Rev Francisco BilogScripture: Isaiah 53:1-12, Luke 23:34 (suggest scripture)
The First word of Christ…….Father forgive them for they know not what they do…Luke 23: 34
Introduction:
This cross on whom Jesus died remains the center symbol of my faith. Because I know my Savior died for me.
I know he took upon Himself all of my sin.
If we can close our eyes and see the horrid scene of my Jesus hanging there. Pain fills His blood-stained face. The crowd yells and calls out words that cut him to His heart.
And yet in the midst of that horrific scene, is how he hangs and looks at those who kill Him, how He looks at me and you – because we too would probably have been in that crowd, because at one time we also denied Him…
He sees how pitiful we really are and so He pulls His head up and looks up to His Father and says “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” But I raise the question, of how, how can Jesus ask God to forgive them while they are still in the act of sinning against Him and afflicting great pain on Him?
I don’t envision how moral we are ,
Those words are etched in our minds simply because they are so hard to understand. Today we begin to look at some of the words that Jesus spoke while he was on the cross – amongst the most important words in Scripture.
According to Luke these are first words Jesus spoke after He was placed on the cross
When we come to the cross and the crucifixion of Christ, we find that His death was just as much a miracle as His birth or resurrection.
It can truly be said of His death that it was natural, unnatural, and supernatural.
It was natural because He really died. His death was a natural one.
It was unnatural in that He should not have died. The wages of sin in death. He had no sin, yet He died. It was unnatural that He who was perfectly holy should die.
It was also supernatural in that He laid down His life. NO one took it from him.
While on the cross, Jesus made seven utterances or statements. My task and purpose today is to preach on the fires of just one of those statements.
” Father forgive them for they know not what they do..
I. THIS CRY WAS A FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY
The cry is, “Father forgive them…” The prophecy is found in Isaiah 53:12
Isaiah 53:12 “. . . and made intercession for the transgressors.” Here it is in the wonderful prophecies of Isaiah! Hear we have a prophecy written 745 years before the event!
II. THIS CRY IDENTIFIED HIM WITH HIS PEOPLE
Luke 23:34 “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Only on this occasion did Jesus every pray like this.
Jesus never called on His father to forgive sins. He, himself demonstrated the Had power, while on earth, to forgive sins.
Matthew 9:2 “And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.”
Luke 7:48 “And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.” Only God can forgive sins and the Jewish leaders knew that. Mark 2:7 “Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?”
When Jesus forgave sins, He identified with His people and addressed God as His Father and requested the He forgive their sins.
III. THIS CRY SHOW THE IGNORANCE OF THE HUMAN HEART
Luke 23:34 “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” They were aware that Jesus of Nazareth was being crucified. That much they knew.
The emphases here should be on ‘they know not what they do.’
Jesus was their Messiah. He was their only means of salvation. Only through Him would and could the promises of God be fulfilled. But they knew not what they were doing.
And what they actually doing, was that they were murdering Deity they murdered God, .
Peter says in Acts 3:15: “And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.”
THIS CRY SHOWS MAN’S GREATEST NEED
Luke 23:34 “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
Notice what Jesus prayed for.
He did not pray for their wealth.
He did not pray for prosperity for the nation.
He did not pray for the hungry and the homeless.
One must put first things first and the greatest need of man is forgiveness. He has transgressed against a Holy God. Without forgiveness, one must forever be lost cannot enter into eternal life.
Jesus prayed for their forgiveness.
He hoped they would repent of their sin and be saved. One can only be saved when he acknowledges his sin. The prodigal knew that he had sinned against the father and knew that his greatest need was confession and forgiveness.
He said, “I have sinned…” He needed forgiveness most of all. Jesus knows man’s greatest need.
V. THIS CRY SHOWS THE GREAT LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST FOR SINNERS
Luke 23:34 “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” The emphases here should be on the word, then. It was when man was at his worst that Jesus prayed for his forgiveness.
What would we do in the hour of man’s worst treatment of us? Would we pray for their forgiveness or would we curse them and ask God to destroy them?
This brings us to the sober reality of His deity. Only God could love like this.
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:20 “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:”
John 15:13 “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
Samson in his dying hour destroyed his enemies. Christ in His dying hour prayed for His.
Even Stephen, the first martyr of the Christian faith, failed to fully follow Christ’s example. Stephen’s first thought was of himself, and then he prayed for those killing him. While his enemies were stoning him,
Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:59,60). But with Christ the order was reversed: He prayed first for His enemies, and then for Himself.
Our Lord is upon the cross. And there He hangs — silent.
