FATHER, FORGIVE THEM
Text: Luke 23:33-38
Introduction.
I doubt any of us have every witnessed an execution. I would imagine all of us have read about them in the newspaper. The accounts are very similar, because the State of Texas is very systematic about how and when executions are carried out.
According to most reports, most of the people sentenced to death—after all their appeals are exhausted—are given an execution date assigned by the judge. A few hours before that execution time, the condemned is moved to a special unit in Huntsville.
Sometimes they’re permitted to speak with family or friends—sometimes they’re provided with a religious person, such as the prison Chaplin. They are all given a last meal of their choosing, provided it’s not too far out and the prison has the food available.
The newspaper account of the execution is fairly standard—it tells us who they saw, what they did, what they ate, and if they prayed with a religious person.
As I keep reading the account of a state execution, I’m still trying to get to the part I’m really interested in—and not just me, but most people.
The part we really want to know is this….when the prisoner was strapped onto the gurney, and before the lethal dose of drugs is given, what were the prisoner’s “last words”? What is the last thing he had to say in this life?
Some prisoners may not give a final statement…others have said a variety of things. They might say, “Hey, it wasn’t my fault!” Others might express their love for their families or express remorse for putting them through the terrible events. Some have apologized to the families of their victims and ask for their forgiveness.
What did they say?
It seems that the thing we really want to know is, during the execution process, what was the last thing he said in this life?
The last words of an individual might not come at his execution. Rather, it may come from a person in his own bed or hospital bed while surrounded by his family; and, sometimes these words are very precious to the people involved.
A person’s final words can be very revealing. Like an x-ray, they will expose the heart or mind of the dying person. Some people’s last words have become very famous.
I was not surprised to learn what the last words of P.T. Barnum, the great circus showman, were. His last words were recorded as being, “What were today’s receipts?”
Now, some people’s last words are full of wisdom and great insight. The final words of Alexander the Great were, “When I die, thrust my hands through my death shroud so the world may see that my hands are empty.” I guess he wanted everybody to know he wasn’t taking anything with him!
The Greatest Final Words.
Luke 23:33-38
---33---“When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.
---34---But Jesus was saying, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.’ And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.
---35---And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, ‘He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.’
---36---The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine,
---37---and saying, ‘If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!’
---38---Now there was also an inscription above Him, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
Of all the final words spoken, none are more precious or more revealing—filled with more meaning and wisdom—than those final words spoken by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In a real sense, those last seven (7) statements are “Windows” that enable us to look into eternity and see the heart of the Savior as well as the heart of the Gospel.
When we study the meaning of those 7 statements, we can better understand why Jesus came into the world, why He did what He did, and why He died as He died.
In order for us to fully grasp the importance of Jesus’ final words, we must remember how He died. These words are significant, not just because of who said them, but also from where they were spoken.
You see, Jesus uttered those last words, not from a hospital bed or His own bed at home. No, His powerful last words were uttered as He was being crucified by Roman soldiers, at the insistence of the Jewish religious leaders.
Crucifixion during the days of the Roman Empire differs in two (2) major ways from executions today.
The first major difference is that today’s executions are, for the most part, private events. They are not televised or viewed by the general public. A few family, or perhaps friends, or the victim’s family members are permitted to witness the execution.
In contrast, a crucifixion was not only allowed to be a public event…it was designed to be a public event. The Romans wanted it to be memorable for those who witnessed it. They wanted a big crowd, because they wanted their conquered subjects to have a vivid reminder that the penalty for breaking their laws was certain, brutal, and extreme!
They must have felt the need to remind the people quite often, because history records that the Romans executed as many as 30,000 people each year by the method of crucifixion!
The Romans were not known for original ideas, but tended to adopt the culture of conquered peoples. The Romans were not the first to use crucifixion…it had been around for hundreds of years.
According to journalist, Jim Bishop, who did a study of crucifixions, the original inventors of this horrible form of execution designed it to be a way to inflict the maximum amount of pain on a victim before their death.
They had tried…
· death by spear—
· boiling the victim in oil—
· impalement—
· stoning—
· strangulation—
· drowning, and
· burning.
However, it was felt all these methods were too quick. On the other hand, crucifixion was slow and in clear view of the public. Cicero, a famous Roman citizen, said, “It is the most cruel and shameful of all punishments.”
