Jacob, then someone else would have exploited Esau’s incapacity to appreciate God’s gifts more so than his family’s culture and traditions. Nonetheless, having established his own meaningful relationship with Almighty God, Esau experiences an incredible transformation of mind, heart and character. That internal change enables Esau to forgive his brother.