Forgiving the Unforgivable
The last words of a dying person are normally never forgotten. A person’s closing comments often reveal their pain and agony. Some enter eternity without saying anything, while others utter sentiments that disclose their values, priorities, and innermost thoughts.
Right before P.T. Barnum died, he asked, “How were the receipts today at Madison Square Garden?”
Humphrey Bogart’s last words were, “I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis.”
President Grover Cleveland, “I have tried hard to do the right.”
Joan Crawford was filled with anger when her maid began to pray out loud and said, “Don’t you dare ask God to help me!”
Louis Mayer, the film producer, gave his philosophy of life (and death) when he said, “Nothing matters. Nothing matters.”
Leonardo da Vinci, when surveying his life’s work, said, “I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have.”
General John Sedgwick, who fought in the Civil War, had his final words cut off in mid-sentence as his soldiers were seeking cover from some sharpshooters. This is what he said, “They couldn’t hit an elephant at this dist…”
Pancho Villa, the Mexican revolutionary, sighed, “Don’t let it end like this. Tell them I said something.”
Karl Marx turned to his housekeeper, who had urged him to tell her his last words so she could write them down, and shouted, “Go on, and get out. Last words are for fools who haven’t said enough.”
This morning we’re beginning a series to help us focus on the final cries from the Cross. These seven shouts of the Savior are filled with meaning and purpose. They’re definitely not the words of someone who didn’t say enough when He was alive. We have His terrific teaching in the four Gospels and we have His final seven sayings as well. These shouts are riveting and piercing, beautiful yet shocking.
These weighty words dropped from his lips while his sacrificial blood splashed on the ground. Most of the time on the cross was spent in silence and yet seven sentences are recorded for us. While his body was wracked with pain, his throat parched with thirst, He had no energy to waste on trivial matters. Each word serves as a window to help us understand Christ and the cross better. We’re going to dwell on each one of these solemn sentences in order to prepare ourselves for the exclamation point of Easter. Like the steps of a ladder, there is a mutual dependence and interlinking of each of the cries.
The first three shouts take place between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and noon:
1. “Father, forgive them.” (Luke 23:34)
2. “Today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
3. “Dear woman, here is your son.” (John 19:26)
From noon to 3:00 p.m., there was darkness over the land. Then beginning about 3:00, Jesus uttered his final words:
4. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)
5. “I am thirsty.” (John 19:28)
6. “It is finished.” (John 19:30)
7. “Into your hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:46)
These words teach the rich doctrines of Christianity: forgiveness, faith, family, the humanity of Christ and His substitutionary death, the fulfillment of Scripture, the justification of the believer, and the absolute certainty of eternity.
The Final Hours
Let’s set the scene by recounting the events. I was helped this week in my understanding by an article written by a physician as he studied the details of the last 12-18 hours of Jesus’ life (www.worldramp.net/~dnaquin/Jesus-death.htm). Following the last supper, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. He poured out his distress to the Father as He went through a deep spiritual struggle. Luke 22:44: “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” The loss of this blood and sweat would create the beginning stages of dehydration. An angel appeared at this point and gave Jesus strength (verse 43).
Jesus was then arrested and faced a trial sometime after midnight. He was led away with His hands bound, the same hands that had healed the sick. Luke 22:63 tells us that Jesus was blindfolded and beaten while the soldiers mocked Him. He then faced a second trial with more illegal proceedings. Jesus is now exhausted by lack of sleep, abuse, loss of fluids, and ridicule.
In an attempt to appease the people, Pilate has Jesus scourged. This was not something that was ordinarily done as part of the crucifixion. Roman law allowed the prisoner to be beaten to the point of death as measured by a rapidly increasing pulse and an irregular respiratory rate. These whips had a small piece of metal attached to the end and would chip and gouge out pieces of bone and tissue. His skin would be stripped into long, ribbon-like segments, causing profound arterial bleeding.
