Pastor Tom Johnson, April 10, 2022
“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”
—Luke 23:34
This is the first of seven sayings of Jesus when he was nailed to the Cross. They are astounding words. They are miraculous words. In this moment, Jesus reveals his divine nature—that he is truly “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Exod 34:6).
“Father, forgive them.” Jesus has direct access to the Father. He is speaking from his Sonship as the second Person of the Holy Trinity. The Eternal Son of God intercedes on behalf of those who mock and crucify him. Jesus loves and prays for his enemies just as he commands us. Jesus practices what he preaches.
“Father, forgive them.” Extraordinary. Jesus prays that God the Father forgive those around him who have so wickedly betrayed him, tortured him, mocked him, drove nails into his hands and feet, and dealt a death-blow to him on the cross. They did not pray for forgiveness. They did not ask Jesus to intercede on their behalf. They certainly do not deserve forgiveness. They no doubt deserve the same fate Jesus suffers on the Cross of Calvary.
“Father, forgive them.” Them is not quantified. Them refers to all who are around him. The them that surround him are the religious leaders, politicians, the mobs, the Roman soldiers, Jews and Gentiles, and even those who mourned their loss. Them/They are the nations. They are we. Our sin—our treachery put Jesus of Nazareth to death.
“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” Jesus’ forgiveness is astounding. Our ignorance is also astounding. We do not know what we are doing. Jesus prays for the forgiveness of our thoughtlessness, careless words, and misdeeds—the damage of which we may be blissfully unaware. As the prophet Ezekiel says, “The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse—who can understand it?” No mortal can. None of us understands the depth of our transgressions. Indeed, we are not aware of the death-grip evil can have on our lives. We do not know how devastating our offenses are—on others nor on ourselves. We have no clue how much harm we cause by our sins—sins of commission nor omission. But our ignorance is not innocence.
In recent days, Ukrainian hobbyists who once flew their drones to take pictures and videos featuring the beautiful landscape throughout Ukraine are now revealing the devastation, human atrocities, and alleged war crimes. It should not surprise us when world leaders feign ignorance—when those in power try to gaslight the world. They deny that their missiles, their tanks, and their guns lay waste to homes and lives of innocent people. Indeed, they do not know what they are doing. They do not want to face the reality of what they are doing. Their wanton ignorance is not innocence. We pray, “God remove their guilt along with their ignorance so that they will turn from their evil ways.”
It’s easy for any of us to point fingers. But Jesus does not just pray for those who abused their power to kill an innocent person. His words point to all humanity. That includes all those in human history leading up to the crucifixion and all of humanity that follows. That includes you and me. Like an impaired driver who leaves a trail of casualties and devastation behind, we also do not know what we are doing. We would rather not look into the mirror of the Law that reveals the stain of sin. Our ignorance is not innocence. As we will sing shortly:
Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone thee!
’Twas I, Lord Jesus, I it was denied thee;
I crucified thee.
As the prophet Isaiah writes, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa 53:6). As collective humanity, we fail to understand the harm we cause and the fracture of our relationships with God and with one another. Our sin is woeful ignorance. We are held so captive by sin that we are not even aware of the devastation we have caused. It is mercy that Jesus would even point out our ignorance. It is mercy that Christ would graciously bring our sins out of the shadows into the fullness of his light. It is boundless and unfathomable mercy that Jesus would pray that God forgive us even when we are not even aware of the magnitude of the forgiveness we desperately need. Mercy upon mercy upon mercy. When Jesus is at the brink of suffering a cruel death, we would not expect the victim to pray for the perpetrators of evil! There is truth to the cliché: “To err is human. To forgive is divine” (Alexander Pope, 1711).
This is one of those moments in the suffering and death of Jesus that the light of his grace shines most brightly against the backdrop of our dark inhumanity. It is such good news it sounds too good to be true—for God the Father to answer this prayer of his crucified Son—to forgive all humanity though we are undeserving and unaware! It is through the Cross of Calvary that we most clearly see both the innocent victim and also the true and living God in the flesh of Jesus of Nazareth. We see both the cruelty and devastation of our collective sin and we see the grace, mercy, and love of God the Father and God the Son.
For me, kind Jesus, was thy incarnation,
Thy mortal sorrow, and thy life’s oblation;
Thy death of anguish and thy bitter passion,
For my salvation.
(“Ah, Holy Jesus,” LBW 123, v. 4)
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