Forgiveness

The Seven Words of Jesus "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Luke 23:26-38 February 15, 2026 In 2004 Mel Gibson produced and directed a film called "The Passion of the Christ," where the audience would get a graphic depiction of the final twelve hours of Christ's death, known as His "passion." Like most films, even those based on real events, artistic license is used to tell the story, but even then, the viewer gets a good idea of what the event was really like. But what if we could get an even better image of this event, from the mind of Jesus Himself? James Stalker, a 19th Century writer argues that we can in fact see the mind of Christ during His final hours. Here's what he said: If we could see the image of the crucifixion in the mind of Jesus Himself, this would reveal its true meaning. But in what way can we ascertain how it appeared to Him, as from His painful station He looked forth upon the scene? The answer is to be found in the sentences which he uttered, as He hung, before His senses were stifled by the mists of death. These are like windows through which we can see what was passing in His mind. They are mere fragments, of course; yet they are charged with eternal significance. Words are always photographs, more or less true, of the mind which utters them; these were the truest words ever uttered, and He who uttered them stamped on them the image of Himself. Stalker, of course, is referring to the last words of Jesus that we find preserved in the Gospel accounts of Luke, John, and Matthew. Together, we find seven final "words" of Jesus before His death. So, as we prepare for Easter on April 5th, we will spend the preceding seven weeks on these seven "words." To "set-up" the first of these "words," let's read Luke's account of the crucifixion, from Luke 23:26-38. 26 AND AS THEY LED HIM AWAY, THEY SEIZED ONE SIMON OF CYRENE, WHO WAS COMING IN FROM THE COUNTRY, AND LAID ON HIM THE CROSS, TO CARRY IT BEHIND JESUS. 27 AND THERE FOLLOWED HIM A GREAT MULTITUDE OF THE PEOPLE AND OF WOMEN WHO WERE MOURNING AND LAMENTING FOR HIM. 28 BUT TURNING TO THEM JESUS SAID, "DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM, DO NOT WEEP FOR ME, BUT WEEP FOR YOURSELVES AND FOR YOUR CHILDREN. 29 FOR BEHOLD, THE DAYS ARE COMING WHEN THEY WILL SAY, 'BLESSED ARE THE BARREN AND THE WOMBS THAT NEVER BORE AND THE BREASTS THAT NEVER NURSED!' 30 THEN THEY WILL BEGIN TO SAY TO THE MOUNTAINS, 'FALL ON US,' AND TO THE HILLS, 'COVER US.' 31 FOR IF THEY DO THESE THINGS WHEN THE WOOD IS GREEN, WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN IT IS DRY?" 32 TWO OTHERS, WHO WERE CRIMINALS, WERE LED AWAY TO BE PUT TO DEATH WITH HIM. 33 AND WHEN THEY CAME TO THE PLACE THAT IS CALLED THE SKULL, THERE THEY CRUCIFIED HIM, AND THE CRIMINALS, ONE ON HIS RIGHT AND ONE ON HIS LEFT. 34 AND JESUS SAID, "FATHER, FORGIVE THEM, FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO." AND THEY CAST LOTS TO DIVIDE HIS GARMENTS. 35 AND THE PEOPLE STOOD BY, WATCHING, BUT THE RULERS SCOFFED AT HIM, SAYING, "HE SAVED OTHERS; LET HIM SAVE HIMSELF, IF HE IS THE CHRIST OF GOD, HIS CHOSEN ONE!" 36 THE SOLDIERS ALSO MOCKED HIM, COMING UP AND OFFERING HIM SOUR WINE 37 AND SAYING, "IF YOU ARE THE KING OF THE JEWS, SAVE YOURSELF!" 38 THERE WAS ALSO AN INSCRIPTION OVER HIM, "THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS." Even though we know how the story ends, it's always a tough read, isn't it? Nevertheless, the first of these words comes from verse 34, where we read Jesus say: "FATHER, FORGIVE THEM, FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO." This short statement is powerful, and it deals with a topic that is difficult for many of us today: forgiveness. Let's quickly define forgiveness, biblically. The word usually used in the Greek for forgiveness means "release" or "dismissal." So, Jesus' work allows the sinner to be released from the just penalty of God for their sin. It's a deliberate act of love, mercy, and grace. Forgiveness is a decision to not hold something against another person, despite what he or she has done to you. Notice, forgetting and forgiving are not the same. Let me show you why his topic is not an easy one for us in the form of an illustration: [A] preacher's Sunday sermon was Forgive Your Enemies. Toward the end of the service, He asked his congregation, "how many of you have forgiven their enemies"? About half held up their hands. He then repeated his question. As it was past lunchtime, this time about 80 percent held up their hands. He then repeated his question again. All responded, except one small elderly lady. "Mrs. Jones?" inquired the preacher, Are you not willing to forgive your enemies? "I don't have any." she replied. smiling sweetly. "Mrs. Jones, That is very unusual. How old are you?" "Ninety-three," she replied. "Oh Mrs. Jones, what a blessing and a lesson to us all you are. Would you please come down in front of this congregation and tell us all how a person can live ninety-three years and not have an enemy in the world." The little sweetheart of a lady tottered down the aisle, faced the congregation, and said "I outlived the old hags." I'm sure that none of us could relate to Mrs. Jones. But couldn't that be true for many of us? We can probably hold on to something so long, that we would outlive it, sometimes without offering forgiveness. Jesus' short "word" here reveals so much for us to learn from. But first, let's summarize with our main idea: I can forgive because Jesus showed me how. Ultimately, isn't that the goal? To be like Jesus? Which means we must learn to forgive like Jesus as well. So, Jesus gives us a guideline in this short word that can help us to accomplish this very thing. To say it another way, here is: JESUS' WORD ON FORGIVENESS First, * Go to the source. o Notice that the very first word from Jesus as He hung on the Cross was "FATHER." o A simple, yet necessary reminder that God is the source of forgiveness. o Steve J. rightfully pointed out John 3:16-17 ties the Father's love with forgiveness. Here is what John records for us there: 16 "FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON, THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. 