Cross Words - The Cries of Jesus From the Cross
1 - Free and Full Forgiveness
Luke 23 Verses 26 to 34 - “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”
The writer and novelist and social critic Charles Dickens said “I commit my soul to the mercy of God.”
The scientist Michael Faraday said “I’m going to be with Christ.”
The preacher John Wesley said “God is with me.”
The evangelist D.L. Moody said “earth receding, heaven opening, God is calling.”
That’s what they said in the face of death.
The greatest person who ever lived also spoke in the face of death; in fact He spoke seven times, the seven sayings from the cross.
Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing; assuredly I say to you today you will be with me in Paradise; woman behold you son and son behold your mother; My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? I thirst; it is finished, and finally, into Your hand I commit My spirit
We could call these the cross words of Jesus.
The first of these cross words is recorded in Luke 23:34. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”
We’ll call this full and free forgiveness.
To begin with: Full and free forgiveness, the place. Verse 33 tells us He came to a place called Calvary and they crucified Him and that’s when He cried Father forgive them.
Calvary or in Hebrew Golgotha means place of a skull or skull hill. It’s situated just outside Jerusalem quarter of a mile from the Damascus gate. It’s where they regularly executed criminals and terrorists. Enemies of Rome put to death there for all to see and fear.
And that’s where Jesus hangs between two thieves. One on the right and the other on the left and Jesus is the man in the middle.
Full and free forgiveness, the place. Next, full and free forgiveness, the pain.
Again in verse 33, they crucified Him.
No Roman was ever crucified it was too painful and too shameful.
Josephus, the Jewish historian said, “it was the most wretched of deaths.”
You remember that Jesus has been arrested and mocked, He’s been beaten and crowned with thorns, verbally, publically, mentally, emotionally, illegally, physically abused.
His face is unrecognisable. The Bible says it has been marred more than any man’s. His back is torn; it’s like a ploughed field. His hands and feet have been pierced with nails, 6 inch metal spikes. His side is bleeding; His bones are out of joint as He endures one of the most horrific forms of death anyone could suffer.
Full and free forgiveness, the pain. And then full and free forgiveness, prayer.
You’d expect Him to cry out for vengeance. To scream for justice.
Usually when someone was crucified they would curse their captors.
But Jesus doesn’t cry for vengeance, nor does He scream for justice. He doesn’t curse His captors. Instead He prays. He prays for their forgiveness.
You remember when He preached the Sermon on the Mount, He said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of God. Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth.” And then later on He said this, “love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who persecute you.”
Well Jesus practices what He preaches. That’s exactly what He’s doing here. He’s praying for His persecutors. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Full and free forgiveness, the prayer. Next, full and free forgiveness, the pattern.
In his Gospel, Dr Luke records no less than nine prayers of Jesus.
When He’s baptised, He prays. Before choosing His disciples, He prays. At His transfiguration, He prays. When the pressure’s on, Jesus prays. When He’s under attack, early in the morning, late at night, all night on occasions, Jesus prays. In public, in private, in the garden of Gethsemane, and here on the cross, Jesus prays.
In fact His disciples watched Him and heard Him pray so often that one day they came to Him, in Luke Gospel, chapter 11 and said “Lord teach us to pray.” Why? Because they realised He was expert when it came to prayer. No one prayed like Him.
And of course, what He does in life He now does in death. He prays.
Full and free forgiveness, the pattern. What about the plan?
This cry from the cross takes us right to the very core of the entire Gospel message. The Gospel is all about forgiveness. We can be forgiven. We don’t deserve to be, in fact we deserve the exact opposite.
But the good news, the great news of Jesus Christ is this: our sin, your sin, my sin can be forgiven through His death and by His cross. And only through His death, and only by His cross. Full and free forgiveness, the plan.
Lastly, full and free forgiveness, the principle.
Over in First Peter, chapter 2, verse 21 Peter says this about the cross: “He suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow in His steps.” You see, Jesus suffered a substitutionary death. He died, he suffered in our place. But, according to Peter in that verse, His death was also an exemplary death. In other words, in His death, in His dying, in His suffering, He shows us how to live.
And so, in a real sense, we’re to live the way He died.
And what do we discover? Well, He died forgiving those who sinned against Him. And that’s how were to live. We’re to live forgiving those who sin against us.
On one occasion, Peter said to Jesus, “how many times should I forgive? Seven times?” And Peter thought Jesus would say to him, ‘No, Peter that’s far too much, don’t go overboard.’ But Jesus didn’t say that. Rather He said “I don’t say to you seven times, but I say to you seventy times seven.” In order words, keep on forgiving and forgiving and forgiving and forgiving!
In the book of Acts, chapter 7, Stephen, the first Christian martyr, he’s been stoned, they’re throwing rocks on him, crushing out his life, he knelt down and he prays, ‘Lord don’t charge them with this sin”, and he fell asleep.
Where did Stephen learn that from? Of course, right here from the dying example of Jesus.
So this is the first cry from the cross. The first cross word. “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”
Full and free forgiveness, the place, the pain, the prayer, the pattern, the plan and the principle.
Can I ask you? Does this move you? Are you impacted? Or have you become too familiar with it all. If so ask God melt your heart stir your soul and give you a fresh appreciation of all that Jesus has done for you. Does this move you?
Does this motivate you, to change, to live differently and instead of holding onto grudges and anger and frustrations, to start to forgive.
Does this move you, does this motivate you?
And does this make you, want to pray for your enemies, to pray for those who annoy you, those who hate you, those who hurt you, and to never stop praying for them.
So full and free forgiveness. As He died He cried seven times. The seven sayings of Jesus from the cross. His cross words. His first word “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”