Words of Forgiveness

The one by whom the world was made had come. He lived among us. The Lord of Glory came here but he was not wanted.

The eyes of man were blinded by their own sin. They never saw any beauty in him.

At his birth their was no room in the inn, which was a foreshadowing of the treatment He was to receive at the hands of men. Shortly after his birth Herod sought to slay Him and 33 years later it was accomplished. Again and again His enemies attempted his destruction. But only when the Son of God yielded Himself up into their hands did it happen.

After a mock trial where his judges found no fault in Him they yielded to the insistent clamouring of those who hated Him as they cried again and again, “Crucify Him”.

A death of intense suffering and shame was decided upon. A cross had been secured: the Savior had been nailed on it. And there He hung silent. But soon his pallid lips are seen to move. Is He crying for pity? No. What then? Is He pronouncing malediction upon His crucifiers? No. He is praying, praying for His enemies.

“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” Luke 23:34

The first of the seven cross-sayings of our Lord present Him in the attitude of prayer. How significant! His public ministry had opened with prayer (Luke 3:21) and here we see it closing in prayer. Surely He had left us an example!

No longer might those hands minister to the sick, for they are nailed to the Cross; no longer may those feet carry Him on errands of mercy, for they are fastened to the cruel tree; no longer may He engage in instructing the apostles, for they have forsaken Him and fled.

Perhaps you may relate to these lines. Maybe by reason of age and sickness you are no longer able to work actively in the Lord’s vineyard. Possibly in days gone by, you were a teacher, you were a preacher, a Sunday School teacher, a tract distributor: but now you are bed-ridden. Who knows what God is leaving you here a few more days to engage in the Ministry of Prayer – and perhaps accomplish more by this than by all your past active service. If you are tempted to be discouraged remember your Savior. He prayed, prayed for others, prayed for sinners, even in His last hours.

In the text . . .

Here we see the fulfillment of the prophetic word.

That Christ should make intercession for His enemies was one of the items of the wonderful prophecy found in Isaiah 53. This chapter tells us at least ten things about the humiliation and suffering of the Redeemer.

It declared that He should be despised and rejected of men;
that He should be a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
that He should be a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
that He should be wounded, bruised and chastised;
that He should be led, unresistingly, to slaughter;
that He should be dumb before His shearers;
that He should not only suffer at the hands of man but also be brusied by the Lord;
that He should pour out His soul unto death;
that He should be buried in a rich man’s tomb; and then it was added,
that He would be numbered with trangressors.

Here then was the prophecy – “and made intercession for the transgressors;” there was the fulfillment of it – “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” He thought of His murderers. He pleaded for His crucifiers; He made intercession for their forgiveness.

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

In this text we also can see . . .

The blindness of the human heart.

“They know no what they do.” This does not mean that the enemies of Christ were ignorant of the fact of His crucifixion. They did know full well that they had cried out, “Crucify Him.” They did know full well that their vile request had been granted them by Pilate. They did know full well that He had been nailed to the tree for they were eye-witnesses of the crime.

What then did the Lord mean when He said, “They know not what they do?” He meant they were ignorant of the enormity of their crime. They “knew not” that it was the Lord of Glory they were crucifying. The emphasis is not on “They know not” but on “they know not what they do.”

And yet they ought to have known. Their blindness was inexcusable.

The Old Testament prophecies were sufficiently plain to identify Him as the Holy One of God. His teaching was unique, for His very critics were forced to admit, “Never man spake like this man” (John 7:46). And what of his perfect life. He had lived before men a life which had never been lived on earth before. He pleased not Himself. He went about doing good. There was no self seeking about Him. His was a life of self sacrifice from beginning to end. His was a life lived to the glory of God. His was a life on which was stamped Heaven’s approval, for the Father’s voice testified audibly, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

No there was no excuse for ignorance. It only demonstrated the blindness of their hearts. Their rejection of the Son of God bore full witness, once for all, that the carnal mind is “at enmity against God.”

How sad to think this terrible tragedy is still being repeated! Sinner you know what you are doing is neglecting God’s great salvation. You little know how awful is the sin of slighting the Christ of God and spurning the invitations of His mercy.

You little know the deep guilt which is attached to your act of refusing to receive the only One who can save you from your sins. You little know how fearful is the crime of saying, “We will not have this man to reign over us.” (Luke 19:14) You know not what you do.

You regard the vital issue with callous indifference. The question comes today as it did in days of old, “What shall I do with Jesus which is called Christ?” (Matthew 27:22) for you have to do something with Him.

Either you despise and reject Him, or you receive Him as the Savior of your soul and the Lord of your life.

It would seem that you see it as a matter of little importance. For years you have resisted the strivings of the His Spirit. For years you have shelved the all important consideration. For years you have steeled your heart against Him, closed your ears to His appeals, and shut your eyes to His surpassing beauty. Oh! you know not what you do. You are blind to your madness. Blind to your terrible sin. You may be saved now if you will. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” (Acts 16:31) O come to the Savior now and say just like blind Bartimaeus, “Lord that I might receive my sight.” (Mark 10:51)