"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

Luke 23

A Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick


A. During the week, as I meet with people who come to my office, talk with folk on the phone, or even as I come to church, I am constantly being made aware of people who have been very seriously injured by other people. It may be:

    * a young person who has been severely neglected or abused;

    * someone whose relative was brutally murdered;

    * a wife who is being told by her husband, "I never loved you and I never will";

    * a man who was abruptly and unfairly terminated from employment;

    * a mother who is being threatened to have her children taken away from her merely because she disciplined them.

    These and many other deep, deep hurts seem to be beyond our ability to understand how some people can survive.

    And then these people come to church and hear an oversimplified version of "you've just got to forgive." But the hurts are so deep, the pain is so great, this seems to be an impossibility, and the burden gets even greater because now on top of it all is the fear of displeasing God due to the difficulty of forgiving. However, in the message today, we're not going to dwell long on what we "ought" to do. Sometimes I fear that the preaching from the pulpit has ceased to be Good News, but rather merely a repetition of "oughts". Our plan here is to draw special attention to what Jesus did.

B. Of course we must not downplay the importance of our forgiveness of others. After all, there is a relationship between our forgiving others, and God's forgiveness.

    1. In fact, it seems that our forgiving others is a requirement. If we want to receive forgiveness from God, we must be willing to give it to others. This is what Jesus taught in His sermon on prayer (Matthew 6:14, 15), "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

    2. The Apostle Paul also makes clear our Christian responsibility in Colossians 3:12-17: "Forgive as the Lord forgave you."

C. And there is also the matter of seeking forgiveness: Matthew 5:20-26 - "For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, `Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.'

"But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.

Note: Anger about the behavior is to be distinguished from anger at the brother - punishing anger is never acceptable.

"Again, anyone who says to his brother, `Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, `You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

Note: One who, rather than forgiving, speaks in a derogatory way toward his brother, is indeed sinning.

"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you*, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift."

* In this scenario, you have wronged your brother, and your brother has good reason to have something against you. If as you're approaching the altar, you are convicted of doing or saying something against your brother, then you are instructed to go and be reconciled, that is, you go and seek forgiveness. The issue is not that there's something about your brother that you are upset about, and you need to go to that brother to "tell him off" before you can come to church. No.

Granted, if your brother has angered you, you may address the issue. It's important to affirm the relationship you have with your brother - he is your "brother", but you let him know that the words or actions taken against you are not acceptable. Then you simply forgive as Christ forgave.

But in the situation Jesus is describing, if you remember that your brother is angry at you because you are convicted by the Holy Spirit that you have wronged your brother, then you must go to him "quickly" to ask for forgiveness and make restitution. Otherwise this becomes an offense against God who is also the judge who will mete out the punishment.

"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny."

But I said we didn't want to dwell on the importance of our forgiveness of others, but to be reminded of the example Jesus set for us.

D. So let's look at the "Top Ten List of Offenses" endured By Jesus:

    1. He was falsely accused of insurrection (Luke 23:2). Have you ever been falsely accused? Perhaps as a child, your brother instigated a fight, and you got the punishment?

    2. He was also accused of heresy (v.5) Did anyone ever accuse you of teaching wrongly, even though you had carefully studied the Scripture? Not too long ago I was accused of being guilty of doctrinal error because I teach that when a person is filled with the Holy Spirit they speak in other tongues. But this was a much more serious matter with Jesus; after all, He "is the Word".

    3. He was ridiculed and mocked (v. 11). Has anyone ever made fun of you? Perhaps for some physical abnormality like buck teeth?

    4. Jesus was sneered at (v. 35) by leaders, soldiers (note the crown of thorns.), one of the criminals, etc.

    5. He was subjected to mob action as the crowd cried out, "Crucify him!" It was as if everyone had turned against Him. ("He came unto His own, and His own received Him not")

    6. Jesus became the victim of a wimpy leader who sentenced Him to die even though he declared that Jesus was innocent! The government, charged with protecting its citizens and providing justice, sometimes fails.

    7. Another man was released in place of Jesus, showing that He was judged more harshly than Barrabas who had been proven guilty of insurrection and murder.

    8. Was placed in company with criminals (v. 32) Jesus didn't mind "eating with sinners", but being condemned with them is somewhat different.

    9. Was crucified (v. 33) The words "Forgive them" were the first recorded, perhaps even while the nails were being driven.

    10. His death was trivialized by soldiers gambling over His clothing (v 34)

E. But Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

    1. "But," one might argue, "He was the Son of God. That's how He could be forgiving."

    We believe that to be poor theology. Jesus experienced life, and for that matter, death, as a man. He chose to accept the cup, so He suffered as a man, and in His humanity he forgave.

    Besides, aren't we also sons of God?

    And hasn't He given us His Spirit so we can "be like Jesus"?

    2. Furthermore, someone might point out, it doesn't say "Jesus forgave them", rather He prayed that God would forgive. But then we might ask, what is the greater, God's forgiveness or ours? If God can and does forgive, certainly we can do the same. Jesus prayer is built on the foundation of His understanding of the Father, certainly Jesus knows that forgiveness is according to the Father's will.

    3. But here's something that really bothers us. This forgiveness seems to be based on ignorance". We say "ignorance is no excuse".

    The "know" in this text means "to understand", or "to perceive".

    The Romans were carrying out orders, only after it was all over did they understand that they were killing a righteous man, the Son of God.

    The Jews were sincere in their belief, though wrong. Unfortunately, throughout much of church history, Christians have not been so forgiving - often they have accused the whole lot of Jews as being "God killers".

    Isn't it possible that we here today are also committing offenses against the Lord just as they did when they crucified Him? Perhaps that's what the writer to the Hebrews had in mind (6:6) "if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace."

    The writer of the Psalms seems to understand something about "secret sins":

    Psalms 90:8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.

    Psalms 19:9-12 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults.

Conclusion:

    This is the truly "Good News". Jesus from the cross forgave those who nailed Him there. Unknowingly, we do the same, but His forgiveness reaches us.

    At the end of the story in Luke we have this description of the people who witnessed the death of Christ, "When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away." (v. 48)

    May we too express true humility, understanding what He has done for us, and accept the forgiveness He has offered.

  • - - Return to Top of this Page
  • - Email a Link to this Page
  • - Go To Next Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick
  • - Back To Sermons Page or to the Sermons Alphabetical List
  • - - Download This Sermon 
    This Page's Title Is:

                       
    Your Name Is:

                       
    Your Email Address Is:

                        
    Your State and Country:

    Please identify your vocation:

         Senior Pastor.     Associate Pastor.
            Youth Pastor.    Lay Minister.
                  Church Member.

    Which section of this site would you most likely return to?

         Sermons     Articles     Stories   
             Poems     Hymns    Articles for Leaders
               Marriage Articles         A Bit of Humor

    Would you like to receive the free weekly E-mail Circular?

      YES

    If you have a web page, would you like to establish a reciprocal link?

      YES

    Feel free to add a comment or prayer request: