057: Forced Forgiveness: Misinterpreting Matthew 18 with Scot McKnight (Favorites)

For the month of June, I'm re-airing some of our favorite episodes. This one originally aired on August 13, 2024.

TW/CW: references to sexual assault

Have you ever had Matthew 18 used against you?

Far too often, the forgiveness passage in Matthew 18:15–17 is weaponized against those who experience hurt and harm. Victims are forced to face their abusers, and there is no real reconciliation. The abuser walks away “forgiven” and restored, and the abused walks away humiliated and put in their place.

Yes, forgiveness is important. And, forgiveness cannot be forced. It must be a freely made choice on our part.

This conversation isn’t about holding on to our offenses, grudges, or dismissing what happened to us. It’s not about releasing our abusers from accountability or letting go of our desire for justice.

It is about the ways forgiveness has been weaponized and abused in the church. It’s about having a truly biblical and scholarly understanding of how those passages are meant to be understood. It’s about protecting ourselves from future manipulation and further abuse.

Join me and New Testament scholar Scot McKnight as we dive deep into the original language and nuance of this passage. Discover what it really says about interpersonal conflict and its role in cases of abuse or an imbalance of power. Learn about the role of repentance as implied in the original Greek, even when it doesn’t show up in our English Bibles.

Get the full show notes, links, and transcript here. 📄

Guest Spotlight ✨ 

Scot is a New Testament scholar who has written widely on the historical Jesus and Christian spirituality.

Links & Resources 🔗
Website  |  Instagram  |  Twitter

• The Second Testament: A New Testament Translation  Bookshop.org | Amazon
• PIVOT  Bookshop.org | Amazon
• A Church Called TOV  Bookshop.org | Amazon

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