First Baptist Church
February 10, 2002
Luke 23:32-34
“Extreme Forgiveness!”
Has anyone ever really hurt you? Obviously, we have been hurt in our lives. But I want you to think if there are people who have done something to you that is so terrible that forgiveness seems out of the question. Today we are beginning a new series of sermons. Today, and for the next 6 weeks we are going to look at what is called the “7 Last Words of Jesus on the Cross.” The first time I heard this I looked up the last saying of Jesus and tried to make it into 7 words. I was sorely mistaken. The 7 last words of Jesus is better called the “7 Last Sayings of Jesus while He was on the cross.”
With virtually each of these statements by Jesus, we will gain new insight into our Savior; and we’ll learn more about what these statements mean in our lives and how we can apply the words of Jesus in our everyday situations.
With that in mind, let’s look at the first saying of Jesus while He was on the cross. In fact, I believe the first statement by Jesus may be the absolute hardest one for us to understand. But understand may not be the proper word — it may be more proper to say this statement by Jesus is almost impossible for us to comprehend.
After all, Jesus had just been beaten and whipped and punched and mocked; He has had a crown of thorns jammed onto His head; His robe was ripped off His beaten back and the bleeding started again; and He had to carry the instrument of death, His cross. After all this, Jesus, who hovers near death because of the merciless, yet normal crucifixion beating, must be nailed onto the cross. His wrists are tied to the cross and the nails are pounded into the forearm side of His wrists. This way the heavy spike will not rip through His hands. Now His feet are tied onto the post that will support Him and the spike goes through the bones and muscles in Jesus’ feet.
The Roman centurions carefully pick up the cross and with a thud, it falls into place in the ground. Their work is done. Jesus hangs on the cross, pain ripping through His body, people mocking Him, the two criminals mocking Him, the guards casting lots for His clothes, His beloved disciples have mostly scattered.
Jesus now looks into the crowd of people and He makes His first proclamation, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Can you imagine that statement? Let me say it again, and let it sink in for a moment — “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Could you do that? Yea, right. Let’s go back to my first question, ‘has anyone hurt you so bad that their sin was unforgivable?’ Maybe someone slandered your name, they told stories that were not true. It cost you your job, maybe a career, it impacted your family life, your finances, your belief in the goodness of people. And you knew that these same people were avid church-goers. How could you forgive them?
Or maybe it was something someone did to you physically. Another person took advantage of you physically, you were raped, or abused. It has affected your relationships, it has changed your view of yourself and intimacy. It has taken away some of your personhood. How can you forgive those people?
A woman sat in her pastors office and said, “I think I’m going to kill myself. I don’t have any reason to live anymore.” Her friends had desserted her, she had no job, she had no money and even her children had abandoned her and couldn’t care less about what happened to her. She explained that when she told her son she was thinking about killing herself, he replied, “Mom, why don’t you just go ahead and do it and get out of our hair.”1
How do you forgive the unforgivable? If any act in history is unforgivable, the act that occurred 2,000 years ago is the one. What could be more unforgivable than to see the Son of God, hanging from a cross. When you crucify the Son of God you’ve crossed the line and have entered into the unforgivable, you have entered what we would consider to be an act that is beyond forgiveness.
Let’s take a quick look at that statement by Jesus, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing?” Who was He talking about? Who is the “THEY?”
Let’s look at some of the possibilities. First, there were the Roman soldiers. Obviously, they knew what they were doing, they were doing their job, crucifying someone. They knew there was a larger than usual crowd, and people seemed more vocal. But, that’s all they knew. If anybody really didn’t know what they were doing, it was these soldiers.
What about Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor? Pilate knew Jesus was called ‘the king of the Jews,’ he knew Jesus claimed to have authority from heaven, and Pilate knew from his wife that he should be afraid of Jesus, and have nothing to do with Him. But, Pilate didn’t know the whole story.
What about Caiaphas and Annas, the Jewish high priests, who interrogated Jesus? They didn’t want anything to do with Jesus. Or Judas, who was disappointed that Jesus was not the mighty Messiah he had expected and hoped He would be? Nobody fully understood who Jesus was.
It is true in our lives, too, we don’t always know the depth of the pain we have brought upon others and those who have hurt us, don’t realize how deep that hurt goes. Yet, Jesus, when He was on that cross looked at His Father, and basically said, “Father forgive them because they need forgiveness more than they can ever imagine.” “Father forgive them because they are in desperate need of forgiveness and they don’t even know it.” That is what Jesus is saying on the cross.