A crown of six-inch long thorns was then pressed deeply into His scalp. This would cause additional blood loss, which would deepen His state of shock. A purple robe was thrown across Jesus’ shoulders and back. This may have served as a temporary compressive dressing, helping to congeal the blood pouring from his gaping lesions. The mockery continues by the soldiers as they spit on Him and beat Him with reeds and hail Him as “King of the Jews.”
Pilate then presents Jesus to the crowd wearing his thorns and robe, and says, “Here is the man.” Medically, Jesus would demonstrate cold, pale sweaty skin. The mucous membranes would be bluish and cyanotic and His countenance would be haggard and drawn. His reflexes would be depressed, His pulse pounding, His respiration shallow and barely perceptible.
Pilate now succumbs to the manipulation of the Jewish leaders, and Jesus is condemned to death by crucifixion. The purple robe is stripped away. This would be similar to the careless ripping off of a surgical dressing, causing the wounds to bleed freely once again.
Jesus is given the crossbeam to bear to the place of the skull, Golgotha. Thankfully, someone is enlisted to help carry this piece of slivered timber that could weigh up to 100 pounds.
Luke 23:33 gives a very brief statement about the crucifixion. In fact, in the Greek, only three words are used to describe it. We know more about the specifics from how the Romans recorded the gory details: “When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified Him, along with the criminals one on His right, the other on the left.” They placed Jesus on the middle cross to signify that of the three, He was the most worthy of death.
Listen to how a pastor captures the intensity of the moment when he writes from the perspective of those in charge of the crucifixion: “Now walking, now crawling, each step an agony to behold…He’s been beaten to an inch of his life. His back is in shreds. His face is disfigured and puffy where they’ve ripped out the beard by the roots. On his head is a crown of thorns…the soldiers don’t mind getting a person who is almost dead because it mean that their work would be easier…they drive the construction-grade spikes into both wrists and then another one through his legs. With the ropes in place they begin to pull the cross up. Jesus now spurts blood from His raw wounds” (Ray Pritchard, “In the Shadow of the Cross,” 2001, Pages 10-11).
He no doubt experienced severe muscular pain in his upper extremities that only got worse as his joints separated. He could draw air into his lungs but could not easily exhale. As carbon dioxide accumulated, progressive degrees of asphyxiation would occur and a build up of lactic acid would create violent muscle spasms throughout His body. In order to take a breath, Jesus would have to push up on the nail in his feet, forcing an up and down motion as the open lacerations on his back would scrape against the rough timber of the cross. It is in this position that Jesus uttered His final seven shouts.
According to Roman historians, it was very common for those who were crucified to utter blasphemies and words of wrath toward those who were involved in the execution. Seneca, a contemporary of Jesus, recounts that those crucified would normally curse everybody, including their own mothers and fathers. The Roman philosopher Cicero writes that the executioners would sometimes even cut off the tongues of the criminals so that the soldiers would not have to listen to the vindictive verbiage.
Listen to Peter’s perspective on how Jesus responded in 1 Peter 2:23: “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when He suffered, he made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.”
Jesus could have rightly prayed, “Father, consume them. Wipe them out.” There was certainly on Old Testament precedent for this kind of prayer. What happened at Golgotha was unforgivable. They had crucified the Son of God. What could be worse than that?
Begins With Prayer
Please turn to Luke 23:34 and listen to the words of grace as Jesus gasped for air, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.” When the first red drops of blood spurted on his hands and splashed on the soldier’s hammer, the blessed mouth of Jesus formed the words to a prayer for pardon. His request was not for Himself but for “them” and us. His first thought is to plead in prayer for those who are in desperate need of forgiveness. When man had done his worst, Jesus prayed, not for justice, but for mercy.
This verse is in the imperfect tense. What that means is that Jesus prayed repeatedly for their forgiveness. It wasn’t just a one-time request. When the nails tore through His tendons, sending jolts of pain rushing through His body, He closed His eyes and prayed, “Father, forgive them.” When the cross dropped into place between two criminals, He cried out, “Father, forgive them.” When they divided up his only earthly possessions below the cross, he exclaimed, “Father, forgive them.” As the rulers sneered at Him He replied, “Father, forgive them.” When the soldiers mocked Him, he shouted, “Father, forgive them.” When the sign, “This is the King of the Jews” was hammered above His head, he sighed, “Father, forgive them.”