17 FOR GOD DID NOT SEND HIS SON INTO THE WORLD TO CONDEMN THE WORLD, BUT IN ORDER THAT THE WORLD MIGHT BE SAVED THROUGH HIM. o How do we know that God is the source of forgiveness? * The Bible, of course! * Matthew 9:1-8 reveals that only God has to the power to forgive sin, but He gave Jesus the authority on earth. * We know from 1 John 1:9 that when we confess our sin, He is faithful to forgive. * Wait? Does this mean that God forgives us only when we forgive others? * Matthew 6:14-15 reads this way: 14 FOR IF YOU FORGIVE OTHERS THEIR TRESPASSES, YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER WILL ALSO FORGIVE YOU, 15 BUT IF YOU DO NOT FORGIVE OTHERS THEIR TRESPASSES, NEITHER WILL YOUR FATHER FORGIVE YOUR TRESPASSES. * I like the way John Piper put it: If the forgiveness that we received at the cost of the blood of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is so ineffective in our hearts that we are bent on holding unforgiving grudges and bitterness against someone, we are not a good tree. We are not saved. We don't cherish this forgiveness. We don't trust in this forgiveness. We don't embrace and treasure this forgiveness. * Or, in short: forgiveness overflows * In other words, God gives us the ability to forgive, but it is His forgiveness that sets the standard. * He is the source, so we must seek Him first. * What else do we see from Jesus' first word? * Make the choice. o In Jesus' example, He petitioned the Father for forgiveness. o For you and me, since many have difficulty forgiving others, we might need to petition the Father to give us the power, the ability, and the desire to do so. o When we know this about ourselves, then we must work at it as well. o I saw a video the other day about a driver who was aggressively cut-off on the road - to the point where he was inches away from being hit - but he ... wait for it ... didn't react. He simply backed off, and the driver who cut him off ... wait for it ... apologized - I bet that story didn't go as you thought it would, did it? Me neither. o That is a mindset. o It is a mindset focused on forgiveness. On peace. On self-control. o Think about how much self-control is talked about in the Scriptures. o The Proverbs speak to this a lot. Being slow to anger. Patience. o Much of this is related to forgiveness. o With this in mind, let's return to Jesus' example on the Cross. o I want you to think about what just occurred. o He was falsely accused. Falsely charged. Falsey found guilty. Falsely sentenced to death. He was beaten. And, of course, He was mocked and spit on. Let's not forget that the second half of the verse says that they were auctioning off his clothing! o But, His first reaction? FATHER, FORGIVE THEM. o Jesus was giving us a real-life example of what He preached. o Of what we see in Matthew 6, which we looked at earlier. o Of what we see when He told Peter in Matthew 18:22 to forgive seventy-seven times. o Maybe more applicable, He lived out His words from Luke 6:27 when He says to love your enemy. o What better way to love your enemy, but to pray for them? o Jesus, facing death, sought the Father and sought forgiveness of those who nailed Him to the cross. o If we could have only a fraction of His heart. o There's one more lesson to be learned from the word. * Know the why. o In Jesus' case, He offered an argument to the Father to forgive - they don't know what they're doing. o But, what about us? What is our reason? o Paul said it this way in Ephesians 4:32: BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER, TENDERHEARTED, FORGIVING ONE ANOTHER, AS GOD IN CHRIST FORGAVE YOU. o We see something similar in Colossians 3:13, where Paul says: BEARING WITH ONE ANOTHER AND, IF ONE HAS A COMPLAINT AGAINST ANOTHER, FORGIVING EACH OTHER; AS THE LORD HAS FORGIVEN YOU, SO YOU ALSO MUST FORGIVE. o You see, we are called to forgive because we have been forgiven. o Furthermore, as we saw from the 1 John and Matthew 6 passages, we are also forgiven when we forgive others. This is confirmed in the Proverbs, in James, in 1 Corinthians, and of course the other Gospels. o So, as we noted earlier in our main idea: I can forgive because Jesus showed me how. Two weeks ago, we spoke about sharing the Gospel. Last week, we participated in a living sermon through the Lord's Supper, illustrating the perfect work of Christ on the Cross, allowing us to be reconciled to God. How was that made possible? Through forgiveness. Jesus died, so that we may live. Jesus offered the very people that literally nailed Him to the cross an opportunity to repent and He offered them forgiveness. Today, He is doing the same. Today, He is offering forgiveness. Even in His darkest hour, He offers forgiveness. If Jesus could forgive in a moment such as that, I don't think we have an excuse. That has been my conviction all week. How could I possibly live with a grudge against another, when Jesus was willing to forgive those who wronged Him, to the point of death? So, as we close, I want to offer you a few moments to think about someone that you have not yet forgiven - don't be like Mrs. Jones, ask God to reveal to you who that may be, and be sure to forgive them. In just a few moments, I'll close our time in prayer. [wait a few minutes, then close in prayer] 2