But then His pain-lined lips are seen to move.
Is He crying out in pain? No.
Is He asking for pity? No.
Is He pronouncing a curse upon those who crucified Him? No.
What then? He is praying — for His enemies! “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
I…Our Lord Prays A Our Lord is upon the cross. He is praying. How significant! How instructive! Christ’s public ministry opened with prayer (Lk 3:21), and here we see it closing in prayer.
Our Lord is upon the cross.
No longer can His hands minister to the sick, for they are nailed to the tree.
No longer can His feet carry Him on errands of mercy, for they are fastened to the wood.
No longer can He instruct His disciples, for they have forsaken Him and fled.
But one thing He can do, and does — the ministry of prayer!
Perhaps there are some here this morning who think they have nothing to offer and no purpose in living.
But like the Lord there is one thing you can still do —even in the last hours of life — and that is to engage in the ministry of prayer.
Perhaps God may use your ministry of prayer to accomplish more for His church and kingdom than was accomplished by all your past service.
B… Our Lord is upon the cross. He prays for His murderers. In doing this, He shows us, He teaches us, that no one is ever beyond the reach of prayer.
He shows us, He teaches us, to never give up, to never abandon hope, to keep on praying. Does it seem to you a waste of time to keep praying for that man, that woman, that wayward child or grandchild of yours?
Does it ever seem to you as if they are beyond the reach of God’s mercy?
Does their case seem to get more and more hopeless every passing day? In such times of discouragement think of the cross. Remember that Christ prayed for His enemies, for those who made Him suffer the agony and torment of the cross.
C.. We should never look at this first word of the cross, this prayer for Christ’s enemies, without also looking at its answer on Pentecost.
Remember what happened then? The Spirit was poured out, Peter preached a powerful sermon, and three thousand were saved. Who are these three thousand? Peter clearly identifies them as those who put Jesus to death by nailing Him to the cross (Acts 2:23b,37; cf 3:13-15,17 and the 5,000 of 4:4).
What we are to realize, congregation, is that the prayer of Christ on the cross for His enemies was given a most definite answer. The answer is seen in the conversion of the three thousand souls on the Day of Pentecost.
We are being taught here, aren’t we, about the power of prayer. As James tells us, “the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16b).
So pray, congregation. Pray for those loved ones who seem to you to be outside the kingdom of Christ.
Pray for these wayward ones, knowing that no one — not even those who crucified our Lord — are beyond the reach and power of prayer.
“Father, forgive them …” said Jesus out of love. “Forgive” is a word borrowed from the world of commerce and finance. It is a money word. In the secular Greek world it meant the cancellation of a debt, the pardoning of a loan..
Jesus prays for forgiveness. He prays for the cancellation of a debt, the pardoning of a loan. He prays for the cancellation of the debt of sin. Jesus acts and speaks out of love. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
V. Jesus prays for His Enemies
A. Who is the “them” Jesus is praying for? He is praying for Judas who betrayed Him. He is praying for the Jewish leaders who had Him falsely arrested, who hit Him, spit on Him, and said lies about Him. Jesus is praying for the crowd who yelled, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
Jesus is praying for Pilate who found Him innocent yet still gave Him up to be crucified. Jesus is praying for the soldiers who whipped Him, mocked Him, spit on Him, and nailed Him to the cross. Jesus is praying for all of these: “Father, forgive them …”
B. Jesus is also praying for you and me and every other sinner. Don’t forget, He is upon the cross as our — as your and my — representative. He is there as one of us, one with us. He is there because of our sins. There is a song we sing which expresses this so very clearly:
So for us too Jesus prays, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” VI The Need for Forgiveness A What is it that Jesus is praying for? This first word of the cross, this prayer for forgiveness, is clearly about sins of ignorance: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
So Jesus prays, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
We are given a glimpse here of the blindness of the human heart, the total depravity of the human will, and the corruption of the human mind.
In this first word of the cross Jesus prays for the forgiveness of those who act in ignorance or unbelief —even if they ought to have known better.
Again we see the extent of His grace and love. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” So upon the cross, suffering in body and soul the anguish and torment of hell, Jesus prays for grace, for forgiveness. What love! What wondrous, matchless love. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
AMEN……………….AMEN………………….AMEN
- The First Word From The Cross: Forgiven
Luke 23:34
Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing.”
Close your eyes…imagine the scene if you will. Can you smell the sand in the air? Can you hear them say”Give us Barabas? Can you feel the hot air, the sweat rolling down your brow? Can you see the crowds gathering? Hear the soldiers armor clamor as they escort Jesus to Calvary? Can you hear the nails being driven into the aguish cries of these men? But do you hear the first 11 words from the Cross? Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing.”
