This series of meditations on the seven utterances made by our Lord Jesus in the hours when he was hanging on the Cross were originally given at Communion services, and subsequently produced as booklets.
This is the link to the Audio version of the meditation: CR 1 – Father, forgive them… – Audio
“Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing”
When Jesus was dying on the Cross, he uttered seven cries. They are sometimes called the “Seven Last Words.” They are the last things he said before he died, and are therefore very precious to us. The first one, quoted above and recorded in Luke 23:34, will be our consideration in this meditation.
You will immediately observe it is a prayer. Three of the seven cries are prayers. They are very short prayers. I have discovered that most of the effective prayers in the Bible are very short. It is a comfort for us to know that God is pleased to hear short prayers, so long as they are earnest and meaningful. As Jesus taught us, our Father in Heaven does not hear us because we multiply words. He has quite different criteria.
I want to draw your attention to just four things from this amazing prayer.
- JESUS PRAYED FOR HIS ENEMIES
Crucifixion was one of the cruelest deaths ever devised by the depraved mind of man. It resulted, of course, in anything but a swift death. It was a slow death. That was its design. The prolonged agony was caused, not only by the initial tearing of tender flesh as nails were driven through hands and feet, but also because that pain was renewed over, and over again, as the condemned man sought to draw breath by levering his body upward and outward from the cross. It is not necessary to describe further the physical aspects of crucifixion save to say that the victim usually screamed in pain and cursed his executioners.
This man Jesus of Nazareth, however, actually prayed for their forgiveness.
You may remember that Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, had taught his disciples to love their enemies and to pray for those who persecuted them (See Matthew 5:43-48). Here we find that he practiced what he had preached. I suspect we are all inconsistent to some extent, some more than others, for the Christian should always aspire higher than he attains. Jesus, however, was the one totally consistent man. His practice matched his preaching perfectly – as did his praying. What he had taught others to be and to do as the will of God he was and did himself, consequently he prayed for his enemies.
The question is, can we follow his example and pray for our enemies? It isn’t easy, is it? What about your enemies? Do you have any? Do you love them and pray for them? Perhaps you remember those who have been your enemies in the past, and did wrong to you? Or you think they did. In fact, you are sure they did. They hurt you, didn’t they? They caused you great pain. Was there somebody, and you would even say, “He crucified me?” Do you still have a grudge after all these years for that wrong committed against you? Do you have a root of bitterness? Maybe you would even yet like to see some retributive justice. Is that “something” that happened in the past spoiling your life in the present?
It is understandable. I am not blaming you. It is almost – may I say it – human nature. But oh, my friends, we can deny ourselves all peace and victory and joy because we cannot bring ourselves to pray goodwill for our enemies. Do you know, bearing a grudge is one of the main causes of depression, and bitterness is the cancer of the soul?
This is such a common problem for many of us that we must consider it a little more.
The apostle Paul wrote,“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, not even in your heart. Leave room for God’s wrath” (Romans 12:14-21).
What does he mean, “Leave room for God’s wrath?” He is being very realistic. He is saying, “If you think they deserve to be punished, well, let God do it. You cannot do it anyway. You are not hurting them. You are just hurting yourself. Hand them – and your problem – over to God.”
Paul continues, “For it is written, ‘It is mine to avenge. I will repay,’ says the Lord.”
God is their judge. He is the judge of all men. Furthermore, God sees what your enemies are doing or what some have done in the past. He sees everything. Listen: are you anxious they are going to get off scot-free? They will not get away with anything! Unless, of course, you have somehow misjudged them. I know you think that unlikely but God alone is the only infallible assessor of their guilt or, for that matter, yours and mine. He will judge fairly. If they have truly repented, God will of course forgive them, just as he has forgiven you and me.
We should also bear in mind our Lord’s teaching, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:1-2). That should cause us to hesitate and think carefully before we judge anyone.
Or what about, “Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). As someone said to me recently, “It is very disturbing how unforgiving ‘forgiven’ people can be!” Yes, it is.
But in any event, do not let the pains of the past rob you of the peace of the present. That is sheer foolishness.
Then Paul goes on, again reflecting the spirit and teaching of our Lord Jesus, “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.”
Some people think that by “burning coals” Paul means that your kindness will make your enemy feel worse! It probably will. In other words; if you are so mad at him that you would like to anoint him with a bucketful of burning coals (very painful!), then just be kind to him. That will hurt him more and you will have your revenge. I think the spirit of the passage, however, makes it more likely Paul is using a figure of speech for repentance. You are much more likely to bring your adversary to sorrow and repentance by your undeserved kindness than by hatred.
