And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”. . .
Luke 23:34 (ESV)
They arrived at the place that they called The Skull.
In some translations, it is simply called Calvary. Yet, the name the Skull depicts a certain image of death looming in the air. It is also called Golgotha. It is also known, according to Britannica.com, as a “skull-shaped hill in ancient Jerusalem, the site of Jesus’ Crucifixion.”
They arrived at the place where He was to be crucified. Upon arrival, we’re given the name of the place. Upon arrival, we’re given the intended purpose of their arrival. This was to be the place where jesus was to be crucified.
Even the mention of the two criminals is part of the big picture. While He was still reclining and dining with His disciples for the last time, Jesus shared an eerie prediction of His own death: “For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in Me: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about Me is reaching its fulfillment” (Luke 22:37, BSB). The first portion quoting ‘the Scriptures’ (the Old Testament) with a direct reference to the prophecy of Isaiah in Isaiah 53:12. It is in Luke 23:33 that we see Jesus crucified with one criminal on either side of Him.
Yet, in the midst of all of this prophecy being fulfilled and sacrifices being made to bring about salvation, Jesus offers a salient supplication for the folks doing the most at that moment.
Jesus asked God the Father to forgive them.
Jesus asked God to forgive them because they do not know what they’re doing.
Jesus asked the Father to set aside any feelings that He might have harbored due to how they were doing His only begotten Son and see His way to forgiving them in the midst of their own ignorance.
They were mocking Him, but Jesus asked the Father to show them forgiveness.
They were rolling dice to see who’d get His garments, but Jesus asked the Father to forgive them.
They crucified Him like a common criminal, but Jesus asked the Father to forgive them of all of that.
Could we do the same as Jesus?
Could we pass the cross test?
Could we ask God to forgive the folks crucifying us?
Could we go to God on behalf of the very folks who are giving us hell at that very moment?
If we really want to be more like Jesus, perhaps we should start by imitating His resilience to see all redeemed and reclaimed in the name of God.
See a previous post on the cross test called Tested Like the Cross. It was written over a decade ago. It was written when I had a different perspective on facing death, especially such a death as a sacrifice for the sake of sinners like us all. Also, back then, I had different perspective of what Jesus really had to withstand in order to bring about salvation through his atoning sacrifice.
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