They Know Not What They Do

Some of us here have endured horrendous evil and sin against us. Some of us have been betrayed, we have been lied to, we have been traumatized by the sins of others against us.

The Westminster Larger Catechism acknowledges that not all sins that are committed are the same in terms of their impact and heinousness. Question 150 says that “some sins in themselves, and by reason of several aggravations, are more heinous in the sight of God than others.” Those aggravations can be found in questions 151, which I will not detail here. One of those aggravations is the nature of the person sinned against.

Assault against an equal citizen can land some jail time and a hefty fine, but assault against the president has more serious consequences.

While all of us deal with the impact of our own sin and the sins of others both mediately and immediately, the problem of evil has to deal with the reality of the murder of the Son of God as the most evil, wicked and heinous sin ever committed in the history of the world. Yes, millions of unborn die every year, but none of them bore the majesty of the person of Jesus Christ. Yes, we all experience loss in this world because of Adam’s sin, but even Adam in his pristine state before the corruption of sin stained him and the entire human race, does not come close to the glory of the Son of God.

To the Jewish leaders, Jesus was just another problem-causer. But not just any problem. He was a threat to their religious power, to their spiritual authority, to their leadership and reputation among the community. But he was also a problem to their lifestyle being that these leaders accumulated great wealth. If the people did not need them for spiritual guidance anymore, then the people no longer needed to support them. Out of simple jealousy, the Jewish leaders abused their God-ordained positions to falsely accuse Jesus and hold a sham-trial to find him guilty of blasphemy and them have the Romans do their dirty work of getting rid of Jesus. They did this by turning him in as claiming to be a king against Caesar. Rome would have none of that. Caesar must have no rivals.

While the Romans appear to be hesitant to put Jesus on trial, and even make efforts to release him, the Jewish leaders incited a mob to push Jesus to be crucified instead. Once the mechanism of capital punishment is in motion, each soldier simply does their duty they way they treated criminals going to death. Jesus got some extra mistreatment enduring mockery of a crown of thorns. They beat him and lead him to Golgotha like they did other criminals who went with him and were crucified next to him.

While on the cross, Jesus utters the words, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Who did not know what they were doing? What did they not know they doing? Who was Jesus forgiving and for what?

The clear answer is that Jesus was only forgiving an act of ignorance: “…they know not what they do.” Jewish laws distinguished between intentional and unintentional sin. It surprises many readers of the OT that intentional sin did not have an atonement (Numb. 15:22-31). While there is a lot that can be said was intentional against Jesus – especially the anger and hatred toward Jesus by the Jewish leaders – there was also unintentional sin. In 1 Corinthians 2:8, Paul recognizes the ignorance of the Jewish leaders and the Romans with regard to WHO JESUS WAS. He says, “None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

Jesus’ words are not a blank check for forgiveness and we should not expect to see each of those who are included in Jesus’ prayer here to be in heaven. At best, the most heinous sin ever committed in human history is not tacked onto their account of the sins that they are already guilty of including original sin. Jesus is acknowledging that though aspects of their sin are vile, with regards to his identity, they did not sin with a high-hand. Indeed, those Jews and Jewish leaders who learned who Jesus was through the preaching of Peter in Acts 2, they were “cut to the heart,” and desperately ask what they must now do to be forgiven of all their sins especially the murder of their own Messiah and God.

What do these words tell us about Jesus? That even on the cross, Jesus maintains a spirit of forgiveness and justice. He both forgives and remains just by not holding these men accountable for something they are ignorant of with regards to Jesus’ identity. That full forgiveness is not meant here is clear because the judgment of Jerusalem is still pending which Jesus spoke of prior to this word from the cross.

What does this mean for us today? With anti-semitism on the rise, socially and culturally, Christians are not to hold the Jews accountable for the sin that Jesus forgave them of. If Jesus does not hold that sin against them, then neither should we. Second, we must also be willing to not hold sins committed in ignorance against those who commit them. We, like our Lord, must discern those who have the “high hand” and those who do so unintentionally. None of this negates repentance as Jesus taught that if our brother sins and if he repents, we must forgive him (cf. Luke 17:3-4). Stephen, while being stoned to death echoes Jesus’ attitude with his dying breath as he says, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” He was not praying for their full forgiveness and justification, but only that this one specific sin would not be part of their account when they are judged.

But there is a bigger significance for all of us. Remember that OT law did not provide atonement for intentional sins. Jesus knows the intended sins of the Jewish leaders and the unintended sin. On the cross, Jesus is atoning for intentional sins to pave the way for their full forgiveness should they repent. Jesus knows those sins that are committed “with a high hand” to use OT language and he went to the cross by those sins and for those sins. Jesus was bearing the penalty for intentional sins on the cross. Hence, no sin is unforgiveable because of the cross of Jesus even the most heinous sin of the murder of the Son of God as Acts 2 demonstrates in the forgiveness of sins through the repentance of the Jews at the preaching of Peter.