As if crucifixion—preceded by flogging and wearing a crown of thorns was not enough—Jesus had to endure the mocking words of on-lookers and Roman soldiers as well. Jesus never ranted or raved at the crowd….the words He spoke were selfless words.
Jesus spoke of God’s love…
Sermon.
Today, I want to look at Jesus’ first statement from the cross. In fact, if you were to diagram the statement—“Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”—you’ll find this statement is a prayer. It’s a prayer that has four (4) significant parts.
· The statement is addressed to someone;
· it offers a request;
· it has a definite object; and
· it cites a reason.
Who was the prayer addressed to? It was addressed right to God!
Jesus Said, “Father…
Now, in reading the Gospel, have you ever noticed how frequently the word, “Father” was on Jesus’ lips? For instance, the incident when Jesus was young and Joseph and Mary lost Him on a trip to Jerusalem. When they found Him in the temple, He said,
“I must be about my Father’s business”, or, as the (NASV) says, “I must be in my Father’s house.”
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke of His Father 17 times.
In His very last statement, Jesus said, “Father, into your hands I commend My spirit.”
In spite of the things Jesus had already been through, and all the things He was going through on the cross, He still said, “Father…”
Jesus still believed God was His loving Father and would do His best for Him. All that happened during the last few brutal hours had in no sense shaken Jesus’ faith that He was the beloved Son in whom His Father was still well pleased!
This should provide a lesson for us, because when life is hard and unfair—when disaster and heartache and fear dog our path—we are so inclined to question the validity of God’s love and goodness. In times such as these, we begin to question and ask ourselves, “Does God still love me?”
We might question what Paul wrote in Romans 8:28—“…that all things work for good for those that love God…”
What I mean is this—it’s easy to believe in a loving God when life is wonderful, but what do we think when life caves in on us?
Do I have Faith in a loving God when a deadly disease comes to me?—or when a loved one dies suddenly?—or when war looms or a painful tragedy comes my way?
You see, Jesus’ first words from the cross should remind us that we must always believe in god’s goodness and we must always trust in His loving purpose. We can always pray (like Jesus did from the pain of the cross) to our Heavenly Father.
When life knocks us to our knees, we are in a perfect position to pray.
Another thing we need to notice here is, up until this point in His life, Jesus had never asked the Father to forgive anyone. Instead, Jesus Himself forgave sins.
For instance, in Mark 2:5, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” When Jesus said this, do you remember that when Jesus forgave sins, it infuriated the Pharisees? They questioned that any man could forgive sins….only God could forgive sins.
Well, they were right….only God could forgive sins! But, what they refused to admit was the TRUTH. The TRUTH was that Jesus was God….He was God in the flesh. No Jesus is asking God the Father to forgive, which is a right He had. Jesus had the credentials of deity, but on the cross, He chose not to exercise this divine prerogative.
Instead, He asked the Father to do what He Himself had previously done—sacrificed as the Lamb of God for the sins of the world. But Jesus humbled Himself and was obedient to God….even to the cross.
To be sure, Jesus was still God; but, He so completely identified with us that He prayed to His Father to forgive “them”—all humanity.
In regard to all humanity, our Savior—and our Savior alone—has the right, in Himself, to address God as, FATHER. But, Jesus went to His death that others—like you and I—might share this privilege. The Son of God endured a shameful cross so that we can become children of God.
The first statement Jesus made on the cross involved a specific Request. Jesus asked, “Father, forgive…” This verse was a fulfillment of the Scripture. Hundreds of years earlier, Isaiah had foretold Jesus’ sacrificial death on behalf of all humanity, describing it perfectly in Isaiah 53:12.
---12---“Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.”
The Greek verb here that is translated as “forgive” is a very rich word. It has several shades of meaning. I looked at that word “aphiemi” . It means the following possible translations:
Alone Cease Cry
Forgive Forsake Lay
Leave Let Put
Remit Send Suffer
Utter, and Yield
This is all according to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament words.
The word the translated as “forgive” expressed the idea of letting go of a debt by not demanding its payment. Jesus was asking that our debt of sin be forgiven. But you see, this could only be done by placing the obligation on another—the Son of God.
In His prayer for their forgiveness (as well as our own), Jesus was asking that our sin be placed upon Him. “Father, forgive them by condemning Me.”
