The First Word "Father, Forgive Them.” Series

Jesus’ first words on the cross show us the true nature of who He is.

Following judgement by Pilot, Jesus was ordered to be crucified. On the way to the cross Jesus was mocked and spit on, and beaten to the point of being physically unable to carry His own cross. When he finally arrived at The Place of the Skull, His hands and feet were pierced by nails. The crucifixion had just begun, but already Jesus was dealing with more pain than many of us can imagine.

With pain in nearly every part of your body, and spectators gathering around to watch your death, what would you be praying for?

Jesus could’ve prayed for anything. He could’ve prayed for relief from the anguish that was just beginning. He could’ve prayed for the executioners to end this painful ordeal. But He didn’t do that. Instead, He prays for mankind’s greatest need. He prayed for forgiveness.

For the crowd that shouted “Crucify Him”. For Pilot who washed his hands of ordering the execution… for the soldiers who mocked Him, spit on Him, beat Him, and put the cross on His back… for the who swung the whip, swung the hammer and gambled for His clothing… Jesus prayed for them… “Father, forgive them.”

Jesus took the brunt of that cross for all of them, and prayed that they would be forgiven.

But, it wasn’t just them. Jesus died for all of us. We’re part of that crucifixion story, because our sins were part of the weight on that cross,

For the times that we made mistakes and didn’t follow God’s will… for our efforts to trivialize our sins and say it was just a mistake that doesn’t matter… for the times that we ignored our neighbor’s needs and focused on ourselves… for every time that we broke God’s laws… just like the crowd that shouted “crucify him”… we didn’t always know what we were doing either. Jesus prayed for us too… “Father, forgive them”

But here’s the really good news. If Jesus can forgive Pilot who condemned Him, the soldiers who beat him, and the executioner who swung the hammer, hitting the nails…. He can forgive us too. There is nothing that we’ve done that can’t be forgiven. There is no sin so big, that we won’t receive mercy.

Jesus first words, “Father, forgive them,” aren’t just for those who crucified Him. They’re for us too.