Even in our earliest thoughts about faith, we too didn’t fully understand who Jesus was, and even today, many of us still can’t fully fathom the awesomeness of Jesus. There are so many people who consider themselves Christians, and they still haven’t really accepted the forgiveness, grace and love of Jesus. Yet, when Jesus hung on that cross, He was asking God for forgiveness to be granted to you and I. You see, the “THEM” in that prayer to God was not only for them, those other people who physically, emotionally and spiritually tortured Jesus. But that “THEM” was also for us.
Jesus was praying for you and for me. We may not think we are like those soldiers, government officials, religious leaders and even His followers. We may not consider ourselves so evil and cruel, yet do we really know what damage our words and actions have caused to other to people. If we only knew how deep our actions and words have wounded the souls and emotions of others, we might better understand the call of Christ, “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”
It becomes personal. It is Jesus telling us that we too must be forgivers. No, it’s not always easy to forgive. It takes time for our wonds to heal. Some offenses can’t be forgiven the next day, it may take time, but forgiveness not only brings healing to the one who may seek forgiveness, but it brings healing to your spirit. If you won’t forgive, then peace and love is replaced with a bitter, mean spirit.
In her book, “HE'S BEEN FAITHFUL: Trusting God to Do What Only He Can Do, Carol Cymbala wrote, “I know from personal experience that love is not the road our flesh naturally wants to take. Love takes humility and patience. It often involves sacrificing what we want for the sake of someone else. It sometimes leaves us vulnerable so that other people take advantage of us. Still, Jesus repeatedly told us to love one another. It was by this that men and women would know we were his disciples. The church is to display a love that causes the world to marvel. Is this evident among us today? In the midst of our denominational squabbles, racial divisions, and endless church splits, is Christ truly being reflected by his people? The world places its values on abilities, possessions, and accomplishments. God, however, honors what's done out of love, no matter how big or how small. But how do we as believers live out the kind of love God has called us to? It's a love that we cannot manufacture no matter how we try. True love can only be born of the Spirit of God."
Those are profound words from Carol Cymbala. It is only when we accept Christ’s love that we can even begin to consider forgiving those who have also brought hurt into our lives. When we forgive it does not mean that we forget what has occurred. Forgetting is for God to do. So long as we ask God for forgiveness with a willing spirit, God erases our sins from His memory. We can’t do that. You may have to forgive someone over and over because that pain comes back to your mind again and again.
Forgiveness is also not reconciliation. Reconciliation takes two people, but an injured party can forgive an offender without reconciliation. We can forgive someone even if they don't ask or even want to be forgiven. When we forgive, our soul is cleansed and peace is ours.
Forgiveness is also not condoning or dismissing the offense. It doesn't mean you have to say, “What you did was bad ... but it doesn't really matter." Because, if something doesn't matter, then forgiveness isn't needed in the first place. Forgiveness acknowledges the act as being wrong and forgives it inspite of its wrongness. There is a great deal of grace in the act of forgiving someone.
Forgiveness is also not a pardon. A pardon is a legal transaction that releases an offender from the consequences of an action. But, as Lewis Smedes writes, "You can forgive a person and still insist on a just punishment for the offense."
Leonardo da Vinci painted his famous fresco of "The Last Supper" in a church in Milan. At the time that he painted this work he had an enemy who was a fellow painter. Da Vinci had had a bitter argument with this man and despised him. Well, when he got to the point of painting the face of Judas Iscariot at the table with Jesus, he decided to use the face of his enemy.
It brought him great pleasure to think that for ages to come others would equate his enemy with Judas....the betrayer of Christ. Well as weeks passed and he worked on the faces of the other disciples, he would often try to paint the face of Jesus, but couldn't make any progress....he had sort of a "painter's block." Da Vinci felt frustrated and confused. But in time he realized what was wrong. His hatred for the other painter was holding him back from finishing the face of Jesus.
Only after making peace with his fellow painter and repainting the face of Judas was he able to paint the face of Jesus and complete his masterpiece. And it is only when we forgive that we can we look God in the face, so to speak and enjoy a close walk with Him. Forgiving others is good for us. It has psychological, physical, relational, and especially spiritual benefits.
When it comes to understanding God's forgiveness, the test is our forgiving others, our following His example. This morning God may be testing you by reminding you of someone you need to forgive. It could be a spouse or friend or boss or fellow employee. It could even be a church. I hope you pass this "test" with flying colors because there are so many benefits to doing so. For others, the test may not be to forgive, but instead to be forgiven. If you are here and are not a Christian then your "test" today involves whether or not you will accept the forgiveness for your sin that only Jesus offers. I hope you will say yes to this question and if you do will walk forward as we sing to share this joyous decision with the church. In this time of examining ourselves if you have other decisions to make ... such as joining this church or rededicating your life to God in some way, I encourage you to come forward as we stand now to sing.
1 Ray Pritchard. In the Shadow of the Cross (Broadman & Holman, 2001), page 9.
