“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” - Luke 23:34
It is easier to talk about forgiveness than it is to practice it. It is impossible to determine the number of sermons that have been preached on the subject. Many books have been written about forgiveness. In spite of all this, forgiveness is practiced so little by professing Christians today.
We are humans. As humans we must communicate with each other. We make decisions, sometimes in a split second, that can impact others. As we talk, work and interact with other people, it can be easy to say something that can hurt the feelings of another. Sometimes we can be very insensitive about others. It is possible to offend someone without even realizing it.
I have found that those who are quick to demand an apology are often slow to offer one themselves. Some even enjoy being a “victim.” They seem to enjoy having others indebted to them. It is no wonder that forgiveness remains a major stumbling block for many. Some are demanding an apology they may never receive and others are too proud and stubborn to offer an apology.
All of us will be hurt from time to time. That is just the way relationships are. How do we respond when we are hurt and offended? In our text, Jesus was suffering in the deepest way possible. He was suffering physically. Yet His pain was not due to an accident or disease. Instead, men deliberately harmed Him. Men enjoyed watching Jesus suffer and die. An innocent man was dying because of the aggression of guilty men. In spite of the pain we've suffered in our lives, we've never suffered like Jesus did.
We've been studying the prayer-life of Jesus. Once again, we find Him praying from the cross. In the midst of His suffering, He prayed, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” From the cross, Jesus prayed for His persecutors. He could have prayed for their demise, but He didn't. He prayed for their transgressions to be forgiven.
This level of forgiveness should motivate us to forgive. The hurt we've suffered doesn't compare to the pain our Lord endured. As predicted, the disciples had forsaken Jesus. He faced a mockery of a trial. He endured the lashes of a whip. He wore a painful crown of thorns. He was forced to carry His cross to the place of execution. His physical condition had deteriorated to extent that they had Simon of Cyrene to help carry the cross. Then there was the awful pain of the nails being driven in His hands and feet. All this was deliberately planned and accomplished by scheming, wicked men.
Yet Jesus prayed for their forgiveness. If Jesus could pray for the forgiveness of His enemies, what is keeping us from forgiving those who've hurt us?
As we think about our Lord's prayer from the cross, we must consider an undeniable fact. We were among those who crucified Him. He went to the cross because of our sins. We offended Him with our transgressions. We rebelled against His authority, trampled on His Name and abused His grace. We did Him wrong. Like King David, we can honestly say, “Against thee, thee only have I sinned.”
Yet love compelled Him to endure such a horrible experience. He willingly suffered and died to save rebels like us. He died for His enemies. He sought to save the very ones who hated Him and treated Him with such contempt.
Because of His sacrifice, we are saved today. He died that we may live. On the cross He secured our forgiveness.
There's not a better feeling that to know you've been forgiven. Since we have been forgiven such a great debt, we should forgive those who do us wrong. Ephesians 4:32 states: “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” We are to forgive, “... even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven” us.
He didn't forgive us because we deserved to be forgiven. On the contrary, He forgave us in spite of our unworthiness. God forgave us, “for Christ's sake.” Now we are called on to be agents of grace, forgiving others “for Christ's sake.” The person who offended you may not deserve forgiveness, but you should forgive anyhow --- for Jesus' sake.
Jesus was going through the fire of affliction when He suffered on the cross. In the worst moments of His life, He showed grace under fire.
We should do the same.
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