As He hung on the cross, Jesus did not ask that God ignore our sins. A righteous God could not do that. God could not simply say, “Let’s just forget about mankind’s sin and let bygones be bygones.” No, God’s holiness demanded an infinite penalty. Our sin had to be atoned for. There was a price to be paid and only Jesus could pay it.
And, that’s what He was doing. Jesus was saying, “Father, let me pay the price for their sins.”
And another thing—the form used of this Greek verb also indicates that Jesus prayed this pray of intercession more than once. You see, this verb is in the imperfect active indicative, which denotes repeated action. In fact, the NASV verse 34 is translated in the following way:
---34---“But Jesus was saying, Father, forgive…”
If this translation is correct, Jesus prayed this prayer over and over again.
· That would mean that, maybe, when they arrived at the Place of the Skull, Jesus looked about Him and prayed, “Father, forgive them…”
· As the centurion crushed Him to the ground and tied His arms to the cross beam, He prayed, “Father, forgive them…”
· When the blunt spikes tore through each palm, He prayed, “Father, forgive them…”
· When they lifted that timber high and dropped it into a hole with a forceful jolt that surely tore His flesh, He prayed, “Father, forgive them…”
· When the crowd cursed and reviled Him, He prayed, “FATHER, FORGIVE THEM…”
· When the soldiers parted His garments and gambled for the seamless robe, He prayed,
“Father, forgive them…”
No one knows how many times He prayed this prayer that would pierce Heaven’s blue; but Jesus is continuing to intercede for the transgressors.
I believe that Jesus continues to pray this prayer for you and me, “Father, forgive them…”
Paul writes in Romans 8:34 & 35—
---34---“…who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
---35---Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”
An amazing Truth is that Jesus permitted all of these events to occur—He was not forced to this end. Jesus made this statement the night before the cross:
Matthew 26:53
---53---“Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”
With His crucifixion in progress, Jesus looked heavenward and saw 12 legions of angels ready to rescue Him and destroy the crucifiers. But He is saying, “Permit them, don’t hinder them, let them continue; because they are not taking My life from Me. I am laying it down by choice so that all mankind can be saved.”
Now, remember—Jesus had been brutally scourged; He had no food or water since the night before when He shared the Passover meal with His disciples. Add to this all the pain of execution by crucifixion; yet, Jesus spoke selfless words of genuine forgiveness from the cross. He focused on others, like you and me.
When we read the account of the Gospel concerning this execution, we might come to the same conclusion as the Centurion soldiers who were carrying out the execution.
Matthew 27:54
---54---“Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly, this was the Son of God!”
We may think only God can pray a prayer as He did. When humans like you and I are in pain, we intercede for ourselves—not for others. We think only Jesus could be that selfless and not consider self first. None of us could love like Jesus did that day.
The Bible says that Stephen prayer as the Jewish religious leaders stoned him to death (Acts 7). History tells us there were other Christian martyrs have done the same thing—they prayed for their murderers.
The idea could convict us, because no normal human can pray this prayer. However, a Christian man or woman whose life has been changed by the power of God can and should pray such a prayer when persecuted.
When you and I are attacked and accused and treated unfairly, we should emulate our Lord. We should obey His command and “…love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us…”
Thirdly…There Was An Object of His Request.
Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive “Them”…”. Who is “Them”? Jesus was the victim of history’s greatest crime—and, He prayed for the criminals who had committed the crime.
I believe that prayer of forgiveness included far more than the Jews and the Romans…I believe it was for all of us—the entire world throughout the sweep of history—for all of us sinners in need of God’s Grace.
And There Was A Reason For His Prayer.
Jesus’ last phrase was, “…for they know not what they do.” Jesus said that they didn’t realize the significance of their act against Him. Today we would say, “They don’t have a clue!”
There was a great deal that Jesus’ crucifiers Did know.
· JUDAS knew he had betrayed Christ.
· CAIAPHAS knew he had resorted to bribery and other illegal acts to bring Jesus to the cross.
· The CHIEF PRIESTS knew they had brought false charges against Him.
· PILATE knew he was condemning an innocent man to death.
· The SOLDIERS knew He didn’t deserve such an awful fate.
· The CROWD knew mocking a person in such agony was sadistic.
· They all knew the act they had committed against Jesus was evil.
None of them knew the enormity of the sin they committed, and none of them knew the significance of that sin. The apostle Paul said in 1st Corinthians 2:7&8….
---7---“…but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory;
---8---the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory…”
Invitation.
