Scripture Text
Luke 23:34 (NKJV) Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." And they divided His garments and cast lots.
Intro: The cross gives us a
look at the heart of Jesus for all mankind as He suffered and died
there for our sins. The cross of Christ is the definition of true
grace and love!
I. Jesus' suffering.
Isaiah 53:4-5 (NKJV) 4
Surely He has borne our griefs And
carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God,
and afflicted. 5 But
He was
wounded for our transgressions, He
was bruised for our iniquities; The
chastisement for our peace was
upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
The suffering Jesus did for
our griefs and sorrows began in the garden of Gethsemane where He
sweat great drops of blood mingled with sweat. There was a false
arrest, a horribly unjust trial and He suffered the hatred of the
Jewish religious leaders and the cruel mobs. There was the being
beaten with a lead tipped whip. There was the crown of thorns and the
severity of extreme torture as nails were driven into His hands and
feet. Then He hangs from a rough wooden cross that cut into His back.
He suffered for hours in unspeakable pain and agony as He hung there
on display naked before a jeering, mocking noisy crowd.
He was forsaken by those He
loved the most and by His Father. He died alone, for us.
II. Jesus'
silence. Isaiah 53:7 (NKJV) He
was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He
was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its
shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.
Instead
of cursing and reviling those who were torturing Him, there was no
cry of hatred and vengeance. There was no anger or bitterness, no
appeals for His own rescue. In the face of complete rejection,
injustice, and abuse, we hear words that are even more powerful than
human cruelty. Jesus utters His first words from the cross.
III. Jesus' prayer. [Luke 23:34] Instead of anger and
bitterness Jesus prays, “Father forgive them,
for they do not know what they doing.” 1.
Jesus' prayer was a prayer of forgiveness for those Roman
soldiers who were laughingly tormenting Him and gambling for His
robe. 2. It was a prayer of
forgiveness for the wild mob who cried for His crucifixion.
3. It was a prayer of forgiveness for
Pilate and Herod who gave in to the cries of the mob instead of
pronouncing Him innocent of all charges. 4.
It was a prayer of forgiveness for the Jewish leaders and teachers
who falsely charged Him. 5. It
was a prayer of forgiveness for His closest disciples who were
nowhere to be found in these final hours of His earthly life.
IV. Jesus'
prayer was for you and I. We need His forgiveness also. You may
think, I am not that bad or you may think of many of the good
things you might have done in your life. But what if a book was
written on your life and everything you have ever thought, said, or
done was recorded in it and all PEOPLE could read it. Would you feel
confident about your goodness? Then you know how much Jesus has
forgiven you. The bible says that all of us have sinned and fallen
short of God's glory. The only thing that keeps us from
experiencing God's righteous wrath against our sin is the fact that
Jesus washed away our sins with His precious blood that He shed
that day on that old cruel cross for us. We are the recipients of
His grace that He provided that day on the cross as He prayed for
our forgiveness through His pain, made even more bitter because of
our treacherous sins. “Romans 5:8 says that
God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were
still sinners, Christ died for us.” We were all guilty of
the blood of Christ because of our sins. But because He prayed,
“Father forgive them, for they do not know
what they are doing.” We are forgiven for all eternity.
Washed clean by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. What a
wonderful Savior we have in Jesus Christ. Because
of His unconditional forgiveness of our sins, we owe Him all we are.
We owe Him respect and reverence. He deserves our worship and
service. We could serve Him the rest of our lives and never be able
to pay Him back for what He has done for us. Don't you think we
should live the rest of our lives in service and gratitude to Him
for His forgiveness of our sins.
Invitation:
Have you realized your part in nailing Jesus to the cross? Have you
experienced the forgiveness He suffered and died to purchase? His
forgiveness can be yours right now if you have never experienced it.
Just confess your sins to Jesus ask Him to forgive you, then invite
Him into your life. Then you will know you have been forgiven of all
your sins.
