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The Forgiving Compassion Of Christ

(Luke 23:34)

Introduction: Today, we’re beginning a series of sermons on the statements that Jesus made as He hung upon the cross of Calvary. In 1937, a man named Harry Rimmer published a book called “Voices From Calvary.” I’m especially interested in one voice that was heard at Calvary … the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are seven statements that Jesus made from the cross, and these are recorded for us in the various gospel records…

1. In Luke 23:34, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” And this statement reveals Jesus’ Forgiving Compassion (For The Mob).

2. In Luke 23:43, Jesus said to the repentant malefactor, “Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” And this statement reveals Jesus’ Favorable Compassion (For The Malefactor).

3. In John 19:26-27, Jesus said to his mother Mary, “Woman, behold thy son!” And He said to John who was standing next to Mary, “Behold thy mother!” And this statement reveals Jesus’ Faithful Compassion (For His Mother).

4. In Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34, the Bible tells us that Jesus said, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” And this statement reveals Jesus’ Forsaken Condition.

5. In John 19:28, Jesus said, “I thirst.” And this statement reveals Jesus’ Fleshly Condition.

6. In John 19:30, Jesus said, “It is finished.” And this statement reveals Jesus’ Completion and His Finish.

7. In Luke 23:46, Jesus said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” And this statement reveals Jesus’ Completion and His Farewell.

In his book “Last Words Of Saints And Sinners,” Herbert Lockyer wrote…

The seven last sayings of the King of Kings as He died upon a cross are unparalleled for their trust and triumph, power and pathos. These final cries prove that Christ died, not merely as a Victim, but as a Victor. Through the centuries, multitudes have been inspired by His example to manifest calm resignation in the presence of death and to greet it with a triumphant smile.

In his commentary on the Gospel of Luke, Frederic Godet wrote…

Of the seven sayings which Jesus uttered on the cross, the first three refer to the persons surrounding Him — His enemies, His companion in punishment, and those whom He loves most tenderly, His mother and His friend; they are, as it were, His will. The three which follow: “My God, my God …”; “I thirst”; “It is finished,” refer to His sufferings and the work which is being finished; the first two, to the sufferings of His soul and of His body; the third, to the result gained by this complete sacrifice. Finally, the seventh and last: “Father, into Thy hands…” is the cry of perfect confidence from His expiring heart in its utmost weakness. Three of those seven sayings, all three words of grace and faith, are related by Luke, and by him only.

W. A. Criswell said…

This is sacred ground on which we stand, looking upon the Cross of Him who was made to be sin for us and hearing again His cries of agony, of remembrance, and of triumph.

(In the Introduction to Herschel Ford’s book, “Simple Sermons On The Savior’s Last Words.”)

As Herschel Hobbs reminds us…

During this time Jesus spoke seven times, and in these “seven words from the cross,” one may understand partly that which transpired as “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.”

This morning, I’m especially interested in the first statement that is found in Luke’s account, in Luke 23:34 when He said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”

F. W. Krummacher said…

Look, He opens His mouth. But – can we believe our ears? “Father,” says He, “forgive them!” What? Who does He mean? Surely not the servants of Satan who have nailed Him to the cross – the heartless brutes, who are even still rending Him with their poisoned fangs? Yes, it is even they to whom His intercession refers. It is for them He requests mercy and forgiveness. What language, “Father, forgive them!” And … with these words, as sincerely as they sound, He covers the guilty heads of His murderers with the shield of His love, in order to secure them from the storm of the well-deserved wrath of Almighty God. With these words, which must have produced adoring astonishment even in the angels themselves, He takes these miscreants in the arms of His compassion, and bears them up the steps of His Father’s throne, in order to commend them to His mercy.

Warren Wiersbe made this statement…

Jesus could have prayed, “Father, judge them! Father, destroy them!” He could have called for legions of angels to deliver Him, but He didn’t. … Our Lord prayed from a heart of love, “Father, forgive them.”

So we’re looking today at a word from Calvary that magnifies The Forgiving Compassion Of Christ.

