This morning we will be starting a new seven-week series. I know just a few weeks ago we ended a seven-week series on the deadly sins. But as you know the number 7 in scriptures is symbolic of perfection. So hopefully this series will be perfect for what you need in your life. For the next seven weeks we will be looking at the statements that Christ made from the cross, statements that were made before his death on the cross. It used to be that people used to hang on the last words of dying people. It was a chance for them to really say what they wanted to their family and friends before they no longer had the chance. Sometimes it was a last chance to say I love you or maybe it was a time to give some serious words of wisdom that would help their children or family as they face the future without them. It doesn’t seem like that happens much anymore today. With technology we have found a way to increase people’s length of life when death comes calling. The only negative with that is often times people die in such a drug induced state that they never really have the chance to say some of the things that they would really like to say. And of course some people are taken so suddenly and there is no chance for them to say what they really wanted. The death of Christ on the cross was agonizing, but in His agony He gave us some jewels that can make our life so much better.
Luke 23:33,34
“Father, forgive them, for they do no know what they are doing.” What an incredible statement considering what they put Him through. This morning I want to look at three aspects of the Forgiveness of Christ. And if we are to be imitators of Christ our forgiveness should share these same aspects.
In Max Lucado’s “He Chose the Nail” workbook they just a brief glimpse of the steps in a crucifixion. “Those sentenced to death on a cross in the Roman period were usually beaten with leather lashes--a procedure that often resulted in severe loss of blood. Victims were then generally forced to carry the upper crossbeam to the execution site, where the central stake was already set up. After being fastened to the crossbeam on the ground with ropes--or in rare cases, nails through the wrists--the naked victim was then hoisted with the crossbeam against the standing vertical stake. A block or peg was sometimes fastened to the stake as a crude seat. The feet were then tied or nailed to the stake…Death by suffocation or exhaustion normally followed only after a long period of agonizing pain.” Of course we know from scriptures what else they did to him while he was suffering on the cross and even before that point. In Matthew 27 they tell us that they stripped him of his clothes and put a scarlet robe on him and twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. The put a staff in his right hand and mockingly knelt in front of him and said, “Hail, king of the Jews.” They spit on him and took a staff and struck him on the head again and again. Then they took off the robe and put his own clothes back on and led him away to be crucified. That Jesus could forgive the men who were responsible for beating him and torturing him and hanging him on a cross is incredible. They hurled insults at him and mocked him almost the whole time He was on the cross. Which brings us to the first aspect of the forgiveness of Christ. It wasn’t dependant on the remorse of those who mistreated Him. No where in scripture is it recorded that one of Jesus’ accusers or abusers came up to Him on the cross and said, “Hey, I’m really sorry for putting you through this. I know you’re an innocent man.” Yet Christ made the decision to forgive them even though they obviously weren’t sorry. The kind of forgiveness that God has called us to is not dependant upon the person who wronged being sorry. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say, “I can’t forgive them, they aren’t even sorry.” Or, “I can’t forgive them because they haven’t repented.” That is between them and God, but as far as you it simply doesn’t matter. You have to forgive because if you do not it will stop you from being the kind of person that God has called you to be. The hurt and resentment will only eat away at you like acid. Keith Smith tells of a man who had to make that decision.
“Chris Carrier of Coral Gables, Florida, was abducted when he was 10 years old. His kidnapper, angry with the boy’s family, burned him with cigarettes, stabbed him numerous times with an ice pick, then shot him in the head and left him to die in the Everglades. Remarkably, the boy survived, though he lost sight in one eye. No one was ever arrested.
Recently, a man confessed to the crime. Carrier, now a youth minister went to see him.
He found David McAllister, a 77 year-old ex-convict, frail and blind, living in a North Miami Beach nursing home. Carrier began visiting often, reading to McAllister from the Bible and praying with him. His ministry opened the door for McAllister to make a profession of faith.
No arrest is forthcoming; after twenty-two years, the statute of limitations on the crime is long past. In Christian Reader (Jan/Feb 98), Carrier says, ’While many people can’t understand how I could forgive David McAllister, from my point of view I couldn’t not forgive him. If I’d chosen to hate him all these years, or spent my life looking for revenge, then I wouldn’t be the man I am today, the man my wife and children love, the man God has helped me to be.” (Seven Sayings from the Cross: A Theology of Forgiveness by Keith Smart) Chris Carrier was a man by the time he met his attacker, but in his heart he had already forgiven the man long ago and that enabled Chris to lead the life that God had called him to and prepared him for. Now hopefully none of you have had to go through something so dramatic, but I know that almost everyone of us have had someone who has hurt us. And many of us have had someone who, to be honest, wasn’t remorseful at all for the pain they have caused us. If we forgive as Christ forgave on the cross that day, we must also forgive.
