Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them..." (Luke 23:34).
This was the first recorded cry of Jesus on the cross.
• It sums up the reason He was there. It encapsulates the meaning of the cross.
• He was asking God to give men what they needed most – forgiveness of their sin.
• Jesus is going to pay the price in full on the cross, so that you and I can be forgiven.
It is difficult to comprehend, especially after a very difficult week for Jesus.
• He has been betrayed, imprisoned, judged unfairly, beaten, whipped, mocked, and paraded through the streets of Jerusalem.
• He has had a crown of thorns placed upon his head. He has been humiliated, and mistreated in a most cruel way. He is about to die a most painful death.
• And yet, the first words from his lips are words of forgiveness.
No one expected that. A normal person would curse and swear.
• But Jesus wasn’t thinking about Himself. He has never been.
• This cry reveals to us where His heart was – He was still thinking about plight of sinful men.
• It was a prayer cry for forgiveness. He was pleading for God to grant men forgiveness for their sin.
He has the right to such a prayer, because He is going to stay on the cross till the full penalty of sin is fully paid up.
• No wonder someone says, what held Him there on the cross wasn’t the nails, but His love.
• We deserve to be punished for their sin, but Jesus refuses to give it to us. He wants to save us. This was the reason why He came. This was the reason why He was staying up on the cross.
Forgiveness is the greatest need of man, because we have sinned against God.
• We need to repent and return to God, and ask for His forgiveness.
• What man needs is not more learning, more education, or more knowledge. We have so much more today than the generations before, but none of these can make us a better person.
• We see the same, if not worst, evil, violence, cruelty and crimes.
We need a life change, and that can only comes through a relationship with God.
• That relationship can only be restored or reconciled when our sin is dealt with.
• No wonder this was Jesus’ first cry on the cross. That was His greatest concern. That was the most important concern.
• Dear friends, you need a relationship with God, to live right and be right.
Jesus cries out, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)
• Who, I wonder, was Jesus referring to? Who were the ‘them’ He was praying for? Many people were involved.
Closest to Him would have been the execution party, the Roman soldiers.
• They were the ones that mocked Him, flogged Him and made the crown of thorns for Him. They had the difficult task of nailing a person to the cross.
• But they were just soldiers following orders.
• They did not know Jesus nor were they interested. They just do their job.
Many today are like the soldiers. They just want to get on with their lives.
• They do not want to know more, not even the truth.
• They missed out on a real encounter with God.
"Father, forgive them…" Jesus said.
• And it could be the religious teachers He was praying for. They had been against Him all along.
• They had been following Him throughout His ministry trying to accuse Him of wrongdoings.
• They were highly educated in the Law and they thought they know it all, but the Messiah has come and they did not recognise Him.
Their preconceived ideas blinded them to the truth.
• They were religious but their piety did not lead them to God.
• Religions cannot save us. Only God can. And they missed Him when He came.
"Father, forgive them…" Jesus said.
• He could be praying for the priests who sold Him out, who bribed Judas with thirty silver coins.
• He could be praying for the Jewish crowd who had cried, "Crucify him, crucify him" at the trial.
• Or He could even be thinking about His own followers - one betrayed Him, one denied him, and the rest abandoned him in the hour of his greatest need. Having been with Him for more than 3 years, the Lord expected more from them.
"Father, forgive them…" Jesus said.
• All these people were guilty, in a sense. They were involved. They caused it.
• But the Bible tells us there are more.
These people were just a handful of people that represented a sinful mankind.
• It was the sin of this world – it was our sin that drove Jesus to the cross.
• Rom 5:8 “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
• He died for sinners, and we are one of them. Who crucified Jesus? We did, and they did.
Jesus’ cry on the cross: “Father, forgive them…” goes beyond just those who held the hammer and nails, the one who passed the sentence, or the crowd that cries “crucify him”.
• Jesus’ cry on the cross was His cry for you and me too!
• Rom 8:34 says Jesus is now at the right hand of God, still interceding for us.
• “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
A great preacher F. B. Meyer says:
"In uttering this first cry from the Cross, our Lord entered that work of intercession which He ever lives to continue on our behalf. He thinks, not of himself, but of others; He is occupied, not with his own pain, but with their sins. He makes no threat but instead offers a tender prayer of pleading intercession."
It started off with this prayer cry from Jesus on the cross.
• And it has continued down through the centuries. Jesus lives to intercede for you and me today.
• What should be our response? Pray: “Father, forgive us, for we do not know what we are doing.”
We all are in need of God’s forgiveness.
• Like the disciples, we’ve not been faithful. We cannot commit; we run away and hide.
• Like the religious authorities, we are blinded by our own agenda.
• Like the priests, we are proud and think we are righteous by our own efforts.
• Like Pilate, we want to wash our hands from our responsibilities.
• And like the soldiers, we care only about ourselves, and no one else. We are cold and unconcerned about the pain of the world.
Look to the cross again, and hear the words of Jesus: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
[Go into a time of prayer]
God answers Jesus’ prayer in a big way in the book of Acts.
• 7 weeks later, on the day of Pentecost, Apostle Peter preached to the men of Israel (those who ‘put Him to death’, he says in Acts 2:23) & urged them to repent.
• 3000 of them repented and believed, and received the forgiveness of their sin.
• And in the days following, thousands more were saved, including a great number of priests (Acts 6:7).
• We are still seeing the fruits of Jesus’ prayer today.
The first one to believe Jesus’ cry was this criminal beside Him.
• He said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (23:42)
• We see here the cry of one sinner. God sees the whole world but He also sees you as a person. He loves the world, but it also means He loves you.
• And Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:43) What an honour. Jesus spoke to him personally, “You with be with me!”
Two thieves who were crucified alongside Jesus. Only one understood His real need - forgiveness.
• He said to the other, “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” (Luke 23:41)
• This man saw his own sin and he saw the righteousness of Christ.
You see, the way of salvation is actually very simple.
• The devil has blinded the eyes of many people, and causes them to think that it is hard to be saved. They have many things they need to do in order to please God.
• God’s standard is indeed very high. So high that the Bible says there is nothing we can do that will even come close to God’s righteous standard.
• You don’t have to. Jesus has already paid the price. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves, except to put our trust in Jesus Christ.
The man simply asked the Lord to save him.
• Apostle John was at the foot of the cross and must have overheard the conversation.
• Years later he wrote - 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Even if you are the worst of sinners, you can be saved.
• The measure (or the degree) of his sin did not alter his chances of being saved one bit. Jesus did not even ask him what crime he has committed.
• God is not concerned about how big or small your sin is. He is very concerned that you do not repent and turn to Him for help.
• No one is beyond redemption, unless you choose to reject God’s grace and forgiveness.
• God wants to forgive you, even right now. But you need to admit your need, repent and accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour.
Two thieves, one repented and was saved, the other died in his sin.
• The time of decision came for both, but the choice is theirs. It may be a simple decision, but its consequence is great.
• Treasure the chance you have today, and put your trust in Jesus Christ.
Acts 2:38 Peter says, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.”
• Look up to Jesus today and say, "Lord, remember me!"
There is forgiveness at the cross.
