They Don't Know What They Are Doing

I can imagine the fear, chaos, and confusion that swirled amongst Jesus' followers as they watched Him walk towards his fate of crucifixion. 

It doesn't make any sense.

Why is this happening?

Why isn't He stopping this?

What do we do now?

I can picture them huddled together in despair as they helplessly watched the man they love so much suffer in such a horrific way. 

They were surely terrified and lost. 

The man they thought would be King, who would save them from oppression and make everything better, now hung on a cross. 

Beaten, betrayed, defeated, dead. 

And for what? What was the point of it all?

Just then, in the moments before His death, amid sheer agony, Jesus cried out, "Forgive them, for they know not what they are doing."  

Even in unimaginable pain and anguish, Jesus pleads for our forgiveness.

Perhaps, as the followers looked up and saw His lifeless body hanging on that cross, they remembered the words of Jesus and the scriptures that foretold of this moment.

What was predicted so long ago was unfolding right before their eyes as they watched Jesus make the ultimate sacrifice.

That God would send this amazing man to the world to teach us all about love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness and then allow Him to endure such horror to atone for our sins still confounds me if I'm being honest.

Even when they turned Him away, mocked Him, denied Him, and betrayed Him, Jesus sacrificed everything. 

For them.

For you.

For me.

For all of us.

The people who did those terrible things to Jesus may not have known what they were doing or what was being set in motion by their actions.

But they soon would.

And now, we know. 

We know that Jesus died for the forgiveness of our sins. He took the punishment for everyone. Even the ones who hurt him the most. 

Think about that.

If Jesus took on that kind of torture and agony for the forgiveness of our sins, how can we not forgive ourselves or others?

Withholding forgiveness, knowing all that Jesus endured, feels like an insult to Him.

We know what we did, what they did, and, most importantly, what Jesus did.

So, to honor the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made for us, let us forgive once and for all. 

Luke 23: 33-34

When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. And Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots, dividing His clothes among themselves.

Isaiah 53:5 

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

John 3:16 

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Ephesians 1:7

'In Him we have redemption [that is, our deliverance and salvation] through His blood, [which paid the penalty for our sin and resulted in] the forgiveness and complete pardon of our sin, in accordance with the riches of His grace'

Luke 23

 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.

Romans 5:8

But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

1 Peter 2:24 

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds, you have been healed.