By the time Jesus uttered these words He must have been exhausted. With all of the events that led up to this point where His executioners have just driven the nails through His hands and feet.
He had experienced the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, the beatings, the cruel insults and mocking by the soldiers and guards. He had endured the unfair trial in front of Caiaphas, the hearing with both Pilate and Herod. And yet the Lamb of God was silent before His accusers, but NOT silent before His God. There wasn’t any amount of pain or weakness that could silence Jesus’ prayer to the Father.
Jesus had the habit of withdrawing to lonely places to pray.
He went to the wilderness in Matt 4
In the morning before light in Mark 1:35
All night on a mountainside in Luke 6:12
To a lonely place in Luke 5:16
In the Garden of Gethsemane Luke 22:37
Jesus withdrew from the presence of people to get in tune with God@!
Church, it was not unusual for crucified persons to speak on the cross. However; their words, usually consisted of wild expressions of pain or pleads for release, curses against God or cursing on those who had inflicted their sufferings. But when Jesus had recovered from the swooning shock associated by the driving of the nails into His hands and feet, His first utterance was a prayer, and His first word was “Father.”
Think about that for a moment. He could have ranted out of His mind
He could have called 10,000 angels
He could have cursed the soldiers to death
He could have rebuked the crowds
Called his disciples out
All of these things Jesus could have done…but yet He doesn’t instead He says with clarity, in the right mind, in clear dialect….Father.
The Words uttered from the Cross?
1.) Father
The word “Father,” further, proved that the faith of Jesus was unshaken by everything in which He had endured and by what He was now enduring.
Dr. Gilbert Stafford said “When righteousness is trampled underfoot and wrong is triumphant, faith is tempted to ask if there is really a God, loving and wise, seated on the throne of the universe, or if life is the play of chance.
Church, when prosperity is turned suddenly into adversity and the plans and hopes of a life is tumbled in confusion, even the child of God asks for “the cup to pass from him”.
But, when the fortunes of Jesus were at the blackest,
when He was baited by a raging pack of wolf-like enemies, and
when He was sinking into an abyss of pain and desertion, Jesus still said “Father.”
Notice with me that when Jesus said Father…that Jesus didn’t cry out!
If He had cried out, the Bible would have said so. Rather the Bible says that Jesus said “Father”.
This lets us know that despite the agony
Despite the pain
Despite the brokenness
Despite everything Jesus had endured…
He was in His right mind to call on the…… “Father”
May Jesus always be our example and may no circumstances, however severe or depressing, keep us from praying to the “Father”.As Jesus prayed, He remained true to His “filial” relationship with His Father. Even in the extreme trial of the Cross, He submitted Himself to the will of His Father, for His prayer begins with, “Father…” Jesus taught us to pray saying, “Our Father” and here He was an example of His own teaching.
Church, the reason why we should pray like this is because the effectiveness of our prayers depend greatly on our obedience to how Jesus taught us and our confidence in our relationship with God as our Father. Preach Kevin Preach
Jesus taught us to Pray! He taught us how to come! He taught us Pray! He taught us even up until the end of His physical life! When he was on the Cross, I was on His Mind…because He was still teaching us How to Pray when He said “Father”
Listen, Even in Gethsemane, when His soul was filled with anguish, He started His prayer with “My Father…” when He asked that God would remove the bitter trial lying ahead of Him, if it were possible. May we never doubt our relationship with God as our Father or doubt His love for us.
The Words uttered from the Cross?
2.) Forgive
But most remarkable of all, was that Jesus’ prayer on the Cross though darkest of moments was not for Himself alone. The first of His seven utterances from the Cross is a prayer on behalf of others and not just others –He prayed for those who were responsible for His pain.
Church, Jesus understood the magnitude of God’s judgment against them. Considering the weight of the judgment they are heaping up against themselves, Jesus prays that God will forgive them.
Hello? He is on the Cross! He’s just had three nails ripped
Through his feet and His hands. But yet instead of cursing
Instead of yelling
Instead of crying
Jesus forgives them…….
I don’t care what anybody has said to you, or done to you. Instead of crying out against them, or yelling or cursing, or talking behind their back, or giving your two sense, or a piece of your mind…Stop IT
And Forgive Them@!
Jesus is our perfect example in unselfishness, who focuses in His worst moments not on His troubles, but instead He prays for others.
Can we follow His example and forget ourselves long enough to reach out to others in their times of trouble, when they say stupid things, hurt feelings, stick their foot in their mouth, lie, plot, and cheat us, can we just FORGIVE????