A Sunday School teacher had just concluded her lesson and wanted to make sure she had made her point. She said, “Can anyone tell me what you must do before you can obtain forgiveness of sin?” There was a short pause and then, from the back of the room, a small boy spoke up and said, “Sin.”

Well the reason Jesus prayed for forgiveness was that this mob needed forgiveness. Someone said…

If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer. But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.

As we consider this astonishing statement of the Savior upon the cross…

I. Let’s Consider The Request Of This Prayer

(Luke 23:34)

A. Notice The Nature Of This Request

1. This Was A Relational Request

(Luke 23:34) Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

Herbert Lockyer said…

From our Lord’s numerous references to the fatherhood of God there emerges a holy, unbroken intimacy between God and His Son. … In His first and last saying absolute unity of spirit between Himself and God – a oneness and response to His Father’s will – was maintained in spite of the terrible ordeal He faced.

Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words says that the word “Father” (NT:3962 – pater) comes from a root word signifying “a nourisher, protector, upholder.”

Herschel Ford wrote…

Notice the manner in which He began His prayer – “Father.” He showed that He was still conscious of His Sonship. His faith was unshaken by all that He had passed through, by all that He had suffered.

Spurgeon said…

He seems to lose sight of the fact that they were doing any wrong to Himself; it is the wrong which they were doing to the Father that is on His mind, the insult which they are paying to the Father, in the person of the Son.

Herbert Lockyer said…

With the first onslaught of pain and agony, the Savior’s word, Father, reveals His first and instinctive thought as cruel men nailed Him to the cross, namely, His Father’s identification with the cup of sacrifice He was now taking. While the repetition of the sacred term Father, as Jesus entered the valley of the shadow of death, declares His unshaken faith in God’s will and purpose, it was also a recognition by the Son that “the suffering and injury imposed on the Father exceeded even His own agony.” Does not Paul remind us that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself?

(2 Corinthians 5:19) To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Lockyer continues…

A further truth can be gleaned from the initial word in this first saying on the cross, namely, the ground of the forgiveness Christ pleaded for, namely, His true Sonship. The reconciliation of sinners to God is in the Sonship of Jesus Christ.

2. This Was A Repeated Request

(Luke 23:34) Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

Erwin Lutzer asserted that…

The Greek text implies that He kept repeating the words “Father, forgive them…” (Luke 23:34).

As Herschel Hobbs said, “Over and over He prayed it.”

Warren Wiersbe explained…

The tense of the verb “said” indicates that our Lord repeated this prayer. As the soldiers nailed Him to the cross, He prayed, “Father, forgive them.” When they lifted the cross and placed it in the hole in the ground, our Lord prayed, “Father, forgive them.” As He hung there between heaven and earth, and heard religious people mocking Him, He repeatedly prayed, “Father, forgive them.”

B. Notice The Nuances Of This Request

(Luke 23:34) Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

1. It Is The Embodiment Of An Ancient Prophecy

As Adam Clarke said…

In the prayer, “Father, forgive them,” that word of prophecy was fulfilled, He “made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12).

(Isaiah 53:12) Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

intercession – Hebrew 6293. paga', paw-gah'; a prim. root; to impinge (interrupt, intrude), by accident or violence, or (fig.) by importunity:--come (betwixt), cause to entreat, fall (upon), make intercession, intercessor, intreat, lay, light [upon], meet (together), pray, reach, run.

transgressors – Hebrew 6586. pasha', paw-shah'; a prim. root [rather ident. with H6585 through the idea of expansion]; to break away (from just authority), i.e. trespass, apostatize, quarrel:--offend, rebel, revolt.

Christ was, through His importunity, coming between Almighty God and those who had broken away from God’s just authority, those who had offended God and rebelled and revolted against God.

In 1 John 2:1, John said that Jesus is “an advocate”; He is our representative and intermediary before the Father.

