difficult stuff and one needs to proceed with extreme caution – especially with the latter problem. It is very
difficult to go to a person who has offended us without, in turn, offending him. When that happens, then both
parties have some word or action that needs forgiving. None of this should be attempted without much
prayer and supplication to YHWH for complete guidance. Part of the problem lies in our culture. We are not
trained to ask forgiveness, or to confront in a righteous way, those who have offended us. Usually neither
party in such an event has the slightest idea how to proceed, how to react, or how to resolve the differences
between one another. Instead, often people resort to lashon hara (evil tongue) and gossip to others about
someone‘s perceived faults. In doing this, we fail to communicate righteously and fairly with the person in
question. This is forbidden by Torah. That is why it is imperative to first bring the topic to YHWH in prayer
and wait for His leading. We have so much to learn in order to become true ̳children of YHWH.‘
Repentance can be put into two categories: those sins which are against YHWH and those which are against
other people. But the Torah also has another breakdown of the 613 commandments that it contains. It sites
sins of omission and the sins of commission. The sins of omission are those committed when one fails to
perform a positive command. In other words, if YHWH instructs us to take care of the widow and we fail to do
that, we commit a sin of omission. We ̳omitted‘ doing a positive (Do or Remember) command. On the other
hand, a sin of commission is when we break a negative command. The Torah says; ―Do not commit murder‖.
If we murder someone, we are ̳committing‘ a sin against a negative (Do Not) command. Remember, 1 John
3:15 says if we hate our brother, we are MURDERERS.
Likewise, failing to keep the Sabbath would be a sin of omission against a positive command. ―Remember
the Sabbath day to keep it holy‖. An act of adultery would be a sin of commission against a negative
command. ―Do not commit adultery.‖
In Jewish thought, the subject of repentance is very important. However, the destruction of the Temple has
required their method of atonement to change. During Temple times, the sins of the High Priest, his family,
and all of Israel were covered by the various sacrifices that were offered on each day. Since the Temple no
longer stands, they are no longer able to effect forgiveness by the sacrifice of animals. Since the Orthodox
Jews do not recognise Y‘shua as the promised Messiah, they have built a method of atonement through the
acts of repentance and doing good deeds.
As Believers, we know that true forgiveness can only be obtained through the acceptance of the sacrifice of
the Messiah, our Passover Lamb. Yet, His sacrifice does not negate the need for repentance in our lives.
The New Covenant is full of instruction about our need to repent before YHWH, ask forgiveness of our fellow
man and be willing to forgive those who have ―trespassed against us‖. Indeed, there is much that most of us
need to learn when it comes to repentance and forgiveness. That is the purpose of this period of Teshuvah:
so that we can repent completely, return to YHWH in our worship. Also, it is in the way we conduct every
aspect of our lives in order to be reconciled with both YHWH and our fellow man. No wonder we need thirty
days of Teshuvah (30 days before the Rosh HaShanah feast) every year, plus the ―Days of Awe‖ between
Rosh HaShanah (Feast of Trumpets) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).
Continuing on the question of forgiveness, any Jew listening to this parable told by Y‘shua about a king who
wanted to settle his accounts with his servants (Matt 18:23-35) would immediately associate it with the so-
called "days of awe" between Rosh Hashanah (New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), when they
have to settle their accounts with YHWH. These are the days when YHWH opens a book containing all the
deeds and everybody has the opportunity to be reconciled with their brother so anything bad can be erased.
At the end of Yom Kippur, the book is closed; and if a person hasn't sorted everything out, then he/she has
to wait till next year.
Obviously, the sacrificial death and resurrection of Y‘shua means that we can always come and have our
sins forgiven; but this does not give us an excuse to be casual about it. The parable still has to be taken
seriously.
The king called his servants together to settle his accounts with them, and one of them begged for patience
because he had a huge debt he could not pay. The king had compassion on him and forgave his debt. Then
the servant went out and got a hold of one of his fellow servants who owed him a small sum and had him
thrown in jail because he could not pay. Then the other servants became distressed and told the king what
had happened. The king was angry with the servant whom he had forgiven, and threw him in jail until he paid
back everything he owed.
The king appears twice in this story. First, he is the compassionate king who forgives those who repent.
Then he is the king who administers justice and punishes those who despise his compassion and
forgiveness. So it is with Messiah who came to give us forgiveness of our sins, but will come again to judge