We might be in agreement to be able to do that with those we are around, but Jesus prayed not only for others, but for His enemies. Even as they were executing their murderous plot against Him, He prayed for their forgiveness.
He didn’t wait until time has passed and healed His wounds and He could forgive them easier, but prayed for them while His blood was fresh on their hands. Jesus forgave while they were killing Him@!
The Words uttered from the Cross?
3.) They Know Not what they Do
He is praying for us, wrote Paul to the Romans.
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
And just as He prayed for His enemies then, He is praying for them still today, because they don’t know who and what they are dealing with.
Church, sinners don’t know who they are dealing with! People have no idea what they are doing with their life and how their decisions affect the course of this world@!
Jesus is the great Intercessor and is now seated at the right hand of the Father still. Although He is now at the right hand of the Father and no longer hanging on the Cross, His occupation as Intercessor remains the same. He is still pleading with God on behalf of guilty humanity. His prayers are gracious. None of those for whom He prayed deserved His prayers. I didn’t, you didn’t, but I’m thankful He interceded on my behalf before God. The message of Forgiveness is amazing because it is encapsulated with the idea that Christ forgives despite anyone knowing that.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Church, on the Cross He prayed for the most undeserving people of all. They were utterly undeserving of a single good word on their behalf from the lips of our Lord Jesus. If He will intercede for them, what will keep Him from interceding for you? Nothing…because Jesus Loves YOU!
- Forgive Them Father, They Do Not Know What They Are Doing. Scripture: Luke 23:34 (suggest scripture)
“Forgive them Father, they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34)
“Forgive them Father, they don’t know what they are doing”. Ten pretty simple, unambiguous words which do not leave much scope for misinterpretation, and yet ten words that have implications far beyond there perceived simplicity. I would like to concentrate on only this sentence this morning, and try to establish exactly what Jesus was saying in this prayer to God.
Who was Jesus talking about here? Was he asking for forgiveness for Judas, who had betrayed him with a kiss? Was He perhaps asking for forgiveness for the Rock of the church, Peter, who had denied Him 3 times as Jesus said he would? Was it for Pontius Pilate, who had basically found no reason to condemn Jesus and yet allowed Him to be crucified anyway?
Was he asking for forgiveness for the people who had bayed for Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to be crucified? Or was it for the Roman soldiers, who had flogged him, mocked Him and nailed Him to the cross?
I am sure that all of you already know the answer to these questions. Obviously it was to all these people that Jesus was referring. The answer is seemingly just as simple as those ten words, “Forgive them Father, they don’t know what they are doing”. Or is it?
Hindsight often provides wonderful clarity and insight into past events, and also highlights mistakes which were made which, when looking back, it seems could have been easily avoided. It is extremely simple for us to be critical of the treatment meted out to Jesus by various people mentioned in the Gospels, but before we go down that road, I think that we all need to be reminded that we are not to judge others. So let’s eliminate all the people above from the question I asked earlier. Who was Jesus talking about?
As Christians, we all know and believe that Jesus died for the sins of all mankind, past, present and future. This is a concept I have personally struggled with a great deal. If Jesus died on the cross for my sins, and if it is accepted that I will be a sinner until the day I die,( and just to ensure that you don’t become too comfortable in the pews, so will all of you), then do we really need to worry about the sin in our lives? After all, we are told in Romans 8.1 “There is no condemnation now for those who live in union with Christ Jesus”. So really, why should we be concerned about the sin in our lives? Why do I still wonder, involuntarily, in spite of Romans 8.1, whether my continuing sin will affect my judgment and salvation. After all, the Bible tells me unequivocally that it will not. Why do I still feel guilty? Is there anyone else present here this morning who feels the same? Undoubtedly, it is due to the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. But there is another reason – another reason that should most certainly make each and everyone of us think twice before we sin again.
Did any of you notice that the words used most frequently in the questions I’ve just been asking were the words I, my and me? Sadly, I believe most of us are guilty of this human selfishness and my apologies to you if you are not. We need to remind ourselves constantly that sin affects not only us but Jesus, who died for our sins, and I ask again, who is Jesus referring to when He says “ Forgive them, Father, they don’t know what they are doing”.
If Jesus died for my sins and for your sins, then it stands to reason that we cannot set ourselves apart from those terrible hours which lead to the death of our Saviour on the cross, we cannot, simply because of the passing of time, rely on hindsight to be critical and judgmental of those who killed the Son of Man. We cannot do that, for one simple reason – and that is because each and every one of us is one of those people.