The public ministry of Jesus began with prayer at his baptism in Luke 3:21: “…And as He was praying, heaven was opened.” He flooded heaven with His prayers during His three-year teaching time, urging His followers to do the same. His time on earth ended with prayer as He continuously repeated this prayer of forgiveness. And, as Hebrews 7:25 says, He “always lives to make intercession for us.” Prayer permeated everything He did, and still does.
Let’s look a little more closely at this first shout from the Savior: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” This cry from the cross reveals at least 5 significant truths.
1. The fulfillment of prophecy. Please turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 53 and follow along with me as I read. [Read 53:1-12] Over 700 years before Jesus was even born, Isaiah prophesied at least 10 things about the suffering of the Savior:
He would be despised and rejected by men (3)
He would be a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering (3)
He would be afflicted by God because of our sins (4, 8)
He would be pierced for our transgressions (5)
He would be wounded and bruised by men (7)
He would be led like a lamb to slaughter and be silent before His accusers (7)
He would be buried in a rich man’s tomb (9)
He would a guilt offering (10)
He would be numbered with the transgressors (12)
He would pray for those transgressors (12)
When Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they’re doing,” He was fulfilling a precise prophecy from Isaiah 53:12: “For He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” By the way, the fulfillment of prophecy helps us not only understand that Jesus is the promised Messiah; it also removes any doubt about the truthfulness of the Bible.
2. The blindness of the human heart. Jesus recognized that those who had crucified Him did not really know what they were doing. While His enemies knew full well what they meant when they cried out, “Crucify Him. Crucify Him,” they were ignorant of the enormity of their crime. They did not know that they were killing the “Lord of Glory.”
While they didn’t know, they should have known. The prophecies were numerous and very clear. His teachings were profound and filled with wisdom and authority. His miracles should have convinced them. His perfect life and love should have removed all doubt about His identity. There was no excuse for their ignorance.
I was able to watch some of the Opening Ceremony for the Winter Olympics on Friday night. Before all the participating nations were presented, NBC did a special report on all the safeguards that are in place to prevent drug use among the athletes. The person in charge of the drug testing said, “There is no excuse for ignorance.” This “zero tolerance” policy means that it doesn’t matter if an athlete says that he or she didn’t know that a supplement or drug was illegal. If it’s in their system, they will be disqualified. Ignorance is not an excuse.
Friends, we all have something in our system. It’s called sin. We have no excuse and can’t plead ignorance because ignorance is not the same thing as innocence. God has revealed Himself and has made things plain. He has zero tolerance for sin. Romans 1:20: says, “…that men are without excuse.” I want you to notice that Jesus doesn’t pray that the Father would just forget about what they were doing because they didn’t really mean it. He specifically requests “forgiveness” because they are responsible. They, and us, are in need of release from our debt to a holy God.
Peter, in Acts 3:17, told those who were responsible for the death of Christ that they acted in ignorance. And yet, in 3:19, he said, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”
3. The magnitude of our need. Because our hearts are blind and hard, our need is great. We’re sinners in need of forgiveness. It’s not just those who were involved in the crucifixion of Jesus. In a very real sense, we were all there when He was executed.
Most of us have no problem castigating others for their sins while excusing our own behavior. This sneaks in on the national level as well when we refer to people in other countries as “evil” while deceiving ourselves with our own national self-righteousness. While I understand what President Bush means when he refers to Iraq, Iran, and North Korea as the “Axis of Evil,” the truth of the matter is that the real axis of evil is me, myself, and I. Sin isn’t just out there; it’s in here. Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”
During the Second World War, an old cathedral was bombed in England. In the 1960s a new cathedral was built alongside the ruins of the old one. On the altar there is a cross that was constructed out of nails that were taken from the collapsed roof of the old church. On the cross are the words, “Father, forgive.” Many visitors were bothered by this because they wanted it to say, “Father, forgive them,” meaning, “Father, forgive the Germans for bombing this beautiful place of worship.” The reason it reads like it does is because even where the issues seemed so clear-cut, Britain had some sins to confess as well. Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” We’re all guilty and need to repent in order for our sins to be wiped out.