Consider for a moment; if you strike back in vengeance, won’t your guilty adversary feel more justified? Which do you think those soldiers crucifying Jesus would remember most vividly, a man who cursed them like everybody else, or the one who, contrary to anything they had ever experienced before, prayed for his tormentors?
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Our emotional memory does not operate according to chronological time, so that when we are reminded of a hurt, we may experience the pain all over again. Someone touches a “sore spot” and hurts of many years ago tear us apart once more. Shall we allow an evil done to us in the past to overwhelm our present? Are we now in danger of being overcome by our own evil as feelings of anger, resentment, and a desire to get even, well-up within us? Or shall we just wallow in the evil of self-pity?
You know, hatred, bitterness and self-pity are so ugly, aren’t they, whereas love, forgiveness and gratitude are so beautiful. Which would you rather be, ugly or beautiful?
May I sum it up in this way; we must not allow an evil done to us to overcome us and we must not respond with an evil of our own. Rather let us, like Jesus, overcome evil with good by praying for our enemies and accompanying our prayers, where possible, by appropriate actions towards those who have wronged us.
First then, Jesus prayed for his enemies. But here is the second thing:
- JESUS PLEADED THEIR IGNORANCE
THE SOLDIERS
In asking for God’s mercy upon these people he mentions their ignorance, “They do not know what they are doing.” Is it not true that thousands around us spurn the love of God in Jesus Christ through ignorance?
Probably these soldiers had no interest in the identity of the men they were crucifying. It was just part of their job. They had the misfortune to be posted to this remote country of desert, heat, flies, and rebels. No doubt they just wanted to get the unpleasant business over with, collect their pay, and get home to their families. They were entitled to divide between them, as a small bonus, the meager possessions of those they crucified. The Nazarene had the most beautiful, seamless robe they had ever seen. So rather than tear it they gambled for it. Why not try and have a little fun? Life was hard enough. They had previously enjoyed some sport with this strange “King of the Jews,” when they mocked him in the guard-house.
Similarly, all that many of our neighbors want in life is a reasonable job with decent pay and benefits, a good family, and a little fun. They really are not interested in the identity of Jesus of Nazareth. What is he to them? Many crucify afresh the Lord of glory by blaspheming his name, breaking his laws, and spurning his love. But they do it in ignorance. No-one has ever taught them differently. They know not what they do. Should we condemn them if Jesus did not? Maybe, but for the grace of God, we should be exactly like them.
THE PEOPLE
We must remember, most Jews of Jesus day thought only of political deliverance and economic prosperity. That is what all down-trodden, poor, and oppressed people think about, isn’t it?
And in the synagogues and in the Temple their rabbis taught them that when the Messiah came, he would bring the freedom, health, prosperity, and power they longed for. They were not taught of a Christ who would come to be their Saviour from sin. Consequently they were disillusioned with Jesus hanging on a cross. Why, even the Scriptures say, “Cursed is anyone who hangs on a tree“(Deuteronomy 21:23. See also Isaiah 53:4; Acts 5:30; Galatians 3:13). They were convinced he was cursed by God, and they were right. But, O, would no-one tell them why? It was for them (and for us) he was thus cursed.
Bearing shame and scoffing rude
In my place condemned he stood
Sealed my pardon with his blood
Hallelujah! What a Saviour! (Philipp Bliss)
Speaking of the Scriptures, it was not that their teachers had portrayed a Christ with no Scriptural basis whatsoever, rather they had selected only those aspects of Messianic prophecy which were exciting and appealing, totally omitting those Scriptures which spoke of a Messiah who would suffer and die. They wanted to portray a Christ who seemed practically relevant to the awful times in which they were living and who would meet the (immediate and perceived) needs and aspirations of the people. Thus, they distorted the Word.
We can see how they put the victorious reign of the Second Coming into the First and portrayed the Messianic blessings of the New World to come as all for the here and now. There was no place for the cross. Such great chapters as Isaiah 53 were either ignored or applied to someone else. They cannot refer to the Messiah, they taught, because that is not the kind of Messiah we need! Some taught these errors through ignorance but far too many through personal ambition and selfish gain.
TODAY
O how careful we too must be not to portray a false Christ.
