Photo by The Metropolitan Museum of Art on Unsplash

(Luke 23:33-34 KJV) And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. [34] Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

Our Lord Jesus came from Heaven to this earth to bring the Word of God to us. Jesus preached His first sermon to the devil in the wilderness. As Satan tempted Him, Jesus repeatedly replied “It is written” (Matthew 4:4-10). After John the Baptist was imprisoned by Herod, Jesus preached:

(Matthew 4:17 KJV) Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

In Nazareth, Jesus’ hometown, He preached in the Synagogue that He was the Messiah that Israel had been waiting for (Luke 4:16-21). Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) while sitting on a mountainside. When Jesus preached His Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:17-49) He was standing on level ground. Jesus preached in the Temple. He preached in the streets. He preached parables.

Preach: To shut Jesus up, religious hypocrites and crooked politicians had Jesus executed by crucifixion. Crucifixion was a method of public execution reserved for the worst of criminals. Large 7 inch long spikes were driven through the wrists, tearing the median nerve. Spikes were also driven through the feet, impaling the plantar nerves. Before being pinned to the Cross, the criminal was beaten with whips and canes. King David prophesied the horror of what Jesus went through in:

(Psalm 22:6-8 NKJV) But I AM A WORM, AND NO MAN; A reproach of men, and DESPISED BY THE PEOPLE. [7] All those who see Me RIDICULE ME; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, [saying], [8] “HE TRUSTED IN THE LORD, LET HIM RESCUE HIM; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”

The Prophet Isaiah also declared …

(Isaiah 53:2-3 NKJV) … He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, [There is] NO BEAUTY THAT WE SHOULD DESIRE HIM. [3] He is DESPISED AND REJECTED by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, [our] faces from Him; HE WAS DESPISED, and WE DID NOT ESTEEM HIM.

Preach: Beaten with rods and whips, the Messiah did not even look human. His visage was marred. He was a mass of blood and open wounds. The crucified were stripped naked to further shame them, and the Messiah was no exception. There was a crowd there that day watching the Man in the middle. What they said and did was without pity.

(Luke 23:35-37 KJV) And the PEOPLE STOOD BEHOLDING. And the rulers also with them derided [him], saying, He saved others; LET HIM SAVE HIMSELF, IF HE BE THE CHRIST, the Chosen of God. [36] And the SOLDIERS ALSO MOCKED HIM, coming to Him, and offering Him vinegar, [37] And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself.

Preach: Those crucified did not die of blood loss. The spikes caused excruciating pain, but effectively sealed the holes they made in His hands and feet. The primary cause of death was usually asphyxiation – by slow suffocation. Hanging by the arms you could inhale, but you could only exhale by pulling yourself up on shredded wrists and spiked feet. When a person became exhausted they could no longer do this – and they would suffocate.

Jesus would preach seven short sermons from His cross. Each sermon would require that Jesus pull Himself upright so He could breath and speak. Hounded throughout His ministry, unjustly accused, and illegally executed – what would Jesus preach from the Cross? Would He call for His enemies to be defeated? Would He ask that the criminals that made Him a criminal be punished? The mockers that stand at the foot of the Cross, will Jesus damn them? His lips move. Is He crying out for mercy for Himself, crying out that pain be removed? That’s what you and I would do. But no, Jesus is doing – as usual – the unexpected.

Jesus PRAYED For His Enemies

In the midst of the mocking, the shame of His nakedness, the spitting, our Lord Jesus prays. He pulls Himself up on the spikes and says:

Luke 23:34 Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

The first Sermon Jesus preached from the Cross shows our Lord in prayer. Jesus’ entire life on this earth was characterized by prayer. When Jesus was baptized …

(Luke 3:21-22 KJV) … Jesus also being baptized, AND PRAYING, the heaven was opened, [22] And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

Jesus prayed! Jesus prayed as He went under the water, and prayed as He came out. Baptized in water, the Holy Spirit likewise covered Him, while the Father praised Him. “YOU ARE MY BELOVED SON – My only Son – and I am WELL PLEASED WITH YOU”. As Jesus ministered and brought healing on earth, He prayed. As Jesus traveled, He prayed. The Bible says:

(Luke 11:1 KJV) And it came to pass, that, as JESUS WAS PRAYING IN A CERTAIN PLACE, when He ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, TEACH US TO PRAY, as John also taught his disciples.

