Father, Forgive Them, For They Know Not What They Do

11-23-25

Hoonah-Hadley

Luke 23:33-43

Call to Worship Psalm 46

Daily Verse Luke 23:34

Father, Forgive Them, For They Know Not What They Do

“Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ And they divided His garments and cast lots.” There never seems an easy time to preach on Christs’ crucifixion, however, the gospel message is appropriate all the time, and this verse is a daily reminder of how massive forgiveness is in God’s economy. It seems no matter our conversation, whether in the flesh, or in the spirit, these ten red letter words keep everything in perspective. That is to say, we, humanity, in general, are complainers and fault finders, some more than others. Like the Pharisee that prayed to himself, we are self-centered, selfish, and find that what most aisles us is do someone else’s weakness or sinful nature. There’s little we can argue about our weakness or sinful nature, you can sit in front of the idiot box on a Sunday watching the NFL and see it displayed on a grand scale. It can be found most anywhere, anytime and in endless manners. When we go out the door, get on the highways and byways of life, we all move at different speeds for different reasons, in different directions, and like the Pharisee, we’re quick to find offense when others get in our way, especially when they take our parking spot or sit in our pew on Sunday. You remember the old phone books, the Yellow Pages? Used to be about 1% of the Yellow Pages where lawyers. Today’s Yellow Pages, lawyers take up about 75% of the entire book. At some point in life most of us will find ourselves on one end of the judge’s hammer or the other. Even the sale of the mother in laws house has to go through probate court. Is it worth the trouble?

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True story, in a foreign country a young fellow got a few parking tickets which he paid no mind to, until he received a summons to court. Once in court, the judge being a woman, asked the fellow to state his case to which he responded with ignorance, suggesting their “No Standing” signs meant no loitering, not no parking. To which the honorable judge slammed her hammer down and said, “Ignorance is no excuse, pay the fine.” To which the young fellow responded, “Yes Mam.” The first item of business this morning with these red letters is, that we, humanity, in general, are most always in some measure of ignorance or another. And often times it lends itself to our appearing before a judge. Has anyone ever had a police officer ask them this question: “Do you know how fast you were going?” Of course you do. Jesus is pleading with His Father, with His last breath, to forgive those that nailed Him to the cross. Jesus came to forgive, He teaches forgiveness, practiced it, and true to His call, with His last words, begs His Father to forgive us. And I say us because we play a role in His crucifixion, that is, our sinful nature. We can play the details of that day on Calvary’s shore over and over again and ask ourselves, what role we played, but at the end of the matter, He died for us. Did we drive the nails? Did we mock Him? Was it ignorance? Did we stand afar off? Did we deny Him? We’ve all had our turn, running a foul over the landscape, having the time of our life, it may have been ignorance, but in truth, we knew right from wrong, light from darkness, it is more akin to willful disobedience, either way, it’s inexcusable. “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” In light of the gospel truth, all our conversations can begin with this verse and end with it. It’s why God gave His one and only Son. It’s why Jesus came. He didn’t make excuses, play the blame game, take the day off, or quit.

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We are offensive by nature, we are either offending or being offended. We will all stand before “The Judge” eventually.  2 Cor. 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what they have done, whether good or bad.” We have been, are presently, and will be in need of forgiveness. Not only do we need it daily, but we need to give it. Matt. 6:12 as part of the Lord’s prayer, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Forgiveness is at the heart of the matter. The Gaither’s, Because He Lives: “God sent His Son—they called Him Jesus; He came to love, heal and forgive; He lived and died to buy my pardon; an empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.” These 10 red letter words in Luke 23:34 should be preached on more often, but they need to be written on the tablet of our hearts and find us on our knees daily recognizing our need for forgiveness but also praising Him, blessing Him for His pleading on our behalf. “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” He literally prayed for us while we crucified Him. Lord have mercy on our ungrateful souls. If we are repeating ourselves here, there is a reason for it, Christ came to forgive, He taught forgiveness, preached it, gave it, and with His last breath finished the thing for which He was sent. Luke 2:10-11 “Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’” Forgiveness is the heart of our salvation, it’s who Christ is, it’s why He came, for you, and for me, “For there is born to you this day…a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” At 12 years old He was found in the temple, his reply to his distressed parents, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” It’s His business.

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“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Question, has anyone been as offended as Christ was? I mean, arrested, tried and convicted without cause? Mocked, spit upon, stripped, beaten and forced to carry the cross up hill to die a criminal’s death? Have you had nails driven through your hands and feet to an old, rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame? Was your cross hoisted in the air, slammed into place adding insult to injury? Was it set between two criminals deserving death? Where you the center of public ridicule by false witnesses without due justice and any evidence to support your sentence? Was a crown of thorns pressed onto your head, the blood running into your eyes, down your body soaking the very earth you created? Was your mother there to witness the crucifixion that would darken the skies? Was a spear run into your side, the final blow that would drain the life blood out of you, leaving at best a minute or so to consider your last breath, your last words? In your final moments of life, did your Father turn His back on you, forsaking you? Psalm 22:1 and Matthew 27:45-46 “Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama Sabathani?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?’”  Do you know that with Christ’s final words, “Father forgive them…”, He was pleading for you and me? Do you know that your inexcusable ignorance drove those nails into your Saviors hands and feet? It was for your sin the spear pierced His side, and it was for your justification that Jesus Christ pleaded, “Father, forgive them…” Did you know that when Jesus said, “It is finished!” your fine was paid? Did you know that Christ’s crucifixion is your salvation? Who do you need to forgive and to whom do you need to ask forgiveness? Get it taken care of straight away. Amen.