It seems to me, there are teachers today who make the same mistake as those teachers of old. They say, “Come to Christ, and he will give you, health, wealth, and power.” They portray him as standing ready to “meet your needs” like some kind of celestial butler. “What do you need (which sounds like, ‘want’)? Just name it and claim it.” These preachers and teachers hardly mention the cross. They speak nothing of repentance and salvation from sin.
Their listeners are not taught that the true Christ calls his disciples in self-denial to follow in his footsteps and bear a cross. No, it is come to Christ and have Heaven now. Understandably the audience, like all people seeking instant happiness, eagerly takes it in. They never hear that poverty of spirit and hunger for righteousness is the road to happiness the Jesus way.
Little wonder folk are still disillusioned. Some curse him in their hearts because he didn’t deliver on the promises they were given. Others just turn away hardened, perhaps forever, from receiving the true Christ. Yet Jesus prays for them. Like the Jews who jeered in anger and disappointment these disillusioned folk “know not what they do.” Their false teachers bear the greater sin.
In our desire to attract the irreligious to our services, to be acceptable to the world, and to grow bigger and bigger churches, how careful we must be not to proclaim a mind-less, cross-less, cost-less – even Christ-less Christianity. I say “Christ-less” because the Christ portrayed is a gross distortion. We have an awesome responsibility how we handle the Truth entrusted to us to deliver.
If, then, we are to make sure we preach the true Gospel of God, what must be in the centre?
Let the Apostle Paul answer:
“But we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 1:8).
Our first responsibility is not to please the world but the Lord; not to be successful but faithful. We may register fewer “decisions” but we will make more disciples. We may have smaller numbers, but we will be true ambassadors of our King.
But here is the third thing, and it is very important:
- IGNORANCE ITSELF DOES NOT ACQUIT THE SINNER
The Lord Jesus prays for their forgiveness even though he pleads their ignorance in mitigation. They must be forgiven, for they have done wrong. He does not say they have no case to answer because they are ignorant. He says, “Father, forgive them.” The law is the law. Sin is sin. Do you know that the Jewish people used to sacrifice for “unknown sin?” They were unaware they had committed it but it still required atonement.
Then, of course, there is such a thing as willful ignorance. I do not know because I do not want to know. A man said to me once, “I do not ask for permission; I ask forgiveness.” In other words, “I do not want to know whether I may or I may not. I go ahead and do it and then, if I am told that I should not have done, I ask forgiveness.”
It sounded a clever method and I was amused. But there are many people who will end up in hell because they are banking on that. They reason, O well I will live as I like and ignore God and His laws and then, on the Judgment Day (if there is one) I will just say I’m sorry, ask forgiveness, and hope for the best. If there is any reader of this article taking that chance, I must tell you it will be too late for forgiveness then. NOW is the time to ask forgiveness and seek God.
May I give you an illustration? I confess I got a speeding ticket a few years ago, the first I had received in either England or America.
My wife June, and I were enjoying a quiet break near the shore of southern Delaware. It was a beautiful afternoon and we decided to go for a ride along the coast road; a lovely straight four lane highway. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, and, since it was out of season, it was very quiet.
I did not have a care in the world until, suddenly, a police car sneaked out from behind the sand dunes and came after me. June, seeing the flashing lights, seemed to have great difficulty hiding her enjoyment of my annoyance and discomfort! Having examined my documents and accused me of travelling at a speed quite beyond the capabilities of my vehicle, this officer-of-the-law issued me with a ticket and thus spoiled my unblemished record – and my holiday.
As we resumed our drive, my wife, still, I am sad to tell you, stifling her amusement, said to me, “I am surprised you did not say anything.”
“Well,” I replied, “what was there to say?”
“Nevertheless” she said, “it is unlike you not to try something. I am surprised you had nothing to say.”
Then, of course, I spent the rest of the day thinking about what I might have said. I could have said, “Well, I did not know the speed limit, officer. I did not see the sign.”
I do not think that would have excused me, do you? The sign was there if I had bothered to look.
I might have said, “But, I am British, you see, and in Britain we have higher speed limits.”
I do not think he would have been impressed. I could have tried it, I suppose, but I did not want to be deported.
Perhaps I could have said, “Oh, this is an easy job for you, is it not? Lying in wait in the sand dunes on a beautiful afternoon, and trapping poor unsuspecting drivers who are doing nobody any harm, but driving down the open road. What about all the people who peddle drugs? Why don’t you go to the town, where it is unsafe to walk the streets? Why don’t you spend your resources (my taxes!) fighting real crime, instead of taking easy pickings with the likes of me?!”
