Father, Forgive Them

Luke 23:34

I don’t know about you just thinking about everything that Jesus had endured, having been falsely accused, having been mocked, having been spat on, having been beaten. I don’t know about you, but Father, forgive them, probably would not have been the first words that came to my mind. In fact, I likely would have been angry and maybe would have even asked God to punish those who were unjustly punishing me. But in those words, we see Jesus’ selflessness. We see His love for sinners, even the ones who were nailing Him to the cross. We see His love for sinners like you and me. Jesus was willing to endure all of this so that we could be declared not guilty in His sight. Jesus said that those involved did not know what they were doing. So often we stumble into sin ourselves not knowing what we are doing. And Jesus is there interceding for us saying, “Father, forgive them.” Oftentimes we sin knowingly, and Jesus is still there saying, “Father, forgive them.” Yes, even though we weren’t there nailing our Savior’s hands into the cross, we still played a role in His death. Our sins were there nailing our Savior’s hands into the cross. And even still, at that moment, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Thanks be to Jesus who took the sins of the entire world, our sins and took them away on the cross with Him. Amen.