An Unselfish Prayer
Notice also that Jesus’ prayer was unselfish. “Father, forgive them,” he prayed. When you and I get in some difficult situation, what is usually our first response? “Oh, Lord, help me!” “Get me out of this!” “Lord, why am I here? What have I done to deserve this?” But Jesus’ prayer was not for himself, but for others.
A Continuous Prayer
Note further that the prayer that Jesus uttered here was an affirmation of what he had taught. The verb “forgive” in the original Greek means that this prayer was not voiced just once but was a continual prayer.
The words, “Father, forgive them,” were spoken several times. Was this the prayer that Jesus prayed when the soldiers stripped him of his garments and stretched him out on the cross and drove the nails through his hands and feet? Did he cry, “Father, forgive them” when the soldiers lifted up his cross and dropped it with a thud into its hole? Did he cry, “Father, forgive them” when the soldiers gambled for his robe? Did he pray, “Father, forgive them” when the crowd mocked him and the criminal on one side of him jeered at him from his cross? Did he pray, “Father, forgive them” when his disciples fled for fear of arrest themselves?
Jesus Lived What He Taught
This prayer was indeed a continuous prayer in the life of Christ. It reflected the kind of life that he had lived. Jesus Christ had taught others to be forgiving. “Forgive seventy times seven,” he taught his disciples. Be limitless in your forgiveness. His words reveal that he practiced what he preached. When he came to the darkest moment in his life, he prayed that those who were hurting him might be forgiven. He had taught his disciples to forgive seventy times seven, to turn the other cheek, and to go the second mile.
Now in his time of testing as he was being crucified, what Jesus had taught on a mountaintop, he now displayed in his life while he was in the agony of the valley of despair. What he had taught his disciples along the bright sunny shores of the Sea of Galilee, he demonstrated was real in his words uttered in this dark moment in his life. What Jesus had taught about the universal love of God for all persons was seen reflected in his life and the way he died when he was nailed to a stake outside the Jerusalem walls by the crossroads of humanity. The Golden Rule was not merely verbiage or preaching for him, but it was demonstrated in his words in the last moments before he died. He lived the Golden Rule he taught.
An Intimate Relationship with God
This prayer also reveals the absolute intimate relationship that Jesus had with God the Father. Like a child, Jesus reached up to his Father for support in this difficult moment. He knew that the God to whom he had prayed before would still be present. The God he had known on bright sunny days was still with him on this dark dreary day. The God about whom he had taught his disciples to ask anything, he still prayed to now with assurance. He had prayed to his Father on calm days; now in the worst storm of his life, he again appealed to the One who had sustained him in the past. His trust was tested by this awful experience, but he reached out to the One whose presence was real to him. The word “Father” speaks volumes about intimacy.
Forgiveness for Whom
Secondly, for whom was Jesus asking forgiveness by his Father? “Father, forgive them,” he prayed. About whom is he speaking here?
Curses Were Often Heard
The executioners were not surprised that Jesus made some kind of outcry at the crucifixion. They expected any man who was led to the place of execution to make some kind of outcry. But these outcries were usually curses, jeers, and profanity. When a man faced being driven to a stake, crucified by having nails driven through his hands and feet, he would often fight and struggle with his executioners. It was a terrible experience for the person being crucified.
Cicero once wrote that the blasphemy of those being executed was sometimes so bad that the soldiers would cut out the tongue of the man being crucified to keep him from railing and screaming blasphemies. But from Jesus there were no curses, jeers, defense, condemnation or requests. He prayed simply, “Father, forgive them.” His prayer, “Forgive them,” reflected in his dying what he had lived and taught.
To Whom Was This Prayer Directed?
About whom was he speaking when he uttered this prayer? Who was it? Did he pray, “Father forgive them,” as the soldiers drove the nails in his hands? Was the prayer directed at the Jewish leaders, Annas and Caiaphas, the high priests or the Pharisees and the other members at the Sanhedrin who had condemned him? Were the words directed at Pilate who had washed his hands of this affair and didn’t really want to get involved? Did he pray for Herod who had put a robe on Jesus and mocked him and then sent him away? Was he praying for the crowd who had cried: “Crucify him?” Did he pray for Judas who had betrayed him? Was his prayer for his disciples who fled?
These words, “Father forgive them,” were so disturbing to the early church that some of the earliest manuscripts like Codex Vaticanus or Codex Bezae do not contain them.[2] Why? Because early Christians didn’t know how to deal with them. How could they pray and ask forgiveness of the Jews and Romans for what they had done? But how like Jesus these words really are. Rob Bell reminds us that “Jesus forgives them all, without their asking for it.” He continues: “Forgiveness is unilateral. God isn’t waiting for us to get it together, to clean up, shape up, get up-God has already done it.”[3]
We Are Also Accused
To whom are these words directed? You and I don’t get off so easily here. These words do not point only to someone in the past. Paul and other New Testament writers have clearly stated that all of humanity was involved in this crucifixion. You and I, our sins, also nailed him to that tree on Calvary. The old spiritual asks: “Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there when they nailed him to the tree? Sometimes it causes me to tremble . . .” and well it should! We are involved because of our sins.
You and I also need to hear the words, “Father forgive them.” They are also prayed for you and me. Unfortunately, we continue to crucify Jesus today. Jesus, the great high priest, continues to pray for you and me. “Father, forgive them,” he implores, “they know not what they do.”
Why did Jesus Ask God to Forgive?
A Plea of Ignorance
Then thirdly, why was Jesus asking his Father to grant forgiveness to these people? He said, “Because they do not know what they are doing.” This view is echoed in the New Testament. In his speech in Jerusalem, Peter said: “I know that, through ignorance you did it” (Acts 3:17). The Apostle Paul stated that Jesus was crucified because they did not know him (Acts 13:27). In another place Paul wrote: “None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (I Cor. 2:8). In the parable of the judgment Jesus notes that those who stand before the Lord will plead ignorance. “When did we see you hungry or thirsty . . . or naked . . . or in prison?” Jesus responds by saying: “As you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me” (Matt. 25:3146).
Not Sentimentality
Well, is this just a sentimental statement from Jesus? “Oh, it doesn’t make any difference, God. It’s o.k. to let them crucify me.” Obviously, that is not true. His words do not mean that he is praying to let bygones be bygones. He is not saying that it doesn’t make any difference to God. It does. God will not wink at this act and say, “It is OK.” Of course not!
Too often we blame circumstances for what we do. Or we blame heredity and try to put the burden on our parents’ back. We blame our education or the lack of it. Sometimes we feel our ignorance is simply misinformation, or caused by apathy or too much motivation. As Carlyle Marney asked; “Do not all have Ph.D’s in mis-knowing,