Comments on: Father, Forgive Them

By: Kevin

Kevin — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 00:08:09 +0000

I think we have to include ourselves as a part of ‘them.’ I don’t think any of us would disagree that in a metaphorical sense we are part of the crowd that was crying “Crucify Him!” I want to really like Steve’s comment about the Jewish leaders, but something is holding me back. The crowd is just as involved in procuring Pilate that Jesus was the one to be crucified as the keepers of the law “who should have known what they were doing.” And perhaps, the crowd was even more involved than the leaders with the constant chanting “Crucify Him” (as the text suggests) We cannot cast blame of our sin to leadership saying “but it is he who told me to do thus.” We are accountable for our own actions.

I wonder, with you and with a different twist, for what Christ is asking the Father to forgive? “They” killed Christ, yes. “They” lead a crowd to believing that Christ deserved death, yes. But weren’t “they” ultimately carrying out God’s Will? Weren’t “they” ultimately glorifying the Father by doing what needed to be done so His People could be restored to right relationship? Would they have sinned instead if Christ was not crucified?

So, maybe, just maybe in that one enormous, elephantine, gigantic, monumental, economy-sized, vast YET small, simple, deemphasized, modest, humble statement Christ was taking on all the sin of Man. Sin from past, present and future. We do sin against the Father so many times without knowing what we’re doing.

Lastly, for now: What it means for us? We are to forgive each other, even when the other does not know what he/she is doing. To me, forgiveness has fully taken place when the relationship is restored. I’m not saying it won’t be the hardest thing we will ever do. Nor am I saying that actions, beliefs and thoughts do not need to change for the sinner. I am not saying it does not take time, and lots of it, for us as humans to realize forgiveness. But I am not ready to believe that forgiveness has taken place if the ‘forgiver’ in a sense says, “I can’t do ‘x’ again because ‘y’ happened.” After all, God forgave us for our vertical relationship to be restored yes? So, why wouldn’t it be true for our horizontal relationships?

By: Rita DeLozier

Rita DeLozier — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:52:29 +0000

Forgiveness has probably been one of my biggest frustrations over the years. I have cut things out of magazines about it, copied things off the internet & daily devotionals, went to counseling for it, etc., etc. It seems to almost haunt me at times. One thing I’ve learned is that we need to forgive others, but do not have to condone the actions by putting up with it or letting them continuously “get away with it”. There is freedom in forgiveness, but sometimes relationships will not ever be the same. Romans 8:28, “all things work together for good for those who love God and who are called according to His purpose”. Forgiveness should be unconditional, too………..we cannot say “I’ll forgive you, IF………..”. There is a good article by Jon Walker (author of Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotionals) titled “Should we forgive Michael Vick?”. You can download it from http://www.GraceCreates.com
Likewise, should we forgive Saddam Hussein? Or how about Hitler? Very interesting discussion topic!!

By: Wende

Wende — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 13:56:35 +0000

You’ve asked a lot of questions, and I have no answers. But there’s something about this passage that hits me deep in the gut… that even though God’s chosen people (whether you think of that as only those who were present at the time of the crucifixion or us today who turn from God in ways that are less obvious but just as significant) rejected him in the most painful of ways, he forgave them. And that makes me realize that if God did this for me, then I have no right to hold a grudge against anyone — the teenage driver who cut me off in traffic this morning, the woman at church who chose to believe and maybe even further a rumor about me, the friend who didn’t include me in the invitation, the family member who said hurtful words. They all need forgiveness, just as I need forgiveness from them for things in kind. We’re called to forgive each other to the extent, scope, length, breadth, inclusiveness, and power with which God forgives us… whatever that is.

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 11:49:00 +0000

I would cast my lot that they are the Jewish rulers that had sent Him to the cross. What I find interesting in pondering this is whether He was pleading for their forgiveness because they had the law, had the knowledge. The irony I find here is that those who “should have” know what was going on were those that didn’t know “what they are doing”. I would like to think that Jesus is using a pun here, but it may just be me that uses puns when things get frantic.

As for what this means for us: we have a huge responsibility as those who know the larger picture. But if the scope of the forgiveness granted by Jesus here is as I understand it, could it be that this is the moment, the phrase that charts the course to the forgiveness of true believers?