Father, forgive them

Luke 23:26-49

Key verse: 34a, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to this afternoon’s message on Luke 23:26-49. In this message, I would like to address two very important questions which call out to us after reading this passage, questions that are fundamental to life and to our relationship with God. They are: 1) Are you forgiven? And 2) Do you have the confidence that when you die you will go to heaven? Most encouraging, is that we find the answers to these questions in the words Jesus spoke on the cross. So lets us begin in looking at this passage.

Before I begin let me pray.

Part 1: Father, forgive them

In the passage we read, we find ourselves in the midst of Jesus’ crucifixion. It says in verse 26, “As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.” Jesus is being led out to be crucified because in the previous part of this chapter, he was betrayed by his close disciple, Judas Iscariot. He was then taken in by the Pharisees and teachers of the law to be condemned. Their intent was to get Jesus killed, and they did exactly that. Jesus was condemned by Pontius Pilot to be crucified.

Carrying a cross is not an easy task. In fact, a cross during those days would have weighed around 150 lbs. And before carrying the cross, most criminals were beaten and whipped. So Jesus was also beaten and whipped. All the pain he had just received made the cross ever more burdensome. Jesus used all his strength to carry the cross, but when he was drained of all his energy, he needed assistance. That is why the soldiers seized Simon from Cyrene to carry the cross for Jesus.

Along the way, close friends of Jesus followed him. Among those friends were women, mourning and wailing for Jesus. They were morning and wailing for Jesus because they saw how much pain he was going through. But look at the way Jesus responded to their sorrowful hearts. Let’s read verses 28 through 31 responsively please. Okay I’ll start, “28 Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 Then ‘“they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’ 31 For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”” Thank you. So what is Jesus saying here? Jesus’ intention is to warn the women, or the whole world for that matter, to be concerned over for their own spiritual suffering, not the physical suffering he is going through. For the prophecy Jesus recites in verse 30 points out how people will plead to be destroyed by mountains and hills, rather than face the greater pain which comes from God’s judgment upon there sinful lives. As in the case of these crying women, Jesus sees how easily we accept defeat brought on by our sinful lives. Lack of concern for our sinful lives may lead to great sadness and self-condemnation. This defeated mindset may then lead to thoughts of suicide, wherein a person can no longer bear the reality of their depressing situation and/or their sinful lives, so they decide to kill themselves. Either being fatalistic or the type who are consumed by the suffering of others, Jesus does not want us to think this way. God’s judgment is at hand, put there is still hope. Remember! Jesus came to call sinners to repentance, as Greg Cocco’s message proclaimed. So let us run to Jesus to be healed, while there is still time. I pray that we may all realize how critical the situation is between us and God.

Finally, Jesus makes it up the mountain where he is to be executed. Look at verses 32 to 33: “Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals-one on his right, the other on his left.” Jesus was crucified. This is probably the worst physical pain Jesus had ever gone through. Large nails were driven through his hands and feet. And may I remind that death by crucifixion was a slow and agonizing process. Jesus hung on that cross for hours, slowly dying from suffocation and severe blood loss. Not only was the cross physically painful, but also extremely humiliating. Jesus was humiliated when he was stripped of his clothes and nailed along side other criminals. And here Jesus was advertised to the whole world as a horrible sinner, when in fact Jesus was blameless and without sin. Then why? Why did Jesus subject himself to all this pain and humiliation? We can find out why in the words Jesus spoke next.