4. The identification of Jesus. Notice that Jesus shouted out this first cry to the Father. Up until this point, He was able to forgive the sins of others without asking the Father to do so. Matthew 9:2: “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” Why now does He ask to have sins forgiven, instead of directly pronouncing forgiveness Himself? It’s because Jesus has identified with His people and is about to give His life as the sin substitute. His death is full payment for the penalty of sin. He pleads with the Father to accept the sacrifice of His blood on our behalf. He is our representative.
When He ministered on the earth He had the power and authority to forgive sins because He knew that they would be dealt with on the cross. Now, He intercedes on behalf of hard-hearted people like you and me as He pleads for the Father to accept the blood sacrifice of His life as he hangs on the cross. He who needed no forgiveness died for those of us who are condemned without it. 2 Corinthians 5:21: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
5. The triumph of divine love. Jesus requested forgiveness for the unforgivable immediately after he was impaled on the cross. When man had done his worst, when the vileness of the human heart was displayed in all its ugliness, when the creature executed the creator, divine love triumphed and said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
This prayer was answered when the centurion put his faith in Christ at the foot of the cross and when one of the crucified criminals next to Him called out for salvation. This prayer was answered in a profound way on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2:41 where we read that 3,000 were saved in one day. Stephen modeled this prayer right before he died when he called out in Acts 7:60: “Then he fell on his knees and cried out, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ After he had said this, he fell asleep.” This prayer was answered when Paul, who was responsible for Stephen’s death, met Jesus in Acts 9 and was converted. And, this prayer is answered today when individuals turn to the Lord in repentance and invite Him to be their Savior. At that instant, God the Father applies the blood of Jesus and declares the person forgiven.
When Samson neared the end of his life his rage caused him to take others with him when he died. Jesus wanted to take his enemies to life through his death and so He prayed for them and then He died for them. John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this, that He lay His life down for His friends.” As someone has said, “It was not the nails that held Jesus to the cross. His love did that.”
It’s Your Move
I remember seeing a billboard years ago that showed a picture of Jesus hanging on the cross, His head bowed. In big, bold letters, the caption read: “It’s Your Move!” I want to close this morning with two questions that may help you make your move.
1. Have you been forgiven? If Jesus can forgive those responsible for killing Him, then He can forgive you! No one is beyond the reach of His prayer of forgiveness. No one is good enough to save himself and no one is so bad that God cannot save him.
Friends, we’re all complicit in the death of Jesus. And each of us stands in need of forgiveness. Do you want it? Will you receive it? Some of you think you’ve done something so bad that you can never be forgiven, that you somehow don’t deserve it. The truth of the matter is that we’ve all done something to disqualify ourselves from a relationship with God. But Jesus has made a way. His prayer for your forgiveness was answered by the Father and can be activated in your life the instant you reach out to Him in faith and receive Him as your Savior. The price has been paid and a path has been laid. Will you accept the payment and allow it to be applied to your account? Will you follow the path laid out for you by committing yourself to walk as a believer?
2. Have you forgiven others? Someone has said that forgiveness is the virtue we profess to believe but fail to practice. In his book, “What’s So Amazing About Grace,” by Philip Yancey (which one of our adult IMPACT classes is studying), Elizabeth O’Connor writes this: “Despite a hundred sermons on forgiveness, we do not forgive easily, nor find ourselves easily forgiven. Forgiveness, we discover, is always harder than the sermons make it out to be” (Page 86). She’s exactly right.
