Luke 23:34a- Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.
We are so accustomed to hearing this quote from the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross that we are not always conscious of the weight of these words at His crucifixion. This great immediate prayer of intercession was made to stay God's wrath against a world of sinners for the travesty of crucifying the Lord of glory.
Matthew 26:53-54- Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?
It was a compassionate prayer. Based upon the Roman standard of 6,000 per legion, twelve legions equals 72,000 angels.
II Kings 19:35- And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.
If one angel was able to kill 185,000 men in one night, what could 72,000 angels do? We are talking the total righteous destruction of mankind in an instant!
Psalm 104:29- Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
Job 34:14-15- If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath; All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.
"Father, forgive them" sounds really good in that context!
It had it's precedence in Holy Scripture:
Genesis 50:16-17- And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
This is the first mention of "forgive" in the Bible.
The Lord Jesus Christ backed this prayer up with a consistent life of forgiveness for sinners.
Luke 6:27-28- But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
Matthew 18:21-22- Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
The New Testament is filled with verses commanding this very thing.
Romans 12:14- Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
I Corinthians 4:12- And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:
I Peter 3:8-9- Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
I Peter 2:21-23- For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:
The first Christian martyr, Stephen, followed Christ's example in Acts.
Acts 7:59-60- And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
This was a consistent, commending, and considerate prayer from our Savior. He knew His reason for being here. He knew that someone had to betray Him. He knew He had to be rejected. Did that make it any less painful? No! And, yet despite that pain He chose to forgive.
Acts 3:13-17- The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.
I Corinthians 2:7-8- But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
They didn't know what they were doing! But ignorance is no excuse for sin.
Leviticus 4:13- And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty;
This prayer has been in effect for more than 2,000 years now, but it is only temporary. One day the men responsible will be held to account. Not only them, but all of mankind must face the consequences for this crime.
Revelation 1:7- Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
When Christ was on this earth He warned them. They knew they were going to reject Him, and they also knew there would be consequences for this decision.
Matthew 21:33-45- Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.
The Pharisees rejected Christ. They did exactly what He said they would in this parable, even though they knew He was sent from God.
John 3:1-2- There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
They lost their nation for almost 1,900 years because of this rejection.
You don't have to suffer the consequences of a lost life, or an eternity in hell. The time to avail yourself of the mercy offered by this prayer is now. You have not been guaranteed tomorrow.
The question everyone faces is "what will you do with Jesus?" It's the same question the Pharisees were asked.
Matthew 27:22- Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.
So, now I ask you, "What will you do with Jesus Christ?"
John 3:16-18- For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
I John 5:12- He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
-Adam Trosclair
