Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do

 

 There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death.  And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.  Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."  And they divided His garments and cast lots.  And the people stood looking on.  But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God."  The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, and saying, "If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself."  And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:

THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us."   But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?  And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong."  Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom."  And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."

 

- Luke 23:32–43 

 

Yesterday we read that, as they led Jesus away to His crucifixion, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.  And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him.  But Jesus, turning to them, said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.  For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!'  Then they will begin 'to say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!" '  For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?"

 

There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death.  And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.  Calvary literally means "the skull."  My study Bible comments that being crucified between the two criminals shows Christ's complete identity with fallen humanity, and fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 53:9-12.

 

 Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."  And they divided His garments and cast lots.  My study Bible says that this intercession is not only for those who sentenced and crucified Jesus, but for all of humanity -- a people who have no insight into the profound mystery of God's salvation.  He speaks these words not as a request, but with His divine authority.  So, therefore, my study Bible adds that their great sin would still have been forgiven the had they repented.  Notably, of course, one of the soldiers did repent (see verse 47) and he is considered a saint of the Church.  

 

 And the people stood looking on.  But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God."  The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, and saying, "If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself."   My study Bible notes that the repeated expression to "Save Yourself" is the continuing temptation of Satan to deter Jesus from completing His mission (see Luke 4:9-13).  

 

 And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:  THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.  According to my study Bible, this inscription was intended as an accusation and a mockery.  Instead it became a triumphant symbol that all nations would come under the reign of Jesus the King.  

 

 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us."   But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?  And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong."  Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom."  And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."  My study Bible explains that the first of the criminals wanted to use Jesus to avoid responsibility for his actions, while the other accepts his sentence and asks simply to be remembered.  This latter way is the path to Paradise.  Jesus says, "Today you will be with Me in Paradise."  My study Bible comments that to be reconciled to Christ is to be in paradise immediately.  Moreover, the souls of the departed as in the presence of God and experience a foretaste of His glory before the final resurrection. 

 

 What is forgiveness?  What is a sin that is too great to forgive?  My study Bible explains Jesus' words as given in divine authority, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."  In so doing, it notes that, while Christ's forgiveness is thereby extended to all and for all, it is nevertheless necessary that human beings repent in order to realize that forgiveness.  This is crucial to our understanding of our faith, for it forms the crux of Christ's very mission into our world as the human Jesus, the purpose for His death on the Cross, His Resurrection, and all the things on which our hinges our worship and faith.  Christ's forgiveness is extended to all, but nevertheless repentance is the way by which we are able to realize that forgiveness.  We ourselves -- like the repentant thief on the cross -- need to come to terms with the truth of our own errors and where and who we are in order to realize that forgiveness and find our way to Christ.  Our faith life is a question of returning to Him and His way for us, finding our way to be with Him in Paradise, as Jesus tells the repentant criminal.  For how could we be with Christ in Paradise if we're not prepared to recognize the things that keep us out -- our own sins and behavior?  How could we be with Christ in Paradise if we're not prepared to accept the reality of this authority, and to live the life in Paradise and compatible with its reality?  Forgiveness, in this understanding, is not merely a kind of blanket excuse for everything.  It's not stating that people have done nothing wrong, or committed no error or sin.  It's quite the opposite; it's an acknowledgement of the error and of the sin, but it is willing pardon for the effects of that sin, if there is repentance.  It is God's willing love for each of us to be where He is, to live that blessed life of Paradise, if we but make the choice to follow Him and to accept that forgiveness.  It is a declaration of His love, just as Christ's very life in this world is a declaration of that love:  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:16-17).  Christ's parable of the Prodigal Son, found only in St. Luke's Gospel (Luke 15:11-32), teaches us this same understanding of repentance and forgiveness.  In that parable, the father of the Prodigal has always loved his son, has always desired his return.  But it's not until the son "came to himself" that he realized that life was so much better with his father, even for the lowest hired servants, than the life he had found by squandering his inheritance.  When he returns he tells his father he's not worthy to be called his son, and asks simply to be made a hired servant.  But instead his father runs to meet him, and calls for a banquet to rejoice "for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found" (Luke 15:24).  This is Christ's forgiveness, given to us all from the Cross, and with authority, so that each of us may come to Him and find ourselves, not as strangers but as sons of the Kingdom.  Let us open our eyes to His grace.  While many if not most of us are not guilty of such terrible sins, to repent is not merely to renounce a specific sin.  We turn to God for the things we "know not" -- the way God would lead us forward to Him and toward Paradise.  For this is repentance, or "change of mind" as the word literally means in Greek.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us, "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).  This is an ongoing, eternal, and infinite process.  Let us follow Him.