How many of you have seen the movie “The Passion of the Christ”? It is an extremely violent portrayal of the events surrounding the crucifixion – some even say that Mel Gibson is guilty of gratuitous violence. But I am 100% certain that even the gut wrenching violence depicted in this movie does not come anywhere near to the horror of witnessing the crucifixion in person.
There are a few scenes in the movie where we are introduced to a shadowy, caped figure with evil eyes and a cynical, knowing stare. As I recall, he appears while Jesus is praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, and again later while Jesus is being flogged by the Roman Soldiers, he is seen moving furtively through the crowd. Anyone like to hazard a guess as to who this was? The obvious response is the devil. But I would like to make an alternative suggestion. That figure is not the devil, and this is only my interpretation, but a depiction of sinners to come, you and me, and he places us at the scene of Jesus’ last hours as surely as if we were there in person.
So I ask you again, who is Jesus talking about when He says “Forgive them Father, they don’t know what they are doing”. We have already decided to ignore the people I mentioned earlier. Before we do that, though, I just want to leave with you the possibility that perhaps they did, indeed, not know what they were doing. Most of these people did not know Jesus very well, if at all, and it is quite possible that they did not know that they were putting to death the Son of God. It took Peter, the Rock upon which Jesus built His church, a considerable period of time in Jesus’ company, and some prodding from Jesus Himself before he came to the realization that he was in the presence of the Messiah. So let’s not be too quick to pass judgment on them.
I know that none of you is going to be surprised when I say the people that Jesus is talking about includes you and it includes me, that again is basic Christian knowledge. But I am going to try to move you from your comfort zone (and please understand that when I refer to you or yours, I am including myself). Not only is Jesus referring to you and to me, but I am going to say this morning that we are far worse than the people I mentioned earlier, because we know what we have done and are still doing. I want to repeat that – we know what we have done and are still doing. Am I calling Jesus a liar when I make this statement? The answer is an emphatic no, and I will explain this a little later.
I am now going to give you a number of reasons why you should think twice about sinning, and they do not revolve around your own salvation. Every time you sin, you are kissing Jesus’ cheek just as surely as Judas did in the Garden of Gethsemane. Every time you sin, you are displaying the indifference that Pontius Pilate displayed as he casually handed Jesus over to be killed, despite himself acknowledging that he could find no guilt in Jesus. Every time you sin, you are flogging Jesus with a cat-o’-nine-tails and ripping the flesh from His bleeding and battered body, just as callously as the Roman soldiers did. Every time you sin, you are mocking Jesus and spitting on Him as He stumbles with His cross toward the hill of skulls. Every time you sin, you are picking up a hammer and nails and piercing Jesus’ hands and feet with them, and displaying complete indifference to His pain. Every time you sin, you are picking up a spear and thrusting it into Jesus’ lifeless body, just to ensure that He is indeed dead. Every time you sin, you are killing a man who loves you so much that with almost His dying breath, He turns to God in prayer and says “Forgive them, Father, they don’t know what they are doing”. And you know what; you and I do know what we are doing!!
A little earlier we sang the song “Jesus Christ I think upon your sacrifice” and at one point we sang the following: “I’m humbled by your mercy and I’m broken inside”. During Holy Week this year, we sang the same song a number of times and I remember asking those of you who were present to think about the words and reflect on whether you were really broken inside. I am being completely candid when I say that I looked around me at those present and the realization dawned on me that no-one really seemed to appreciate the meaning of those words. And before you think I am pointing fingers, let me immediately say that I asked the same question of myself, and realized that if I was totally honest, I was not broken inside. This has lead me to question the words of what has definitely become one of my favourite songs. I believe we should be singing that “we should be broken inside”, not that we are broken inside. It is also the reason why I can say with great confidence that you and I do know what we are doing when we sin, and yet not be implying that Jesus was lying when He said “Forgive them, Father, they don’t know what they are doing”.
I say again, each and every one of us knows the consequence of our sin, not only for ourselves, but for Jesus. But we know this with our human intellect only, that part of us that will revert to dust the day we die. By the grace of God, and only by the grace of God, we do not know with our hearts and souls, otherwise we would indeed be broken inside, outside and everywhere else. The loss of a loved one on this earth would pale into insignificance if we really understood the consequence of our sin in our hearts and souls. I can think of one man in history who I believe understood fully, with his heart and soul, the consequence of his sin, and he hung himself from a tree.
We are not broken inside because of the great love of a Man hanging from a cross – the great love He displays for you and for me as he implores His Father in heaven to “Forgive them, Father, they don’t know what they are doing”.