The word “forgive” is borrowed from the world of commerce and banking. It means to cancel a debt or to pardon a loan. Yancey gives some great insight when he reminds us that the word forgive contains the word “give.” To forgive is to cancel the debt of someone so that they never have to pay us back for what they’ve done to us. It’s to give grace to someone who doesn’t deserve it. If we choose to not forgive we can end up letting our anger and resentment metastasize into bitterness.
The key to forgiving others is to understand how much Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” In order to forgive we must remember our forgiveness. Come back to the cross and hear the first shout from the Savior: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Just as Jesus forgave the unforgivable, so can we, and so must we. Jesus established a religion of forgiveness and wants the church to be an oasis of forgiveness.
If we had been at the cross, we would have been holding the nails. We would probably clap and cheer. We’re not that much different. We’re not that much better. The secret of forgiveness is to understand that in the ultimate sense, between you and the person who hurt you, there’s really no difference at all.
I’m not suggesting that it’s easy to forgive. It’s easy to preach about it; it’s much more difficult to practice it. But let’s start by forgiving the people who have hurt us so deeply. To forgive us cost Jesus His life. To forgive others will cost us something too. We’ll have to give up our anger, turn away from our bitterness, release the right for revenge, and decide by a conscious choice that we will forgive those who have sinned against us. And, God may call us to perform this unnatural act of forgiveness over and over again until we learn the grace of continual forgiveness, just like Christ prayed repeatedly on the cross, “Father, forgive them.”
Let me give you a simple exercise that might help. On a sheet of paper, write the words, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they’re doing” on the top. On the left side, write down all the things, and the people, and the memories from the past that has hurt you so deeply. When you’re finished, add one word in large letters to the right of each offense: Forgiven…Forgiven…Forgiven. When you’re all done, take the paper and rip it up.
Walking To The Cross
Several years ago, when we lived in Mexico, I visited a town called Taxco on a Good Friday morning. I began my ascent up the cobblestone streets in search of the town plaza. When I finally got there, I saw hundreds of people who looked like they were waiting for something. Some were perched in trees, others were standing on park benches, and still others were looking out the windows of area buildings that lined the town square. I picked my spot and headed for the second floor balcony of a restaurant where I could take everything in while enjoying a good Mexican meal.
As I sat at my table overlooking the crowd below, a group of younger guys grabbed the table next to mine. I smiled at my fellow gringos and dug into my quesadilla, hoping they wouldn’t block my view of the plaza. They ordered pizza and beer and began telling raunchy jokes.
And then, as if on cue, the crowd below parted and I saw a man carrying a huge wooden beam. He walked slowly, and with great effort, as he struggled to keep his balance. Another man followed. He put his cross down, took out a whip and started beating his back. Bright red blood appeared on top of the lacerations he had from a previous whipping. I kept hoping he would stop because it looked so painful. But he didn’t. He kept thrashing himself until the whip had turned red and raw muscle was exposed on his lower back. When he fell to the stony street, tears ran down my face and splashed into my Diet Coke.
By now the guys at the table next to me had started to make fun of the procession below. In between their joking, they would look down, make a funny remark and go back to their pizza, oblivious to the pain and agony right in front of them. I wanted to say something to them but I was too choked up. Here I was, looking at a few men who were doing all they could to relate to the suffering Jesus went through and sitting right next to guys who could care less.
As I thought about this, it struck me that this is a good picture of the human race. Some of us are trying to do everything we can think of to get to heaven. We focus on trying to be good, or when that fails, we punish ourselves in the vain hope that God will accept our sacrifices. Others are just cruising through life, focused more on having a good time than on eternal realities. To people like this, life is just a party.
When I looked at the irreligious guys next to me and then gazed at the religious men down below, I swallowed hard because neither approach will get you to heaven. The only way to gain God’s favor and enjoy the benefits of forgiveness and eternal life is by entering into a relationship with Jesus. Lean on the one who walked to the Cross and died in your place. Put your faith and trust in Him. Receive Him as your Savior and Lord and become a forgiver yourself.
