Word of Salvation – Vol.50 No.10 – March 2005

 

Father, Forgive Them

 

Sermon by Rev John Haverland on Luke 23:34

Scripture Readings:  Luke 23:26-34; Isaiah 53

 

Brothers and Sister in Christ…

Ernest Hemingway once told a story to illustrate the popularity of the Spanish name Paco. This same story also illustrates the deep desire many of us have for forgiveness and reconciliation.

A father, he said, went on a journey to Madrid to put an ad in the local paper. The ad read: “Paco, meet me at Hotel Montana at noon Wednesday – all is forgiven.”

The next day at about noon the local authorities had to gather a squadron of the local police to disperse the mob of 800 young men who had massed on the street in front of the inn. All of these young men wanted to meet their father who had forgiven them for their past.

This is the deepest desire of every human being on earth. Sometimes we squash that desire. Or we blunt our conscience so that we do not realise our great need. Yet the need is there because of the guilt we carry before an Almighty God. We need forgiveness and we must come to realise this.

Jesus, the Son of God, died on the cross so that all who turn to him in faith may be forgiven. He even prayed that God the Father would forgive those involved in his death.

The words of our text are the first of the seven words or phrases Jesus spoke from the cross. Not that these are any more important than anything else he said during his life; but these words teach us a lot about the meaning and significance of forgiveness – a forgiveness you can receive from your Father in heaven. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

The first point to notice about this remarkable prayer is that Jesus prayed it out of HIS GREAT LOVE.

Here was the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the King of the Jews, the Saviour of the world, the Son of God Himself, stretched out on a wooden cross like a common criminal. And in the midst of the physical pain and agony, as they drove the nails into his wrists, he prayed that God would forgive all those involved in this terrible act of murder. His prayer illustrates his great love for mankind.

Most people who were crucified were political criminals under the Roman Empire. They hated the Romans and their occupation of their land. As they were crucified they would curse and swear and shout abuse at their tormentors. If they could they would have taken revenge on these soldiers. They would have retaliated. They would have turned the tables on them and paid them back for what they were doing.

Jesus did none of this. “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate. When he suffered, he made no threats” (1 Peter 2:23). He did not think of revenge or retaliation or paying back evil for evil.

Instead he went far beyond this. Not only did he refrain from revenge, he actually prayed for their forgiveness. Even in this great physical and spiritual agony his first thought was not for himself but for those around him. He knew that he was suffering the judgment of God for human sin, but he also knew that these people would face an eternal judgment for their sin in crucifying the Son of God. Even in his own suffering he thought of the eternal suffering that awaited them for their evil. So in his great compassion he prayed for them. He felt pity for these people. He was “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love” (Ps 103:8). “Father, forgive them”, he prayed.

It is remarkable that Jesus should pray like this. Perhaps this is why his prayer appears in some early manuscripts of this gospel but not in others. Maybe some of the early copyists thought that this could not be right – that Jesus would not have prayed this and so left it out. Yet most commentators agree that this is original and ought to be here.

Furthermore it is consistent with the other teachings of the Lord Jesus. In the Sermon on the Mount he told us, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you that you may be sons of your Father in heaven” (Mt 5:44). In the Lord’s Prayer he taught us to pray, “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us” (Lk 11:4). And he told his disciples that they should forgive, not just seven times, but seventy seven times (Mt 18:22).

It is also in fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah 53:12, “For he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.” This is exactly what he was doing here – even in his agony on the cross he interceded for those carrying out this great sin.

Here we see more evidence of how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. Here again is a love that “surpasses knowledge” (Eph 3:18-19).

So this is the first point to notice about this prayer of the Lord Jesus – that he prayed out of his great love and compassion for mankind.

Secondly, we should note that Jesus prayed FOR THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS DEATH. His first words from the cross were a prayer that had a wide perspective as he considered all those involved in his death.

This meant that he prayed for the Jews. This included the religious leaders. They were the ones who had been plotting his death. They were the ones who had had him arrested and secretly tried before the Sanhedrin. They had taken him to Pilate early that Friday morning. They were the ones who had chosen Barabbas instead of Jesus. They were primarily responsible for his death.

But the Jewish crowds were also responsible. A large crowd had gathered outside Pilate’s palace on that Friday morning. When Pilate wanted to release Jesus they were the ones who cried out, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” They, too, were responsible.

Jesus also included in his prayer the Roman centurion and his soldiers. They didn’t know much about this Jesus. They had little knowledge of who he was. They weren’t interested in the religion of the Jews or their prophecies about the Messiah or their internal religious squabbles. They were only interested in getting the job done and getting home when it was all over. There they were, drinking and gambling at the foot of the cross. There they were, “beneath the cross of Jesus”, fooling and laughing and joking. Beneath the cross on which the Prince of Glory died. Beneath the cross of the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Jesus prayed for these soldiers.

Some people today are like these Roman soldiers. They are gambling and drinking and partying without a thought about Jesus. Maybe some of you here this morning are like this. You are fooling around with Jesus. You don’t take him seriously. You party and study and live without noticing him. Jesus prayed for you too: “Father, forgive them”.

We have seen that Jesus prayed this prayer out of his great love and pity for mankind. He prayed for all those involved in his death.

We now see, thirdly, that he SUPPORTED HIS PRAYER WITH A REASON. “For they do not know what they are doing.”

