The
Easter season is a time when there is a focus on the 7 Sayings of our Lord
Jesus from the cross. The first saying
"Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" is
found only in the gospel of Luke. This
is our focus even after Good Friday and Easter as we continue to look at the
cross. I like this statement from Dr.
Mark Roberts: "It makes sense that the first word of Jesus from the cross
is a word of forgiveness. That's the
point of the cross, after all."
Here are
some questions we can ponder together...1) Who was Jesus asking for forgiveness
for? The soldiers who were crucifying him or the crowd around the cross
as well? 2) What did He mean saying they
didn't know what they were doing? The soldiers
obviously knew how to crucify someone - historically, it was common in that
era. Could it be that He was saying that
they didn't know WHO they were crucifying? Like the old spiritual "Sweet little
Jesus boy...we didn't know it was you".
3) Why did Jesus ask the Father to forgive them when He could forgive
sins Himself? Bible commentators have
considered these issues and come to various conclusions. The blessing to me is that He prayed such a
prayer!
Considering
forgiveness in light of the cross is quite instructive and challenging. The cross is about forgiveness so if we
experience forgiveness at the cross, we are also to be forgiving. We are to be forgiving even toward those who
hurt us terribly. Finally, we are to be
forgiving and prayerful even when experiencing the most severe situations. No wonder
Bible teacher William Barclay wrote about this saying of the Savior
"There is nothing so lovely and nothing so rare as Christian
forgiveness."
See you
Sunday!
- What prophecy is fulfilled in this prayer of Jesus? Isaiah 53:12
- Is Jesus still praying for sinners? Hebrews 7:25
- Who does the Scripture include among the ignorant when Jesus was crucified? Acts 3:12-19; 13:27; 2 Corinthians 2:8
- While some sins are done in ignorance and we are often ignorant of the full wickedness and damaging effect of our sin...is there forgiveness for even intentional and rebellious sin? 1John 1:9
- How does this prayer of Jesus fulfill the point of the cross? Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 1:21, 1 Corinthians 15:3
- How does Jesus practice what He preached? Matthew 5:44
- Who is the great N.T. example of following the Savior in forgiveness? Acts 7:59-60 What about us? Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13
