Opening
Former college and pro football coach and current ESPN analyst Lou Holtz once said the following about revenge: “You’ll never get ahead of anyone as long as you try to get even with him.” So many times, we spend so much time and energy plotting revenge against others that the people and activities in our lives suffer. Sometimes the best revenge for those who have hurt us is forgiveness. Think about that…Forgiveness does away with the need for revenge and frees us to tackle the many other things in our lives that need our time and attention. Let’s take a look at Peter and see if revenge or forgiveness had control of his life.

Watch DVD scenes 26 & 27 (“Subway” & “Like a Poison”) Start time—1:08:04; End Time—1:13:45 (5:41)

Discussion Questions
1. In the movie, Peter’s Aunt Mae said, “Uncle Ben meant the world to us, but he wouldn’t want us living one second with revenge in our heart. It’s like a poison. It can take you over. Before you know it, it turns us into something ugly.” Do you agree with Aunt Mae’s description of revenge? Why or why not? If revenge is like a poison and so often turns into something ugly, why do we enjoy it so much? (Because our sinful nature leads us to want to get even with those who hurt us.) At this point in the movie, did Peter control revenge in his life, or did revenge have control of him? (Revenge led him to kill Flint Marko, so revenge had contol over him at this point.) At this point in your life, do you control revenge in your life, or does it have control of you? (Answers will vary.)

3. Read Genesis 37:12-36. What did Joseph’s brothers do to him that could have caused Joseph to want to seek revenge? (They sold him to the Midianite merchants for 20 shekels of silver. They, in turn, sold him to Potiphar, an official of Pharoah. Later in the story, Joseph spent time in jail when Potiphar’s wife lied about Joseph coming on to her—v. 19-20). What do others do to you that can cause you to want revenge against them? (Answers will vary.)

4. Read Genesis 50:15, 18-21. What two choices did Joseph have in dealing with his brothers? (Revenge or forgiveness.) Which did he choose? (Forgiveness.) As you deal with friends and family that have hurt you, what choices do you have? (Revenge or forgiveness.) Which do you usually choose? (Answers will vary.)

5. Do you agree with the statement, “Sometimes the best revenge for those who have hurt us is forgiveness? (Answers will vary.) Why or why not?

6. Read Matthew 6:14-15. Would God have you choose revenge or forgiveness? (Forgiveness.)

7. Read Leviticus 19:18. What does the Lord tell us about revenge in this verse? (Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge, but love your neighbor as yourself.) Which is easier for you: to love someone who has hurt you or bear a grudge against them? (Answers will vary.) Why?

8. Read Romans 12:17-21. According to these verses, who is the one who will avenge and repay those who have hurt us? (God.) Do we find any other good advice for fighting the temptation to seek revenge in these verses? (Do not repay evil with evil, and try to live at peace with everybody.)

9. Do you find peace in knowing that God will deal with those who seek revenge against you and choose not to ask for forgiveness? (Answers will vary.) Does it scare you knowing that God will deal with you for seeking revenge on others and not asking for forgiveness? (Answers will vary.)

Closing Thought
How will you choose to live your life: as a person of forgiveness or as a person of revenge? Jesus had every reason to seek revenge against those who hurt Him during his final days but chose not to go that route. Instead, He gave each of us the perfect example of love and forgiveness on the cross when He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” to those who were putting Him to death. Revenge wasn’t a part of Jesus’ life, and it shouldn’t be a part of ours. Will you follow Jesus’ perfect example or give into your sinful nature? Where are you going to stand when it comes to revenge?

Closing Prayer
“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord” (Lev. 19:18).

Joseph Sold by His Brothers
“Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, and Israel said to Joseph, ‘As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.’ ‘Very well,’ he replied. So he said to him, ‘Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.’ Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. When Joseph arrived at Shechem, a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, ‘What are you looking for?’ He replied, ‘I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?’ ‘They have moved on from here,’ the man answered. ‘I heard them say, “Let’s go to Dothan.”‘ So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. ‘Here comes that dreamer!’ they said to each other. ‘Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.’ When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. ‘Let’s not take his life,’ he said. ‘Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.’ Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing—and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it. As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, ‘What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.’ His brothers agreed. So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt. When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. He went back to his brothers and said, ‘The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?’ Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, ‘We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.’ He recognized it and said, ‘It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.’ Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. ‘No,’ he said, ‘I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.’ So his father wept for him. Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard” (Gen. 37:12-36).

“When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, ‘What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?’ His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. ‘We are your slaves,’ they said. But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.’ And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them” (Gen. 50:15, 18-21).

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matt. 6:14-15).

“‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord'” (Lev. 19:18).

“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is Mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:17-21).