When we continue to look at the forgiveness of Christ we come across another aspect of it. It was a forgiveness that led to intercessory prayer. Here Christ was praying to His Father on behalf of the people who were literally torturing him. It reminds me so much of what Jesus had said earlier in His ministry. In Matthew 5:43,44 He said, “You have heard that it was said, ’Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Pray for those who persecute you. Pray for those who don’t treat you the way that you deserve. Pray for those who stomp on your feelings and don’t care what they did. That’s hard! Let’s once again make the observation that Jesus didn’t say that and not do it himself. Jesus’ concern for the very people who were inflicting intense pain on him went beyond his personal forgiveness, He was concerned about the state of these men souls. “Father don’t hold this against them, they don’t know what they are doing.” You see when we pray for those who mistreat us, our prayers shouldn’t necessarily be, “Lord, help them to see what they have done to me and how wrong it is. Help them to be sorry for what they have done.” Our prayers should directed at the salvation of their very souls. Our concern should be that when it is all said and done that they are in good standing with God. And guess what, when God comes in and creates a new creation in them, they will eventually realize that the way that they treated you was wrong. But if they don’t, so what. When you have the forgiveness of Christ you are worried more about their standing before your Heavenly Father. And if it was a brother or sister in Christ who stepped on your feelings or did something offensive to you. You still pray on their behalf, and if they are in right relationship with God, God will convict them of what they have done. Although if you are offended enough you may need to go to them and straighten it out, they may not have realized what they did. But the forgiveness of Christ was a forgiving spirit that looked beyond the pain that came to him through those who mistreated Him, and went to bat for them with His Father. Thank goodness that Christ is still the great intercessor and goes to bat for us with the Father. When I think about someone in scripture who failed in this area my mind comes to Jonah. Jonah had a hatred for the people of Nineveh. Nineveh was a wicked city that was known for their atrocities against helpless people, and in war. They were full of idolatry and prostitution. You name it and Nineveh had it. Many of Jonah’s people had experienced the atrocities of these ruthless people. God had called him to go preach to the Ninevites. We all know that Jonah didn’t want to preach to the Ninevites, because he didn’t want them to experience what God had for them. After Jonah experienced three nights in the belly of a big fish, Jonah went back and preached repentance like God told him to. But when they repented and God spared their life, instead of rejoicing at their repentance Jonah was angry that God had spared them. Even though Jonah preached to them he never had forgiven them for their past acts, and he really didn’t want them to respond to the gospel, because he didn’t think they deserved the forgiveness of God. Jonah’s lack of forgiveness and his lack of compassion for those who had mistreated him brought bitter attitudes and a scolding from God. Christ called us to pray for our enemies, pray for those who persecute you. But most of all you must forgive, and when you forgive with the forgiveness of Christ, whether they are sorry or not, it leads to intercessory prayer on their behalf.
Some of you may be saying to yourself this morning. Pastor, how can you forgive someone whose not even sorry for what they have done to you. How can you pray for someone’s soul that you are so angry at. I believe there is only one way for you to be able to forgive that way. It was only possible because the Father was in Christ, and for us it’s only possible if Christ is in us. Christ showed the forgiveness of the Father because the Father dwelt in Him. The forgiveness of Christ is more than we could ever possibly hope to have in our life. In our own strength there is no way that we could show that kind of forgiveness. In my own strength there is no way that I could forgive someone for hurting me or my family, especially when they weren’t even sorry for it. It’s only with Christ dwelling in my heart that I can forgive someone who doesn’t deserve my forgiveness. It’s only with Christ in my heart that I can forgive someone who isn’t even sorry. It’s only with Christ dwelling in my heart that I can pray for them and go to bat for them before God and pray for their salvation and forgiveness. Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.” Our strength to forgive comes from Christ. Our desire to forgive comes from Christ. Our model to forgive comes from Christ. You see when Christ is in our hearts he helps us to see how we are like the person that we need to forgive. He helps us to see that He forgave us when we didn’t deserve it. He helps us see ourselves in those we need to forgive.
“Perhaps the most famous trial in history were known as the Nuremberg Trials, the trials of the Nazi war criminals of World War II. One of the masterminds of probably the worst of all concentration camps-Auschwitz--was Rudolph Hess. His trial was broadcast all over the world. During the trial witness after witness came forward to the stand to relive the worst atrocities known to mankind. Witness after witness told of the brutality and the killings, the fear, the gas chambers, the crematorium, and of Hess in the middle of it all.
As the trial came to a close, the day of justice had come. On the day of the reading of the verdict, Rudolph Hess entered the room, awaiting his fate. The crowd and media grew silent. The verdict came: GUILTY! As the verdict was read, weeping could be heard from different locations in the room. Some were silently crying, others openly weeping and wailing.
As the courtroom emptied, a reporter stopped one of the witnesses. He asked, ‘I can understand the emotion you must be feeling at this moment. Is it because justice has finally been served? Is because now there is finally an end to the horror and pain? Why is it that you are filled with so much emotion?’ The man stopped and looked long into the eyes of the reporter, and as he wiped his face he replied, ‘It has nothing to do with any of those. I weep because as I stood there looking into his eyes, I saw myself.’” (Illustrations Stories and Quotes to Hang your Message On, Gospel Light, Jim Burns and Greg McKinnon, pp49,50) That’s what having Christ in our hearts helps us to do. It helps us to see ourselves in others. It helps us to see what Christ did for us even though we didn’t deserve His forgiveness.
This morning have you been able to forgive those who have no remorse, have you been able to pray for them to the Father. And do you have Christ in you to give you the strength to forgive. The forgiveness of Christ that He modeled for us can only come when our hearts are filled with Christ.