2. It Is The Exemplifying Of An Admirable Principle

Jesus shared this principle…

(Matthew 5:43-44) Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. {44} But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

pray – Greek 4336. proseuchomai, pros-yoo'-khom-ahee; from G4314 and G2172; to pray to God, i.e. supplicate, worship:--pray (X earnestly, for), make prayer.

despitefully use – Greek 1908. epereazo, ep-ay-reh-ad'-zo; from a comp. of G1909 and (prob.) areia (threats); to insult, slander:--use despitefully, falsely accuse.

Ivor Powell said…

Perhaps the most heart-searching prayer ever uttered by the Lord was the one asking pardon for the people responsible for His death. If Christ could forgive His enemies, can we ever permit bitterness to occupy our hearts?

II. Let’s Consider The Ramifications Of This Prayer

(Luke 23:34)

A. Notice The Substance Of This Request – “forgive”

(Luke 23:34) Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

1. The Word “Forgive” Suggests A Removal Of Punishment

Mike Minnix said…

The way this prayer is written, it implies that Jesus was asking the Father to hold back wrath till the people had time to believe. He was asking the Father not to judge them till they had time to repent. Did the Father answer that prayer? Yes, indeed, He did.

Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words defines the word “forgive” as follows…

forgive – Greek NT:863 – aphiemi; primarily, “to send forth, send away” (apo, “from,” hiemi, “to send”), denotes, besides its other meanings, “to remit or forgive” (a) debts, these being completely cancelled; (b) sins. In this latter respect the verb… firstly signifies the remission of the punishment due to sinful conduct, the deliverance of the sinner from the penalty divinely, and therefore righteously, imposed; secondly, it involves the complete removal of the cause of offense; such remission is based upon the vicarious and propitiatory sacrifice of Christ.

2. The Word “Forgive” Suggests A Request For Protection

Herschel Hobbs said…

Another dual thought is suggested in the word “forgive.” It is the same word used in Matthew 27:49 for “let be” or “wait.” Furthermore, it is akin to the word “suffer” or permit” found in Matthew 19:14. Therefore, it is not out of line to understand this word “forgive: in these senses. With respect to the crucifiers it could mean, “Wait until after the resurrection.” But another thought may well be involved. Jesus had said that He could call for more than twelve legions of angels to rescue Him. Was this not then a cry to heaven that the angelic hosts should “wait” or “let be” that the crucifixion might be permitted to continue according to the will and purpose of God?

Even in His agony, He is in complete control. He is requesting a strategic command from on high; the holding of twelve legions of angels at bay so that they do not destroy this sin-crazed mob.

B. Notice The Scope Of This Request – “them”

(Luke 23:34) Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

Craig S. Keener said that…

Those who were executed were supposed to say, “May my death atone for all my sins”; but Jesus confesses instead the sin of those who falsely convicted him. (From the IVP Bible Background Commentary)

He prays for “them.” So who does “them” include?

‎A. T. Robertson said…

Jesus evidently is praying for the Roman soldiers, who were only obeying, but not for the Sanhedrin.

But Albert Barnes wrote…

The prayer was offered for those who were guilty of putting him to death. It is not quite certain whether he referred to the “Jews” or “to the Roman soldiers.” Perhaps he referred to both.

1. This Encompassed The Guilty Hebrews – The Sinners

In Acts 3, Peter, after the healing of a lame man at the temple in Jerusalem, addressed “the men of Israel” in verse 12, and said…

(Acts 3:13-17) The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. {14} But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; {15} And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. {16} And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. {17} And now, brethren, I wot (see) that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.

Peter said that these men of Israel were the ones who “knew not what they” did.

2. This Encompassed The Governing Heathens – The Soldiers

Paul said that “the princes of this world” were ignorant of their actions in crucifying “the Lord of glory”…

(1 Corinthians 2:7-8) But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: {8} Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Albert Barnes explained the phrase “none of the princes of this world knew” saying…

None of those rulers who were engaged in the crucifixion of the Messiah, referring both to the Jewish rulers, and the Roman governor.