In the last hours of his life, and with whatever ounce of strength he had left, Jesus cried out one of the most meaningful statements we will ever hear in our lives. Can we read verse 34a together please? Okay let’s go: “Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”” Father, forgive them?! A few moments ago Jesus was beaten and whipped, stripped of his clothes, and nailed to a cross. Soldiers down below were even casting lots, that is, gambling for his clothes, while he was hanging there, dying on the cross. Yet why is Jesus now praying to the Father, God the Father, for the forgiveness of the people who have caused him so much pain and humiliation? Simply this is the love of God. Jesus is not just praying to the Father for the forgiveness of the people in this event, but all people, even for us here tonight. In this prayer, Jesus is asking the Father to forgive us because this had been the plan for Jesus’ life, to save sinners. Anyone who has caused God the Father pain when they sinned against him are just as bad as the people who betrayed Jesus, rallied for his crucifixion, nailed him to a cross, and bet money for his clothes. In this prayer, Jesus is also asking the Father to forgive the people who “do not know what they are doing”, that is, the unbelieving and ignorant people before God. However, this shows that either being conscious or unconscious of sin, it is still sin and in need of forgiveness. So, the truth of the matter is, we all need to be forgiven, for we have all sinned against God. And what sin creates is enmity within God upon us. The effect of enmity is a broken relationship with God, for sinners are unable to be in the presence of God’s holiness. Sin is literally the enemy of God. Therefore, the un-forgiven state of sinners is that of being spiritual dead and eternally separated from God’s presence. We all know personally what it’s like to be in an un-forgiven state or broken relationship. Maybe we have had a falling out with our parents, friends, or loved ones, where only forgiveness would bring us back together. But thanks be to God, for this is reason of Jesus’ life, to secure forgiveness between us and God. In the Old Covenant sacrificial system, priests would have to sacrifice animals to secure forgiveness for the sins of God’s people, the Israelites. And by the shedding of the blood of animals, was God able to continue to dwell with his people. However, this forgiveness only lasted for a short amount of time, as the people would quickly sin again, and again, and again. But by God’s grace were we given the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. By God’s love he sent his one and only son Jesus Christ who willingly shed his blood on the cross for us. Because Jesus died on the cross like this, our Heavenly Father is able to forgive us of all our sins. So in this short yet profoundly meaning prayer, Jesus intervened on our behalf because of our hopeless, unbelieving, and terribly sinful condition. For no one else, but Jesus Christ, could have spoken those loving and compassionate words on the cross: “Father, forgiven them!”

So then, if Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins, what type of impact does this have in our everyday lives? One great example of the change which occurs in an individual upon realizing that they are truly forgiven is of my life. This story is about the life I used to live, and the life I now live in God’s forgiveness. I remember a time when I thought of himself as the most sinful person. For one of the biggest sins I struggled with was pornography. This sin brought me so much guilt and self-condemnation, that I felt completely ruined and without hope. And for a long time I felt depressed about my own inability to overcome this sin and be perfect in the eyes of God. However, the fact that I am even able to reveal this story to all of you here today is clearly a testament to the fact that I now live a forgiven life. It was after reflecting on the grace of God in my life, and how Jesus received the punishment for my sins, did a dramatic change occur in my life. I liken this new life to being born again. I remember it quit well when I was born again. It was after one of the group bible studies I was involved in that I began to meditate on the grace of God. And after realizing just horribly sinful I was, and how Jesus is so innocent, yet he received the full wrath of God on that cross, was I changed. All my sins were absorbed by Jesus on that cross. He paid the price for my sins. Therefore, there is no work I need to do to be forgiven, just simply believe in Jesus. Today, I am who I am, up here on this stage. The forgiven life I now live is a life where I feel no shame in revealing my sins before a large crowd, because I know with confidence that I am truly forgiven in the eyes of God. So I give all my praise and thanks to God for his forgiveness which is not based on how perfect I can be, but by his grace alone. Since being born again, I now live the life I was meant to live for God. I have dedicated my life to God in preaching this gospel of grace to college students at Cal State Long Beach in the hope that I may help them understand how forgiving and awesome our God is.

Part II: Today you will be with me in paradise

So now we understand why Jesus had to die on the cross for us, but where does this put us in the whole realm of things? What I believe will best help us understand things is to reflect upon the situation with the two criminals who were led out with Jesus. In this situation, what we really see is the big decision all of us face today, that is, how do we react to Jesus’ death on the cross?

The pain of the cross did not end after Jesus spoke these words of forgiveness. The crowd, the soldiers, and even one of the criminals crucified near Jesus began to take advantage of his helpless situation by mocking him and tempting him to save himself. Look at the end of verse 35. The rulers said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” Then look at 36. The soldiers said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” Finally, in verse 39 one of the criminals said, “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” Wow! This is intense. Jesus was both God and man. He had the same tendencies in his heart, like we do, when we are confronted by difficult situations, that is, we instinctively want to defend our reputation and save ourselves. But did Jesus act on those tendencies? No! The fact that he stayed on that cross is truly a description of his heart for the world. Three times the world pointed out how the Christ and king of the Jews should save himself, but this is not our Christ and our king, our Lord and Savior came to save us, not himself.

