Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots. (Luke 23:34)

Forgive Them

On a hill outside Jerusalem, three criminals were being put to death according to Roman law. The execution of malefactors was not uncommon. Crucifixion was the evidence of how cruel man could be, as thousands were nailed to a cross and left to die. It was reserved for the worst of criminals, the murderers, and the rebellious. Rome held an iron fist on the empire to maintain law and order with cruelty, barbarism, and infanticide. More than thirty years earlier, the Roman government sent soldiers into a small village south of Jerusalem and killed all the male children two years and under. There was no mercy. The city was overcome with great weeping and crying.

Three men were sentenced to die, and the Roman soldiers carried out the execution with precision. First, the victim was scourged with a whip that opened up his back in slivers of bleeding flesh. The soldiers knew not to scourge the man too much to kill him, but the man in the middle received a harsh beating. After scourging, the victims had to carry the cross-piece on their shoulders to the place of execution. One man was unable to carry it fully, and a victim was chosen from the crowd to finish the journey. Three men made their way through the streets of Jerusalem as people hurled insults, curses, and threw things at the condemned men. The crowd showed no mercy.

When the condemned men reached the Place of a Skull, the man forced to carry the cross-piece threw the heavy piece on the ground, and the soldiers prepared the man from Nazareth by nailing his hands to the wood. Other soldiers did the same to the men on the right and left. Lifting the weakened body of the man in the middle to the stipe or post in the ground, the soldiers secured the patibulum and then nailed the feet to the rough wood. Their work was done. The soldiers backed away, and three men struggled to push against the nails in their feet to breathe. Each breath caused extreme pain in the hands nailed to the wood. Death would be torturous and slow and would never come soon enough.

As the soldiers divided the remaining earthly possessions of the victims, the crowd that gathered mocked and scorned the three men. They especially took pleasure in taunting the man in the middle. He had claimed to be a great teacher sent from God and had told the Jewish leadership he would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. It infuriated the crowd that this man claimed to be the Son of God. If He was the Son of God, they demanded He show them by coming off the cross. Even the two robbers cursed and swore against their fellow criminal. And then the man in the middle spoke.

Jesus had come into the world, born of a virgin, to fulfill the will of the Father. He humbled Himself to take on the form of the greatest servant to save a world that turned against Him. Everything Jesus did was for the glory of the Father to show the world the one true light. He healed untold thousands, performed undeniable miracles, and taught a message of love, hope, mercy, and forgiveness. His message was stern and forceful. He never sinned in His life, and yet the people cried out, “Crucify Him, crucify Him” – and they did. Within the power of Jesus was to call 72,000 angels to come and destroy the world, but He opened wide His arms and accepted the will of His beloved Father.

Instead of calling down twelve legions of angels, Jesus called down the greatest words offered to a rebellious and dark world: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” Jesus prayed for those who were killing Him, mocking Him, and denying Him. He asked for mercy because of the complete failure of human wisdom. The Jews knew what they were doing when they brought Jesus to Pilate. Pilate knew what he was doing when he sentenced Jesus to death. The crowds knew what they were doing when they cheered on the soldiers to kill Jesus. And that was the divine irony of the wisdom of human knowledge. They killed the Son of God, and He prayed for them. That is the picture of divine love.

The death of Jesus took place more than two thousand years ago, but human wisdom continues to deny that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Everyone thinks they know what they are doing, but they are failing, just as they did outside the city of Jerusalem. On the Day of Pentecost, three thousand people realized the failure of human wisdom and asked forgiveness for the death of Jesus. That same message is given today for men to lay aside human wisdom and believe Jesus is the Son of God. The Father is willing to forgive sinful man, regardless of what he has done, if he will but only repent and be baptized. There is no measure to the divine wisdom of God. The wisdom of man is clearly a failure. Jesus prayed for those who were killing Him. What greater example of love can there be in a dark world of human wisdom? Thank you, Jesus, for being the Son of God.