Spurgeon had a more comprehensive view and said…

I believe that it was a far-reaching prayer, which included Scribes and Pharisees, Pilate and Herod, Jews and Gentiles — yea, the whole human race in a certain sense, since we were all concerned in that murder; but certainly the immediate persons, upon whom that prayer was poured like precious nard (spikenard), were those who there and then were committing the brutal act of fastening him to the accursed tree.

Lee Roberson said…

The crowning act of sin’s dastardly career came in the death of Christ. But let us not stand back and say, “Shame on you, sin, for crucifying the Saviour.” For let us remember it was our sins which nailed Him and held Him to the cross.” … Your sins and mine bound Him to the cross. … He stayed on the cross, bound by our sins, to the tree.

Consider these statements…

(Isaiah 53:5-6) But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. {6} All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

(Isaiah 53:12) Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

(1 Peter 2:24) Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

The cry of the cross is still “Father forgive them!”

III. Let’s Consider The Reflections Of This Prayer

(Luke 23:34)

A. It Reflects Upon The Patience Of Christ

(Luke 23:34) Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

1. He Was Patient In Spite Of Their Iniquities

We find evidence of their iniquities in the verses that surround our text…

(Luke 23:33) And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.

The Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary said…

Only hellish ingenuity could have suggested the expedient of crucifying our Lord between two malefactors, in order to hold Him forth as the worst of the three.

The Bible says…

(Luke 23:35) And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided (to sneer outright) him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God.

Note: Even in their mocking, they were giving tribute to His ministry: “He saved others.”

They “derided” Him. Peter said that He was “reviled”…

(1 Peter 2:23) Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:

Max Lucado discussed Peter’s words by saying…

Peter, a writer not normally given to using many descriptive verbs, says that the passers-by “hurled” insults (reviled) at the crucified Christ. They didn’t just yell or speak or scream. They “hurled” verbal stones. They had every intention of hurting or bruising. “We’ve broken the body, now let’s break the spirit!”

2. He Was Patient In Spite Of Their Ignorance

(Luke 23:34) Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

The UBS New Testament Handbook explains that “know” (oida) means here ‘to realize’, ‘to understand.’ And “what they do” (poiousin) refers to what they are doing there and then.

Herschel Hobbs reminds us that…

Paul says that had the rulers of this world known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. When Jesus prayed, He used a word for “know” which means to perceive through experiential knowledge until it becomes a conviction of the soul or soul knowledge. In their sin-mastered state they did not know in their souls what they were doing.

Paul told the pagans at Mars Hill in Athens…

(Acts 17:29-30) Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. {30} And the times of this ignorance God winked at (overlooked); but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

And Paul testified of his own experience saying…

(1 Timothy 1:12-14) And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; {13} Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. {14} And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

On Sunday morning, October 24th, 1869, Charles Spurgeon stood at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London and said…

Listen attentively to these sentences. I will make them as terse and condensed as possible. Some of you here are not saved. Now, some of you have been very ignorant, and when you sinned you did not know what you did. You knew you were sinners, you knew that, but you did not know the far-reaching guilt of sin. … Remember your ignorance does not excuse you, or else Christ would not say, “Forgive them;” they must be forgiven, even those that know not what they do, hence they are individually guilty; but still that ignorance of yours gives you just a little gleam of hope. The times of your ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent. … The God whom you have ignorantly forgotten is willing to pardon and ready to forgive. The gospel is just this, trust Jesus Christ who died for the guilty, and you shall be saved.

1 Corinthians 2:8 says that they didn’t understand that He was the Lord of glory.

They didn’t understand that they were fulfilling prophecy (Acts 13:27).

They didn’t understand that they were killing the Prince of life (Acts 3:15). They were trying to bring death to Life itself.

B. It Reflects Upon The Priesthood Of Christ

1. There Is A Reference That Speaks Of His Priesthood In This Situation

(Hebrews 5:1-2) For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: {2} Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.

