INTRODUCTION:
Words are important. We use words to communicate with our friends and family. Business men and women use words to transact business deals. Politicians use words to convince you that they’re the best one for the job. Words are a huge part of every aspect of our lives.
The average person says about 16,000 words a day. Women are on the high side of the 16,000 words and men on the lower side. But, on the average, that’s 112,000 words every week per person. That’s over five million words every year. And if you live three score and 10 that is 350 million words. Truth is we have a lot to say and we say it.
And let’s be honest, because we know people talk and talk and have a lot of words in them, we don’t handle very carefully what they say sometimes. If you don’t think that is true, when was the last time you asked someone their name, and you could not remember it ten minutes later. Or, remember when your spouse said: do you remember what I told you a few minutes ago, and you have no idea what he or she said.
But there is an exception. When we know that a person is dying, we pay very close attention to their final words. We feel like those are going to be the most important words of their life. During the hours Jesus spent nailed to the cross, the Lord spoke seven times, His final words, and we, as Christians, we need to come to the cross and pay very close attention to what He is telling us just like we would one of our love ones who is near death. So, for the next seven weeks, we have going to look at the final words of Jesus as He hung from the cross. If you have your Bible turn with me to Luke 23:32-37.
READING
Luke 23:32-37 (NIV)
32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed.
33 When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals--one on his right, the other on his left.
34 Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One."
36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar
37 and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The very first words spoken from the cross instructs us how to forgive. We all have a need to learn how to forgive one another or we will find that our world will keep growing smaller and smaller. If you cannot forgive someone, it is like cutting them out of your world. You have nothing to do with them. And then someone else offends you and you don’t forgive them and so you cut them out of your life. Pretty soon, your world has shrunk because you haven’t learned how to forgive. Forgiveness expands your world. And so, Jesus, knowing this, calls all of us over to the cross and tells us that we need one more teaching moment on forgiveness before He takes His last breath.
POINT #1
FORGIVENESS DOES NOT COME NATURALLY, GETTING EVEN DOES. FORGIVENESS TAKES GOD’S POWER TO BE ABLE TO FORGIVE AND WE CAN ONLY GET THAT BY TALKING WITH THE FATHER. AND SO, JESUS’ LAST WORDS TEACH US IF WE ARE NOT GOOD AT PRAYING THEN WE WILL NOT BE GOOD AT FORGIVING.
It is interesting to me that on two occasions when Jesus is addressing the subject of forgiveness, it is found in the context of a prayer. The first time, the disciples are asking Jesus to teach them how to pray in Luke 11. And Jesus in that model prayer says: Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. Prayer and forgiveness going hand and hand.
And today when Jesus is hanging on the cross once again dealing with forgiving, it is in the form of a prayer to the Father. “Father, forgive them.” Pray and forgiveness going hand and hand one more time.
So, what can we say based upon these two Scriptures? If you don’t like to pray, then you are not going to be good at forgiving. Or you can say it from the positive point of view. You show me a person who is a good prayer, and I will show you a person who is good at forgiving.
And the reasoning is simple. C.S. Lewis, the great lay theologian writer, probably puts it better than anybody: “I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I am helpless. I pray because it changes me.”
Remember, my natural mind tells me that I can’t forgive them, I can’t let them off the hook or give them a free pass. But when I pray, God reminds me, when I am the one who forgives, I am the one set free. Remember what unforgiveness does, it makes my world smaller and smaller and forgiveness expands my world. God says you expanded your world when you forgive.
Jesus teaches us from the cross that forgiveness always starts with prayer.
POINT #2
WE HAVE TO GIVE UP TRYING TO FORCE PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND JUST HOW MUCH THEY HURT US BECAUSE IT IS NOT A REQUIREMENT TO FORGIVE THEM. WE ARE TO FORGIVE IN SPITE OF HOW MUCH WE HAVE BEEN HURT.
Let’s be honest. People don’t really understand how much they hurt you when they hurt you. And you know what we still try to do? We try to explain to someone just how badly we have been hurt by them and then they respond back you are making a big deal over nothing. Or they will say something like this you took it personally when I was just joking with you.
If you attempt to make it a requirement that a person knows how much they hurt you before you forgive them, you will not be a person who forgives a whole lot because people are not going to understand how hurt you were.
In our passage of Scripture, we know that that Jesus is praying to the Father to forgive them, and by “them” Jesus is referring to the Roman soldiers. Our Scripture tells us that: 34 Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. The word “and” connected those two sentences together. And we know who “they” were dividing up his clothing. It was the Roman soldiers. These soldiers had hurt Jesus when He was being held at the Roman compound, these soldiers had hurt Jesus as Jesus carried His Cross to His own Crucifixion. And these Roman soldiers hurt Jesus as He is hanging on the cross by playing dice for His clothes. That’s as low as you can go.
Jesus never once as He hung on the Cross looked down at the soldiers and said to them: hey guys, do you know how much you have hurt me? Let Me tell you, playing dice to divide up my clothes even for you Roman soldiers is even a new low. No, Jesus is teaching us as He is dying on the Cross by His words and His own example that are no requirements that the offender must acknowledge how wrong he was in order to be forgiven.
Jesus says they do not know what they are doing. Get over it, but people are not going to understand how much they hurt you and Jesus’ silence to the soldiers tells us that someone knowing how much they hurt you is not a requirement for forgiveness.
POINT #3
JESUS SHARES FROM THE CROSS IN HIS FINAL WORDS THAT HE FORGIVES THE UNFORGIVEABLE. AND SO, JESUS, BY FORGIVING THESE SOLDIERS PROVIDES HOPE FOR EVERYONE WHO FEELS LIKE GOD CANNOT FORGIVE THEM.
These soldiers were probably part of the garrison assigned to public executions. So, every week these soldiers would bring people out to be publicly executed. The Roman government believed very strongly in that style of punishment. So, these soldiers, day in and day out, week in and week out, year in and year out would bring people out to be put to death. Over time, I am sure that these soldiers became cold and callous to protect themselves from feeling anything. And we saw how callous they had become- throwing dice for Jesus’ clothes even before Jesus died.
If we could interview them, each one would probably say, I have done too much and I have seen to much, for God to ever forgive me. But there is Jesus, God Himself, on the Cross, and the first of His dying words is: Father forgive them- the unforgivable.
Some of us may feel like we have done too much, God cannot forgive me, I am unforgivable, but take heart from this story at the cross. If Jesus can forgive these soldiers who have put Him through so much in His final hours of life, He can forgive you and He can forgive me. And if can forgive you, why don’t you just ask Him into your heart to live?
Jesus calls us all over to the cross and tells us that no one is unforgiveable.
Let us pray.
