David Jeremiah (August 18, 2025) Daily Devotional: Grace in the Courtroom.
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. John 20:23
Recommended Reading: John 20:19-23 - The Apostles Commissioned 19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
“I rarely see grace in this courtroom, but I saw it today,” said Judge Leticia Marques. Ronald Davis, 55, was sentenced to life in prison for killing an 85-year-old woman in Orlando. The victim’s husband, Rev. Bill Curl, forgave the man who had killed his wife. “For him, we have nothing but forgiveness, for love, for a hope that the rest of his life has a better quality, and one day he’ll come to know Jesus,” Curl said. “He obviously should be punished for what he did but that doesn’t negate forgiveness.”1
Forgiving someone who hurt us is very hard. It’s actually impossible unless the grace of God enters our hearts and reminds us of how our Lord has forgiven us. Jesus taught us to pray, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12).
If we’ve prayed that God will forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors we will be ready to forgive those who hurt us. If you feel you can’t forgive someone, ask the Lord to give you the forgiving Spirit of Jesus. He will help you!
To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you. C. S. Lewis