The disciples that followed Jesus are all but gone. The Apostle John is there, with Mary His mother. But all the others have abandoned Him. Peter, who swore he would never abandon Jesus, denied Him three times – wept bitterly – then ran away (Matthew 26:75). What does Jesus do? He prays. He is not bitter. He prays.

Luke 23:34 Father, forgive them…

As they mocked Him, Jesus prayed for them. I have heard people despair of the hard heartedness of sinners. Jesus did not believe anyone was beyond the hope of prayer. Before Jesus went to the Cross, He prayed for us all. Praying for His disciples first, He then prayed:

(John 17:20-21 KJV) Neither pray I for these alone, BUT FOR THEM ALSO WHICH SHALL BELIEVE ON ME THROUGH THEIR WORD; [21] That THEY MAY ALL BE ONE; as thou, Father, [art] in Me, and I in Thee, that THEY ALSO MAY BE ONE IN US: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

Though nearly all mocked Jesus and were entertained by His suffering, He prayed for them. Jesus prayed for us all before we ever knew Him.

How do I know that Jesus and Jesus alone is the One and Only Messiah, the Representative of God? Because He prayed from that Cross not for the “good”, but for those who were pure evil. He did not pray for their judgment, but for their forgiveness.

It was prophesied of the Messiah:

(Isaiah 53:12 KJV) He hath poured out His soul unto death: and He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many, and MADE INTERCESSION FOR THE TRANSGRESSORS.

The Messiah would “pour out His soul unto death”. Though they nailed Jesus to the Cross, no man killed Him. Jesus “lay down His life for His sheep” (John 10:15). “Hereby perceive we the love of God, BECAUSE HE LAID DOWN HIS LIFE FOR US” (1 John 3:16). He poured out His soul. He was numbered with the transgressors. Three died on that Hill called Calvary, but only Jesus was without sin. Jesus died on that Cross to “bare the sin of many”. He died suffering for your sins and mine. And Jesus “MADE INTERCESSION FOR THE TRANSGRESSORS”. He prayed for His enemies. He prays for us yet today when we fail Him. The Scripture says:

(Hebrews 7:25-27 KJV) Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, SEEING HE EVER LIVETH TO MAKE INTERCESSION FOR THEM. [26] For such an high priest became us, [who is] holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; [27] Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for THIS HE DID ONCE, WHEN HE OFFERED UP HIMSELF.

This Is The First Time Jesus Asked
The Father To Forgive

Luke 23:34 Father, forgive them…

When Jesus walked this earth, He never prayed that the Father forgive anyone’s sins. Jesus forgave sins. The Bible tells us that when four friends brought a paralyzed man to Jesus for healing, that they could not get to Jesus because the place He was in was packed with people. So they carried their friend to the rooftop, and opening a hole in the roof, lowered their friend down to Jesus. The Bible says:

(Mark 2:5-7 NKJV) When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “SON, YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN YOU.” [6] And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, [7] “Why does this [Man] speak blasphemies like this? WHO CAN FORGIVE SINS BUT GOD ALONE?”

“WHO CAN FORGIVE SINS BUT GOD ALONE?”. When Jesus was invited to Simon the Pharisee’s home a woman known as a sinner came and washed His feet. The Bible says:

(Luke 7:48-50 NKJV) {Jesus} said to her, “YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN.” [49] And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “WHO IS THIS WHO EVEN FORGIVES SINS?” [50] Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

When questioned as to why He Himself could forgive sins, when only God can forgive sins, Jesus said:

(Matthew 9:6 NKJV) … the SON OF MAN {a term for the Messiah} HAS POWER ON EARTH TO FORGIVE SINS”…

At all other times Jesus Himself forgave sins. As Peter would later preach, “JESUS IS THE ONE APPOINTED BY GOD TO BE THE JUDGE of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:42). The Apostle Paul (2 Timothy 4:1) also said the same thing. And Jesus told us:

(John 5:22, 24 NKJV) For THE FATHER JUDGES NO ONE, but has COMMITTED ALL JUDGMENT TO THE SON, … [24] “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

Jesus granted forgiveness while He was on the earth. But now, “lifted UP FROM THE EARTH” (John 12:32), Jesus is on that Cross not as God, but as Perfect Man. He cannot forgive sin while being made sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus intercedes for sinners – but cannot forgive. The Father must forgive.