Jesus acknowledged that they were ignorant of the enormity of their actions and the full consequences of what they were doing. The religious leaders knew that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God and the Messiah, but they didn’t believe him. The Roman soldiers had no idea who Jesus was. To them he was just another religious fanatic and this was merely another Jewish argument.

No one knew that they were crucifying the Lord of Glory, the Saviour of the world. No one knew that his death and resurrection would be the centre-point of all history, that all history from then on would be dated back to his birth. They did not know what they were doing.

Jesus was not excusing their sin. He wasn’t glossing over it. “Ignorance is no excuse”, we say. In the Old Testament law sins committed in ignorance were still sins (Lev 4:13-14). Even if they sinned unintentionally they were still guilty. So, too, with all these people involved in the death of Jesus. They acted in ignorance but they were still guilty.

The soldiers might say that they were only carrying out orders, but they still crucified an innocent man – they still put to death the Son of God himself.

Yet Jesus mentions their ignorance as a mitigating factor: “They do not know what they are doing.” They did not realise the full significance of their actions. In one of his sermons the apostle Paul acknowledged that while “their rulers did not recognise Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath” (Acts 13:27). What they did was part of the plan of God for the salvation of the world. It has been spoken of by the prophets.

When writing to the church of Corinth he explained that none of the rulers of this age understood God’s wisdom, “for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor 2:8). Reflecting on his own life he even says that he was shown mercy because he had “acted in ignorance and unbelief” (1 Tim 1:13).

Jesus’ prayer was motivated by his great compassion for all those involved in his death, recognising that they did not know what they were doing.

He prayed, fourthly, that they might be FORGIVEN.

To be forgiven is to have your sins removed; it is to be freed from the guilt and punishment of sin; it is to be released from the condemnation you deserve; it is to be counted as righteous in God’s sight.

Jesus could ask for that because of his suffering and death on the cross. This is the basis for forgiveness. Forgiveness of sins is possible precisely because of what he was enduring at that moment. He was suffering the judgment of God so that others would not have to face it.

God the Father was punishing the sin of all God’s people in His Son. Jesus asked that the Father would apply the benefit of what he was doing on the cross to those around him.

This was a fitting prayer for the close of his ministry on earth because this is what he had come to do – he had come so that people could be forgiven – the Scribes and Pharisees, the Roman soldiers, you and me. He had come to be the Saviour of the world – the Saviour of all those who would believe in him.

We, too, can be forgiven. We need this forgiveness because the law of God condemns all of us. No one will be made right with God by keeping the law, rather through the law we become conscious of sin. We do not love God with all our heart, soul and mind. We do not love our neighbour as we love ourselves. We need the cleansing only God can give.

This is possible because of what Jesus did in his death. He took our punishment on himself. Like the Old Testament high priest he carried the guilt of his people. He interceded for them. He is still doing this today. He is in heaven today, praying for you and me; applying the benefits of his person and work to us so that we may be saved.

But forgiveness doesn’t happen automatically. It is conditional on repentance and faith. If you want to be forgiven you must admit your sin and ask God to forgive you. You must confess your sins for he is faithful and just and he will forgive you your sins and cleanse you of all unrighteousness. If you want to be forgiven you must trust in the saving work of Jesus on the cross. That is the only way to be saved. That is true for you and for me and for everyone on this earth. That was true for those who crucified Jesus. They, too, had to repent and believe if they were to be forgiven.

Those who are forgiven must also forgive. This prayer of Jesus is an example to us. We must do as he has done. “Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21). Forgiving others is not our natural reaction. We are more inclined to retaliate, to take revenge, to hit back. Yet Christians are called to follow the Lord Jesus in his example. No matter how badly others are treating you, the Lord calls you to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Mt 5:44).

Stephen was able to do that as he was dying, being stoned: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60).

How do you respond when people oppress you and say things against you? Do you bear a grudge and hold resentment? Do you plan revenge and plot retaliation?

Or do you pray for your enemies? Do you pray that the Lord might forgive them? Do you ask that they might repent and believe and so be saved?

In his prayer Jesus was asking the Father to give his enemies time to repent; to give them time to recognise what they had done and to confess their sin and to ask for forgiveness. That reminds us of the parable Jesus told about the fig tree that was not bearing any fruit. The owner of the vineyard wanted to cut it down but the manager asked for time. “Sir, leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilise it. If it bears fruit next year, fine. If not, then cut it down” (Luke 13:6-9).

In his prayer Jesus prayed for the forgiveness of his enemies. But he also recognised the coming judgment of God. He knew that God was a God of love and of justice. You must recognise this, too: God will forgive you if you repent and believe, but if you don’t then you will have to face the wrath of God on the day of judgment. God is delaying his judgment to give you and others time to turn to him.

That was also true for the Jews. The Lord gave the Jews another 40 years to reflect on what they had done to the Messiah. 40 years to recognise their sin and to repent of it. During these years God gave them the sign of Pentecost with the coming of the Holy Spirit. He gave them the preaching of the apostles and the witness of thousands of individual believers.

We don’t know the full effect of this prayer of Jesus. We don’t know how many came to repentance and faith as a result of this prayer of intercession. We do know that on the Day of Pentecost 3000 believed. We know that a short time later the number of men grew to about 5000. We know that “the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7).

We need to pray for this in our day: That many might recognise their sin, turn away from it, believe in the Lord Jesus, and so have their sins forgiven.

Do you know that your sins are forgiven through faith in what Jesus has done? Will you pass on this good news to others so they, too, may know Jesus as their Saviour and Lord?

Amen.