Post #64 Father Forgive Them

Posted and E-mailed April 9, 2007

I always wondered about Christ statement on cross, “FATHER FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO.” I like the concept that we can be forgiven for our sins but I have a problem with forgiving the EVIL things that others do to me or worse yet my children?

Luckily GOD gave me the answer last Sunday during a service at the First Alliance Church in Port Charlotte, Florida. When Christ made the statement/prayer (“FATHER FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO.”), he WASN’T asking for forgiveness for PILATE; the HIGH PRIEST; the SCRIBES; the PHARISEES; the TEACHERS OF THE LAW; the ELDERS and possibly HEROD. I say POSSIBLY Herod because Herod’s role in Christ’s death isn’t as clear in bible. His role is ONLY documented in Luke’s writings but NEVER mentioned in Matthew, Mark or John.

So based on the accounts in the bible that are well documented, I BELIEVE PILATE; the HIGH PRIEST; the SCRIBES; the PHARISEES; the TEACHERS OF THE LAW; and the ELDERS KNEW what they were doing when they allowed Christ to be crucified. In fact, some of them had been planning to have Jesus killed for some time. The following references should help you understand GOD’S meaning behind the concept of THEM KNOWING WHAT THEY WERE DOING: Mark 11:18; Mark 3:6; Luke 19:47; Matthew 12:14; Matthew 26:3; John 5:18; Matthew 21:45; and Mark 12:12.

So who was Christ praying for when he made that prayer? (“FATHER FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO.”) I BELIEVE he was talking about the soldiers that were FOLLOWING ORDERS and KNEW NOTHING about the EVIL PLANS that had been previously made to kill Jesus. Those soldiers probably DIDN’T even know who Christ was much less what he DID or in this case DIDN’T DO to deserve the punishment they were instructed to carry out. Remember they were ROMAN SOLDIERS and spoke LATIN NOT HEBREW. They weren’t JEWISH, so they DIDN’T know very much about Christ’s teachings. Remember Christ came for the JEWS not the GENTLIES. He didn’t try to convert NON-JEWS to the JEWISH FAITH.

I BELIEVE Christ was also asking GOD to forgive the FOOLISH PEOPLE that joined the crowd and demanded Christ’s death because it seemed like the IN THING at the time. Some of them might have KNOWN Christ or heard of the miracles he performed and wanted him to perform and even bigger one for them to see. They FOOLISHLY thought GOD would save Christ from death but on the other hand they BELIEVED in GOD and the power Christ had. So their intentions WEREN'T ALL BAD. They just DIDN’T KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING.

Once you realize Christ WASN’T asking for forgiveness for the people that INTENTIONALLY broke GOD’S LAWS and/or the ones that had NO REGUARD for Christ's rights. It becomes a lot easier for me to following in Christ’s footsteps.

Yeah, I can forgive people that UNINTENTIONALLY cause me pain and suffering because they DIDN’T KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING. Plus they just might try to earn forgiveness for the harm they caused when they find out about it. On the other hand people that INTENTIONALLY cause pain and break GOD’S COMMANDMENTS AREN’T the type that’ll care about earning forgiveness. So I’m NOT going to worry about NOT being able to forgive them right away. That type of forgiveness takes time. Even Christ DIDN’T worry about forgiving them. His first concern was for the people that had GOOD INTENTIONS and/or were being USED by others. They DIDN’T KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING. Judas might even have been one of ones FOOLED into getting Christ crucified. I WON'T be his judge and I WON'T throw the first stone. I'll let GOD be the judge and jury on that one.

I BELIEVE the following references document the presence of those types of people (people that DIDN’T KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING): Mark 15:34-36 and Matthew 27:46-49. In those passages, Christ was dying on the cross, and he uttered the words, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? Which means, “My God, my God, why did you abandon me.?” Some thought he was asking for help from Elijah (Eli short for Elijah). So they said, “Wait, let us see if Elijah is coming to save him.” They were STILL expecting a miracle. They were still hoping to FORCE GOD; ELIJAH: MOSES; CHRIST; … to work a miracle and to save Jesus. They BELIEVED in GOD and HAD faith but they wanted to FORCE GOD to put on a BIGGER and BETTER SHOW for them. They had seen Christ cure the sick, make the blind see, the crippled walk and even bring people back to life. Now they wanted to raise the bar a little higher and FORCE GOD to perform an even more impressive miracle. Kind of like us making magicians do bigger and riskier tricks to impress us. The point is THEY DIDN’T KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING.

One last thing to REMEMBER, forgiveness DOESN’T mean you have to FORGET the act. GOD wants us to LEARN from the EXPERIENCE. If you DON'T think I'm right, why are we still talking about Christ's crucifixion and death? Shouldn't we have ALREADY forgot about it? The point is if you FORGET about it, you’ll most likely suffer through it again and again. However, if you REMEMBER it, you’ll handle it better each time and eventually learn to AVOID it and the people that cause that pain and suffering. Just like Christ tried to AVOID the SCRIBES, PHARISEES, and TEACHERS OF THE LAW. He was showing us the PATH to heaven by his PERFECT EXAMPLE. If we FAIL to FOLLOW his example, we really AREN’T his followers.

If you think Christ DOESN'T want us to remember INTENTIONAL SINNERS and their deeds, then tell me WHY he warned us about SINNERS in Luke 12:1 when he said, "... Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees - I mean their hypocrisy." In fact Jesus warnned us SEVERAL TIMES about the HYPOCRISY of the TEACHERS OF THE LAW and the PHARISEES. Does that sound like FORGETTING? Does that sound like FORGIVENESS?

NOT to me. It sounds like he was teaching us to REMEMBER the SINS of those that INTENTIONALLY sin against us until they EARN FORGIVENESS. You get to LEARN to AVOID having to be PUNISHED for their sins again and again if you REMEMBER them. That's why GOD wants us to REMEMBER them. God hates to see us suffer for the sins of others.

The PEOPLE who INTENTIONALLY break GOD’S LAWS must be required to EARN the FORGIVENESS we give them before we have to FORGET the past and move on. In other words, THEY HAVE TO EARN A SECOND CHANCE. Forcing them to EARN A SECOND CHANCE makes them less likely to commit that offense again. People that have to PAY for their MISTAKES DON’T usually like to keep paying for the SAME MISTAKES again and again.

So if a PERSON who INTENTIONALLY breaks GOD’S LAWS refuses to PAY for his/her MISTAKE because they want to get away with murder, you DON’T have to GIVE THEM A SECOND CHANCE. They’re the type that WON’T think twice, if their given a chance to commit the SAME or ANY advantageous offense against you again. So be careful around them and learn from the experience.

Christ was ALWAYS careful around the SCRIBES; PHARISEES; and TEACHERS OF THE LAW. So follow his example and DON’T FORGET the sins of those that WON’T earn the forgiveness you already gave them.

On the other hand you HAVE TO FORGIVE THE ONES THAT DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY’RE DOING. And you HAVE TO GIVE THEM A SECOND CHANCE. Just like Christ did on the cross. So follow his example and FORGIVE THE ONES THAT DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING. They're the ones that you HAVE TO TURN THE OTHER CHEEK FOR.

On the other hand, you DON'T have to turn the other cheek for the ones that INTENTIONALLY break GOD LAWS. They have to EARN FORGIVENESS AND A SECOND CHANCE before you HAVE TO turn the other cheek FOR THEM.