Jesus lowered Himself from God to Perfect Man to pay for our sins on that horrid Cross. The reason that Jesus gave in asking the Father to forgive was:

Luke 23:34 Father, forgive them; for THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO.

Sin usually brings with it ignorance. When Adam sinned, he had no idea that his action would bring death on all his children. Sin looks like a good idea at the time – but has unintended consequences that lead to death. When they brought Jesus before Pilate to be executed we read:

Luke 23:1 … the whole multitude of them arose, and led him unto Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse Him, saying, We found this fellow PERVERTING THE NATION, and FORBIDDING TO GIVE TRIBUTE to Cæsar, saying that HE HIMSELF IS CHRIST A KING.

They thought that by their action they were getting rid of a mere Rabbi from Nazareth. They claimed that Jesus was a Zealot, Someone plotting the overthrow of the nation of Rome. They were purposely blind and ignorant of Who Jesus actually was. The Apostle Paul wrote:

(1 Corinthians 2:7-8 NKJV) But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden [wisdom] which God ordained before the ages for our glory, [8] which NONE OF THE RULERS OF THIS AGE KNEW; for HAD THEY KNOWN, THEY WOULD NOT HAVE CRUCIFIED THE LORD OF GLORY.

Sin had blinded their eyes, and closed their ears. Jesus upset their routine. So their fix was the have this simple Rabbi killed by the state. Problem solved. They had no idea of the enormity of what they were doing. They were killing the very Son of God. They ought to have known Who they were killing. When they heard Jesus preach, the Temple Police said:

(John 7:46 NKJV) “NO MAN EVER SPOKE LIKE THIS MAN!”

When the crowds heard Jesus preach,

(Luke 4:32 NKJV) they were astonished at His teaching, for HIS WORD WAS WITH AUTHORITY.

Everything Jesus said and did was marked by His Lordship. Jesus “CAST OUT DEMONS WITH THE FINGER OF GOD”, proving the He is the King over the Kingdom of God. They saw Jesus’ miracles, and ignoring what He did, demanded a sign. Jesus will give them a sign, the same sign He has given us all. The Bible says:

(Matthew 12:38-40 NKJV) Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, WE WANT TO SEE A SIGN FROM YOU.” [39] But He answered and said to them, “An EVIL AND ADULTEROUS GENERATION SEEKS AFTER A SIGN, and NO SIGN WILL BE GIVEN TO IT EXCEPT THE SIGN OF THE PROPHET JONAH. [40] “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will THE SON OF MAN BE THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE HEART OF THE EARTH.

Preach: As Jesus hung on that Cross, we see the utter horror of the unsaved human heart. Here is a Man Who has done no wrong – but is cast out to die with two criminals. Here is a Man in Whom they could find no sin, but they nailed Him to the tree anyway. Neither Pilate nor Herod found evil in Jesus (Luke 23:13-17). Yet He hangs there struggling to breath anyway. Sin blinds us to the horror of sin. Like the beautiful snake, its bright colors hide the deadly poison within.

We all need the Savior.

We Learn The Truth Of Forgiveness In Jesus’ Sermon

Luke 23:34 THEN said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

Before Jesus was brought to the Cross, He told us:

(Matthew 5:43-45 NKJV) You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ [44] “But I say to you, LOVE YOUR ENEMIES, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and PRAY FOR THOSE WHO SPITEFULLY USE YOU AND PERSECUTE YOU, [45] “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

The Bible teaches that:

(Galatians 3:22-26 LSB) But the SCRIPTURE HAS SHUT UP EVERYONE UNDER SIN, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE. [23] But before faith came, we were held in custody under the Law, being shut up for the coming faith to be revealed. [24] Therefore the Law has become our tutor unto Christ, SO THAT WE MAY BE JUSTIFIED BY FAITH. [25] But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. [26] For YOU ARE ALL SONS OF GOD THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS.