F. W. Krummacher said…

The words, “Forgive them!” shows us … the mysterious position which the Holy One of Israel here occupies as Surety, Mediator, and High Priest. “As High Priest?” you exclaim. Certainly, you must feel that He could only venture to offer up such a prayer in that capacity. … The High Priest pronounces them from the most holy place, and that too at the very moment when he is paying the debt of the guilty.

Like the “high priest taken from among men” (and beyond their capacity), He had “compassion on the ignorant.” The earthly high priest was able to do this because “he himself also is compassed with infirmity.” But the great High Priest, Jesus, was able to do this based solely on His mercy and grace!

2. There Is A Robe That Speaks Of His Priesthood In This Situation

We are told in the last part of our verse that “they parted his raiment, and cast lots” (Luke 23:34). John’s gospel elaborates on this and says…

(John 19:23) Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.

In their excellent book “The Fourfold Gospel,” J. W. McGarvey and Philip Y. Pendleton explained from the statement in John 19:23 that…

A quaternion or band of four soldiers did the work of the actual crucifixion. The Roman law awarded them the garments of the condemned as their perquisites (perks). The sandals, girdle, outer robe, head-dress, etc., of Jesus were divided into four parts and lots were cast of the parts. (The coat) was the tunic or undergarment. It reached from the shoulders to the knees. Ordinarily it was in two pieces, which were fastened at the shoulders by clasps; but Josephus tells us that the tunic of the high priest was an exception to this rule, being woven without seam (Ant. iii. 7. 4). Thus in dividing the Lord’s garments, they found a suggestion of his high priesthood.

Of being a high priest, the writer of Hebrews said…

(Hebrews 5:4) And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.

And then we are told that Jesus was…

(Hebrews 5:10) Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.

He was interceding for this mob, and I was as guilty as they were. And the cry of the cross is still “Father forgive them!”

What an irony that “they all condemned Him (the innocent One) to be guilty of death” (Mark 14:64), and He prayed for the forgiveness of the guilty ones.

Conclusion:

When the high priest’s thugs came to take Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, He said…

(Matthew 26:53-54) Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? {54} But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?

He said, “It has to be this way.”

Lindsay Terry said…

Rarely has a hymn-writer been led to Christ by his own song, but such was the case with Ray Overholt. In 1958, at the height of his show-business career, Ray Overholt wrote his now-famous song, Ten Thousand Angels. Here is his story as he related it—

One day I thought to myself: I’ve written secular songs, I’d like to write a song about Christ. I opened the Bible. I knew a little about it from my mom. I began to read how Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane told Peter to put away his sword. Jesus told Peter that he could ask his Father and he would send twelve legions of angels. I didn’t know at the time that would have been more than 72,000 angels (Cf. Matthew 26:53). I thought a good title for a song would be “He Could Have Called Ten Thousand Angels.” The more I read about Jesus, the more I admired him for what he had done.

I was playing in a nightclub in Battle Creek, Michigan, when the Lord impressed me to write the song. I wrote the first verse and put it in my guitar case. I then told the club that I was quitting. I finished the song and sent it to a publishing house, which reluctantly agreed to publish it. Sometime later I found myself singing at a small church. I sang “He Could Have Called Ten Thousand Angels.” Following my singing, a preacher spoke a message that gripped my heart. I knew I needed Christ. So I knelt there and accepted, as my Savior, the One whom I had been singing and writing about.

Here are the memorable words that Ray Overholt wrote…

They bound the hands of Jesus in the garden where He prayed; They led Him thro’ the streets in shame.

They spat upon the Saviour so pure and free from sin; They said, “Crucify Him; He’s to blame.”

Upon His precious head they placed a crown of thorns; They laughed and said, “Behold the king.”

They struck Him and they cursed Him and mocked His holy name. All alone He suffered ev’rything.

To the howling mob He yielded; He did not for mercy cry. The Cross of shame He took alone.

And when He cried, “It’s finished,” He gave himself to die; Salvation’s wondrous plan was done.

Chorus:

He could have called ten thousand angels To destroy the world and set Him free.

He could have called ten thousand angels, But He died alone for you and me.

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