Father, Forgive Them

Listen for God’s word to you from Luke 23…

So, Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted. He released the man they asked for, the one who had been put in prison for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over as they wished. Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. When they came to the

place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.’ And they cast lots to divide his clothing. And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!’

“Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’”

More literally, according to the original Greek, the sentence begins, “And Jesus was saying…”

I wonder… how many times does Jesus have to say, “Father, forgive them…” before we get it? I imagine saying it once was enough for Jesus’ Father in heaven to get it. But experts say it takes hearing something seven times before we mortals get it.

No matter how many times Jesus offers us his forgiveness, it seems to me that we have a hard time hearing him. And if we hear him, we have a hard time believing his offer. And even if we believe his offer, we have a hard time accepting it. “Could Jesus really forgive this sin?” “Could Jesus really forgive me?”

It seems to me that if Jesus could forgive those who crucified him, then perhaps he can forgive us too. “Father, forgive them…”

The next words Jesus speaks are powerful too… “for they do not know what they are doing.”

Do any of us really know what we are doing in life? Do we really know why we do the things we do?

Long before I became a parent, early on in ministry with children, I learned that it is pointless to ask a child, “Why did you do that?” Every time I used to ask that question… I would get a dazed look from a child followed by utter silence. It seems to me that children seldom, if ever, know why they do what they do. Or if they do know, they find it impossible to articulate the reason for their actions. I think the same is true for most of us, regardless of our age.

“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

I believe the forgiveness of the Father and the Son flows through the cross, flows from the cross, to every person who has ever lived or ever will live. God’s forgiveness flows from the cross to you and to me. His agape love calls out to us, despite, or maybe because of, our unknowing sins. The question is: Will we receive that love and forgiveness?

“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

It is, in a way, such a simple prayer, yet so profound. It is only 8 words in Greek. A word like “forgive” is so simple. We all know what it means. Or do we? Perhaps we do not know what forgiveness means until we experience our heavenly Father… letting our sins go, not holding them against us anymore.

And how about that other simple word … “doing”? The Greek word is ποιοῦσιν. It is a versatile word that covers all sorts of doing and making. The noun form of this verb is ποίημα. We get our English word “poem” from this Greek word. A poem is a thing made with words.

Intriguingly, Ephesians 2:10 says that we are God’s ποίημα; we are God’s “poem”.

It seems to me that throughout most of our lives we don’t know what the hell we are doing. But then Jesus comes, and he dies on a cross so that all our thoughtless acts can be forgiven. And then, because of what Jesus has done, we have the opportunity to give our lives to God, and he makes beautiful poetry out of them. He makes sense out of our senselessness… if we will just let him do his work, let him have his way with us…

In a sense, I believe our whole lives are about accepting Luke 23:34, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing,” so that we can move on to the living out of Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s poem, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

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