When Jesus prayed “Father, forgive them”, He did not personally forgive them, but He practiced what He preached. As the Son of God He was gracious to His enemies. He prayed that those who harmed Him be forgiven. Now, here’s a good question:

In Matthew 5:44 Jesus did not ask us to FORGIVE our enemies, but to PRAY for them. Forgiveness does not come without REPENTANCE. Jesus said:

(Luke 17:3-4 LSB) Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and IF HE REPENTS, FORGIVE HIM. [4] “And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I REPENT,’ FORGIVE HIM.”

Pastor A.W. Pink put it this way:

“The one who has wronged me must first repent, that is, judge himself for his wrong and give evidence of his sorrow over it. But suppose the offender does not repent? Then I am not to forgive him. But let there be no misunderstanding of our meaning here. Even though the one who has wronged me does not repent, nevertheless I must not harbor ill feelings toward him. There must be no hatred nor malice treasured in the heart. … Does God ever forgive where there is no repentance? No, for scripture declares, ‘IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS, He is FAITHFUL AND JUST TO FORGIVE US OUR SINS and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).”

Were those whom Jesus prayed “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” forgiven? If they repented, yes. If not, absolutely not – and yet Jesus prayed for them anyway.

There is no forgiveness of sin without repentance, without surrendering your life to the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Atonement for our sins. Hanging on that Cross, the Lamb of God prayed for us all. Salvation and peace with God comes only through Him. Three days and three nights later Jesus will sit down and eat a meal with His disciples. He will tell them (and us):

(Luke 24:44-47 LSB) These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” [45] Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, [46] and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that THE CHRIST WOULD SUFFER AND RISE AGAIN FROM THE DEAD THE THIRD DAY, [47] and that REPENTANCE FOR FORGIVENESS OF SINS would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

When Jesus prayed “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing”, He prayed for their forgiveness – but they were not forgiven unless they repented. Dear friends, have YOUR sins been forgiven? Are you one of the blessed who can say,

(Ephesians 1:7 LSB) In {Jesus} WE HAVE REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD, the FORGIVENESS of our transgressions, ACCORDING TO THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE

Oh, how God loves you and me! We sing this song, and can barely comprehend what Jesus did for us on that Cross.

Oh, how He loves you and me, Oh how He loves you and me.
He gave His life, what more could He give?

Oh, how He loves you; Oh, how He loves me;
Oh, how He loves you and me.

Jesus to Calvary did go, His love for sinners to show.
What He did there brought hope from despair.
Oh, how He loves you; Oh, how He loves me;
Oh, how He loves you and me.

When Samson came to the end of his life – tied to two pillars in a coliseum – he prayed for his enemies. His prayer was:

(Judges 16:28 NKJV) O Lord GOD, REMEMBER ME, I PRAY! Strengthen me, I PRAY, just this once, O God, that I MAY WITH ONE BLOW TAKE VENGEANCE on the Philistines…

He prayed to kill his enemies. And God gave him strength to do so. When the Evangelist Stephen was being stoned to death by the Jews, notice that he prayed for himself first:

(Acts 7:59-60 NKJV) And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on [God] and saying, “LORD JESUS, RECEIVE MY SPIRIT.” [60] Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “LORD, DO NOT CHARGE THEM WITH THIS SIN.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Stephen prayed for himself FIRST, then for his enemies LAST. But when Jesus prayed, He prayed for His enemies first. “We love Him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Jesus loved us while we were still His enemies. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). In fact, Jesus loved us even before the world was created (Ephesians 1:4-5). Will you not come to Him this very day? Will you not repent, and cling to Him Who prayed for you on the Cross? Look to the sign that Jesus has given you. Look to the Cross, to the empty Tomb. Run to Him while you can. Give Him your life – TODAY. Amen.