After hearing all this, the other criminal who was crucified near Jesus responded in a very interesting way. It says in verse 40, “But the other criminal rebuke him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?” Then in verse 41 it says, “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”” In a much unexpected way, this criminal was defending Jesus. It is strange because, in other gospels, this criminal was said to have at first mocked Jesus as well. But I believe a dramatic change occurred in the heart of this criminal for him to say such a thing. I believe he felt deep down inside that he and the other criminal are truly guilty of the horrible deeds they committed, truly deserving of their execution, but his man Jesus, is innocent. Most importantly, what we see hear is a turning of ones mind upon accepting the words Jesus spoke. He believed that Jesus had done nothing wrong.

Look at what happens next. Verse 42 reads, “Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Wow! This is surprising. Even with his sinful past, the criminal asked Jesus to remember him in his kingdom. He believed that Jesus has the authority to allow him to enter his kingdom. Therefore we can see that he truly believed that Jesus is the Christ, and king of heaven. What this criminal ultimately did was put his faith in the saving power of Jesus. But we must remember that this response of the criminal’s heart was really a response to Jesus’ great love for the world in asking the Father to forgive us. Through Jesus’ love was the criminal able to repent. Through Jesus’ love did the criminal acquire faith. And what response did Jesus give him? Let’s read verse 43 together please. Okay let’s go: “Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” Wow! Again this is truly amazing. A terribly sinful criminal is now being promise paradise with Jesus. It was described in other gospels that robbery led this criminal to be crucified. But did this sin of stealing stop Jesus from promising him paradise? No! The fact of the matter is we are forgiven because Jesus has paid the ultimate price for all our sins, even the most horrible ones we can think of. Lying, stealing, hatred, lustful desires, cursing, and simply not believing, these are all horrible sins we’ve committed against God. However, since Jesus gave his life as a sacrifice for us, we can be forgiven of all our sins. So it is clear that when Jesus promised the criminal paradise, was the criminal also forgiven of his sins. That is why we need Jesus so dearly in our lives. Just look at Jesus’ response. Jesus responded to the criminals cry for salvation and immediately promised him paradise. This is how we can be confident in heaven, simply by our faith in Jesus’ promise. Jesus is patiently waiting for you to call out to him. I pray that we personally call out to Jesus if we are in need of salvation as well.

Now, after the situation with Jesus and the repentant criminal, darkness came over the whole land. Finally, in one momentous event two things happened. It says that in verse 45b, “the curtain of the temple was torn in two”, and in verse 46 Jesus cried out, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit”. What is the significance of the temple curtain? The temple curtain during those days is what separated sinful man from the eternal presence and holiness of God. Again, sinners are unable to reside in the presence of God, for sin is the enemy of God. In fact, if a person tried to enter the most holy place of God with a sinful heart, they would be destroyed by God’s holy presence. But when Jesus breathed his last breath, the work of Christ was complete. God saw it unnecessary to have a temple curtain separating us from him. The very moment the curtain was torn in two was the very moment we were restored to our Heavenly Father. So then, if man had been restored to the Father when the curtain was torn, this only confirms that Jesus’ mission was successfully completed. That is why Jesus confidently committed his spirit to the Father. And by committing his spirit to the Father, Jesus was also declaring to the whole world, that there is nothing more to be done in saving mankind from sin and death.

The power of forgiveness displayed was so great that it touched the heart of the centurion who stood underneath the cross. Look at verse 47. It says that, “The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” Either this was a complete change or possibly the spark towards the life of faith; this centurion saw the love of Jesus on that cross. Finally, at the end of chapter 23, we read that Jesus was buried by Joseph of Arimathea in a tomb cut into a rock. The physical ministry of Jesus Christ was over, but his Spirit of salvation was yet to begin in the hearts of all believers.

So the question still stands: Are you forgiven? And Do you have the confidence that when you die you will go to heaven? You really need to ask yourselves these questions. Jesus wants for you to be forgiven. Jesus wants for you to be with him in paradise. That is why he prayed to the Father while you still a sinner. That is why he laid down his life for you. So if you want be forgiven, all you need to do is just what the repentant criminal did, call out to Jesus. Jesus has paid the price for the forgiveness of your sins, and only after accepting this will you be saved. May the Spirit of God continue to work in our hearts throughout the rest of this conference. Thank you.

One Word: Father, forgive them

Let me pray.