“Father, forgive them.”
Luke 23: 27-28
You can only know my inner thoughts as they are expressed by my words. The Saviour reminds us in Matthew 12: 34, "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh."
I want us to look at some of the last words Jesus ever uttered on earth from the cross before he died.
These are the final words that Jesus Christ spoke while hanging on an old rugged cross. On that cross we see our Lord’s greatest work, and on that cross we hear our Lord’s greatest words.
Some words live on! I read about a lady who died
in Kansas and on her tombstone were these words: "I told you I was sick." Some words live on!
I read about a man who owned a restaurant for years, and he was about to die. He had always been known for being stingy! As he laid on his bed, he began mumbling something. So the family leaned in to hear his final words. Very faintly he said, "Slice the ham thin," and then he died. Some words live on!
I read about a wealthy man who died and the family gathered together to hear the reading of his
last will and testament. The family all sat in a circle trying to look sad as the attorney read the will. They were all anxious to learn what their portion of the pot would be.
The attorney began reading, "I, Sam Jones, having made a large fortune, being of a sound mind and proper judgment, want to reveal to my family that I spent it all." Some words live on!
However, if there were ever words that lived on, it would have to be the final words of Jesus Christ.
Now, lets endeavor to unpack this amazing and wonderful first saying!
"Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."
I. THE BLINDING POWER OF SATAN
“they know not what they do."
Jesus could clearly see that sin and Satan had a powerfully blinding effect on sinners.
They were not ignorant of the fact they were crucifying innocence. Pilate had said. "I find in Him no fault at all." Herod had said, "Lo, nothing worthy of is done of Him." Judas had said, "For I have betrayed ."
They ought to have known waht they were doing. Their blindness was inexcusable. The Old Testament prophecies which had received their fulfillment in him were sufficiently plain to identify him as the One sent from God. His teaching was unique, for his very critics were forced to admit, "Never man spake like this man" (John 7:46). Jesus had lived before them a life which had never been lived on earth before. His life was ever lived to the glory of God. His life was one on which was stamped heaven’s approval, for the Father’s voice testified audibly, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am wellpleased." No, there was no excuse for their ignorance; it only demonstrated the blinding power of Satan.
Of what then were they ignorant? They knew not that they were crucifying the Lord of glory.
A. They were ignorant of the PERSON of the Cross
Because Christ was so different from what they hoped the Messiah would be they were not aware of the awful criminality of their conduct.
As the Lord Jesus hung on the cross He recognized the blinding power of Satan and sin.
B. They were ignorant of the PURPOSE for the Cross
It is through the of the Son of God on the cross that forgiveness is available. “In whom we have redemption throgh His , even the forgiveness of sins.” It is because of Christ atoning sacrifice on the cross, that it can be said ”without the shedding of is no remission.”
Satan still blinds men today. 2 Cor. 4: 4 says "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believed not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."
The devil blinds men to the guilt of their soul. Dr. Ironside was speaking to man one day and ask if him if he was sure that he would go to heaven if he died. The man replied, "No, I can’t say that I would, but I would like to."
"Do you realize that you are a sinner?" Dr. Ironside continued the conversation.
"Yes," replied the man, "but I am not what you would call a bad sinner. In fact, I ’d have to say I’m a rather good one."
Think of it -- a good sinner..... a good law breaker... that is a contradiction of terms. Oh, how the devil blinds men to the guilt of their soul. He tells them that they aren’t that bad. He blinds men to the gift of the Saviour. In Chicago years ago there was a nightclub called, "The Gates of Hell." This club was only a few blocks down the street from Calvary Church. One night a drunk man stopped a young fellow on the street and asked him where was the "the Gates of Hell." The young man pointed to sin on the corner which read "Calvary Church" and said to the drunk, "Just go right by Calvary, and you will come to ’The Gates of Hell.’” How true was that statement. The cross of Calvary stands between every man and hell. If you travel pass Jesus you will land in hell.
II. THE BLESSED PROVISION FOR SIN
Romans 4:7 “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.”
Ignorance is not innocence; sin needs forgiveness. If ignorance excuses guilt, it needed no forgiveness.
Forgiveness is what the cross is all about. Forgiveness is not cheap; it is very expensive. It was going to cost Jesus Christ His life. Forgiveness was the purpose of His . His on the cross was going to provide what He was praying to the Father about.
In praying for the forgiveness of His enemies, Christ struck right down to the root of their need. Their need is our need as well.
Jesus prayed not pray for their wealth. He not pray for the prosperity of the nation. Jesus prayed for their forgiveness. He recognized their deepest need.
When Jesus said, "Father, forgive them” he was saying “and condemn me.” Only by His assuming their debt could He plead for their forgiveness. Jesus knew that foreignness was only possible if HE took their sin.
Man needs forgiveness for his sins, whether those sins were committed knowingly or unknowingly, and the forgiveness must be preceded by a sacrifice.
Luke 24:46 ,47 “.... Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
Acts 13:38,39 “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.”
III. THE BELOVED PATTERN FOR THE SAINTS
"Father, forgive them for they know not what they do,” IDENTIFIES HIM WITH MAN. On no other occasion did Christ make such a request of the Father. Never before had he asked for the Father’s forgiveness of others. Until now he forgave himself. To the man sick of the palsy he had said, "Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee" (Matthew 9:2). To the woman who washed his feet with her tears in the house of Simon, he said, "Thy sins are forgiven" (Luke 7:48). Why then should he now ask the Father to forgive, instead of directly pronouncing forgiveness himself?
Forgiveness of sin is a divine prerogative. The Jewish scribes were right when they reasoned "Who can forgive sins but God only?" (Mark 2:7). But you say, Christ was God. Yes, but man also - the God-man. He was the Son of God that had become the Son of Man with the express purpose of offering himself as a sacrifice for sin. And when the Lord Jesus cried "Father, forgive them" he was on the cross dying as a man. On the cross he was acting as our substitute; He was hanging there as our representative. When the Jesus cried, "Father, forgive them," we see him absolutely being identified man in His .
In His He left us an example to follow.
When His hands could not longer performs any acts of kindness, He prayed. As long as we have breath, we can pray.
Jesus taught us never to regard any as beyond the reach of prayer. If Christ prayed for his ers, surely we have encouragement to pray for the very worst of sinners! Does it seem a waste of time for you to continue praying for that man, that woman, that wayward child of yours? Does their case seem to become more hopeless every day? Does it look as though they had gone beyond the reach of divine mercy? Remember then the cross. Consider none beyond the reach of prayer.
When His hands could minister no longer to the sick, for they are nailed to the cross, notice how he occupies himself? In the ministry of prayer! What a lesson for us.
In the Sermon on the Mount our Lord taught his disciples, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you," (Matthew 5:44). Above all others Christ practiced what he preached. In all things he has left us an example.
Conclusion:
In closing remember when Jesus prayed “Father, forgive them." When man had done his worst, He prayed, “Father, forgive them." When with wicked hands the creature had dared to crucify the Lord of glory, He prayed “Father, forgive them."
When Samson came to his dying hour he used his great strength of body to encompass the destruction of his foes; but Jesus, demonstrated the strength of his love by praying for the forgiveness of his enemies.
Even Stephen failed to follow competely the example set by the Saviour. Stephen’s first thought was of himself, and then he prayed for his enemies - "And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge" (Acts 7:59,60). But with Christ the order was reversed: he prayed first for his foes, and last for himself. In all things he has the pre-eminence.