I worked up quite a speech. I addressed the officer (who wasn’t there), “There are a lot of people a great deal worse than me.”
I think he would have said, “Well, there may be, but you have broken the law, and I happen to have caught you.”
Should I have pleaded with him, saying, “But, officer, it seemed so right. I mean, it is a divided highway. It is a beautiful open road. It is a lovely day. There is hardly any traffic about. Do you know something? I ignore traffic laws. I just drive according to my instincts. If it feels right, I just do it, and frankly, officer, it felt wonderful driving down that road.”
Friend; do you recognize anything here? Do you not think that on the Judgment Day there will be those who will step forward with these very same excuses. One will say, “But, I did not know. I never saw the signs.”
And God will say, “Were there no Bibles? Were there no preachers? Were there no churches? Were there no tracts? Did you not have even the witness of your own conscience, of right and wrong, which you proceeded to ignore? You say you did not know. But you could have known. You did not want to know. Your ignorance was a choice; it was willful ignorance.”
Do you think another will say, “But I come from a different background. My parents were not Christians. I was not born in America.”
And God will answer, “Yes, I know, and those with the privilege of having been born in America have the greater responsibility. Nevertheless. you are using that as an excuse. I gave you light but you preferred darkness. First, I gave you the light of my creation but you chose to worship the creation rather than the Creator. I also gave you light in your conscience but you willfully stifled it; again, you preferred darkness (See Romans 1:18-25; 2:12-16; John 1:9). Then I sent you the Gospel. Do you remember that Gospel radio broadcast which you turned off and that Gospel tract which you threw away? What about that servant I sent to tell you of Jesus. You refused to listen because you did not want to be disturbed in your sin. No excuse.”
Many will plead, “But Lord, I was not so bad as other people. What about all those people who have committed dreadful atrocities? What about the murderers and the adulterers; the thieves and the robbers? Why don’t you condemn them? Why pick on me? I am a decent sort. Compared to some I can think of I have lived a good life. I always gave to charities and even went to church.” That plea will not wash and those who use it will also be without excuse. We will not be compared with the worst, but the best. Jesus will be the standard, and by his standard, we have all failed. I have and you have.
The Bible says: “There is no-one righteous, not even one…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:10 & 23). On that Awful Day of Accounting, when each one will stand before God, there will be no man or woman who does not need Jesus, the Saviour.
Another will say, “But it seemed so right, and it felt so good.” That is the ethic of today. It is Satan’s temptation of Adam and Eve all over again; ignore God’s Law, he is just depriving you of experiential knowledge and harmless pleasure. Invent your own laws. And the verdict will be the same……Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.
So, though Jesus pleads their ignorance they still need forgiveness.
Am I saying their ignorance alone did not obtain this forgiveness? Yes, that is precisely what I am saying. Though Jesus pleads their ignorance as a mitigating circumstance and asks God for mercy that ignorance itself does not evidently excuse them and acquit them from all guilt. They still need to be forgiven. Otherwise, we have been preaching the wrong Gospel.
Consider this carefully now, please. It is a deep point, but it is important. If ignorance acquits the guilty, then we should keep all missionaries at home; we should stop printing and distributing Bibles and tracts; and we should leave people in their ignorance because then they will not be guilty and condemned.
We maybe should not even teach our own children the Gospel lest we rob them of this plea – “I did not know.”
The greatest Gospel text in the Bible, John 3:16, would then read, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever is ignorant of the law and of the Gospel shall not perish…” But it does not say that. It says, “whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
The Bible says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).
In fact, if ignorance alone acquits the guilty then Jesus need never have come from Heaven and gone to the cross at all. He could have stayed home and said, “Father, leave the people in their ignorance and then they will not be guilty.” But men and women are guilty and Jesus had to die to purchase our redemption. There was no other way.We must each one come with repentance and faith, and receive for ourselves this so great salvation, purchased at so high a cost. That is the only hope for any sinner on the face of the earth.
May I be very personal? What about you? Have you done so?
Here is my last point.
