FORGIVE THEM
Final words make a world of difference and are sometimes the most important words to hold on to. While Jesus hang from His crucifixion cross He shared seven sayings that are still just as relevant today as the day He uttered them. The first one is found in Luke 23:34 “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
Look at this macabre crowd as they stand around to observe the crucifixion of our Lord. They are there to witness the spectacle but could hardly know that it was the greatest act of love rendered on their behalf. The One who had claimed to be God in flesh appears to be at the mercy of a Roman executioner. This Jesus who had restored sight to the blind, unstopped deaf ears, fed the multitudes, walked on water, made the wind and the waves be still, raised Lazarus from the dead and stopped a widow woman from Nain who was at the city gate to bury her son. There, He snatches his life back from the snaggle-tooth grin of death at the last moment. This Jesus who after being laughed to scorn raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead now is Himself, about to die at the hands of inferior men. All while Roman soldiers cast lots for the garment of our Lord.
With so much going on around Him and so many disregarding His deity, He still manages to say Father forgive them for they know not what they do.
He does so because He recognizes our deepest need…the need for forgiveness and to be absolved from guilt.
· Universal need: Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Every one of us need God’s forgiveness.
· Personal need: We are aware of our own shortcomings. We all need a Savior who will personally forgive us for our personal failures and faults that have nothing to do with anyone else’s issues.
· Christians need to forgive others: How can we claim Christ if we aren’t willing to let others out of the prison of your personal opinions? 1 John 1:8 “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” If you are unwilling to forgive, you compromise your Christian witness and the bible says we are liars.
This is exactly why we should forgive others…because He has forgiven us. The saddest truth I know is that many people walk around still hanging on to guilt that His blood has cleansed us from. Let it go because He has forgiven you… You ask me how I know. Look at the very next verse in 1 John 1… He says in verse 9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Leading psychologists seem to agree that at the heart of most people’s emotional problems is unresolved guilt. I will tell you from a spiritual perspective that if you do not walk in the forgiveness that Jesus’ blood has paid for then you will never truly experience walking in the joy of the Lord.
Today, make a commitment to let yourself and others off the hook and forgive as He has forgiven us!