- EVEN THE GREATEST SIN MAY BE FORGIVEN
Who are these people for whom the Lord Jesus is asking forgiveness? They are murderers. They are crucifying the Lord of Glory, the only truly innocent man. Those arms which had so often been stretched out in compassion to the outcast, are now stretched out on a cross. Those hands which so lovingly touched little children, are now being nailed to wood. O how the deaf, the blind, the lame, and the leper rejoiced to feel those hands. Now they are being mutilated in searing pain. I say a man might murder his mother or sleep with his daughter and not commit so vile a sin as this; and yet, and yet, since forgiveness is asked for, so it must be possible – even for this.
Yes, that is the Gospel. The Bible says, “the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin,” (1 John 1:7).
Friend, what have you done? Have you too committed murder? Have you been a thief and stolen things? Are you an adulterer or a fornicator? Have you lied, cheated, or abused your wife and your children? Are you proud, rebellious, a hypocrite? Have you blasphemed the Name of God and spurned His love? Do you carry around a guilty conscience because of some awful thing buried unseen in your past. God knows about it – and you know that he knows.
Guilty friend, my heart goes out to you; but I have some news for you. No, not news of condemnation, news of mercy. Good news. Let me tell you something. “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin.” “All” means ALL! Do you know Heaven is going to be full of (forgiven) adulterers, murderers, blasphemers, and such like.
Listen to this Scripture: “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexual offenders, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers, will inherit the Kingdom of God…” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
“There you are,” I hear you saying, “there is no hope for me.”
Just a moment, listen how it continues, “…and that is what some of you were. BUT YOU WERE WASHED, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” Isn’t that wonderful?
“Justified” means counted good when, in fact, you are bad. “Sanctified” means set apart by God for himself to live for him in obedience.
My, what a church was the church of Corinth! What a conglomerate of sinners. But every church is a conglomerate of sinners. Some may seem more outwardly respectable than others but it isn’t the outside but the inside which God sees. Do you know, the morally upright and the outwardly respectable harbour some of the worst sinners in the world? You can be religious but lost. We all need to be washed. Some in church have been to the cross and been washed but some have never truly come to the cross. We all are sinners, either saved or unsaved.
If you have put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ believing that he and he alone can save you; and if you believe that he did precisely that when he died for you on the cross; and if you believe with all your heart that God raised him from the dead; then my friend you are saved for all eternity: doubt no more.
“Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them” (Hebrews 7:5 also Romans 8:34).
The same Lord Jesus who prayed as they nailed him to the cross lives forever and intercedes daily for you and for all his blood-bought flock. Never let Satan pile back onto you that burden of sin which your Saviour took right away. You can never be condemned again. Hallelujah!
Perhaps someone is saying, as you come to the end of this meditation, “Harry, I really want to be clean and start over. I want a new beginning. I want to go God’s way from now on. I am tired of trying to run my own life; I just mess it up. I want Jesus to come into my heart and make me new. But, I don’t know how to pray or what to say.”
I understand, let me help you. Read the following short prayer and see if it says what you want to say. If so why don’t you go to a quiet place such as your bedroom, kneel down and pray this prayer from your heart. I suggest, if you are alone, you pray it out loud.
“Dear Lord, I am so sorry for my sins. I have offended against you in deed, word and thought. I have nothing to plead, no excuse. I am guilty and deserve only your judgment. But I come before you and ask for mercy. I ask you to forgive me for the sake of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who loved me and died for me. I believe he died to pay for my sins and that you will graciously forgive all who call upon him. I have no hope of salvation apart from Jesus. I want a clean heart and a new beginning. I cannot live a God-pleasing life by myself. Please, Jesus, come and live in my heart and become the Lord of my life, from this moment on. I desire with all my heart to turn from a life of sin to a life serving my Saviour. Thank you for your promise that “all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” I know you mean what you say and I believe that I am forgiven and my sins are gone forever. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
Friend, God has never turned away anyone who has called upon him in this way. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that WHOEVER believes in him, shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
If you sincerely prayed as above here are some next steps:
- Tell a friend what you have done; maybe the person who showed you this meditation. The Bible attaches great significance to outwardly confessing Christ. You may want to consider doing that in baptism.
- Find a Bible believing church where you can worship and find Christian fellowship. The preaching of God’s Word in the context of worship is the principal way God has planned for you to be fed with good, nourishing spiritual food. If you do not find what you are looking for at first, try elsewhere until you do
- Read God’s Word regularly (maybe a little each day) and pray to your Heavenly Father. Always thank Him for your salvation through Christ and ask Him to help you to live for Him that day.
If God has spoken to your heart reading this meditation write to us through the Contact page. We would love to hear from you and to pray for you.