Christ’s Spirit of Forgiveness

Christ’s Spirit of Forgiveness

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

Matthew 6:12; Luke 23:34

As we continue our consideration of Christ’s teaching on forgiveness, based upon His statement from the Lord’s Prayer, we come to contemplate how Christ demonstrated a spirit of forgiveness. Here is His famous remark from the cross: ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’ Who are ‘they?’ Within the context, ‘they’ are the soldiers who actually crucified Him, because the next line is, ‘And they divided His garments and cast lots.’ Christ had particular compassion upon the hard men at the foot of the cross to whom, executing a man by crucifying Him was just another day at work. ‘They’ killed people for a living. To them, Christ was not particularly exceptional. Therefore, ‘they’ did not know what they were doing. It was for these hardened men that Christ interceded. He prayed for God, His Father, to ‘forgive’ them. He demonstrates that spirit of forgiveness of which we have been speaking. He, Himself, does not actually grant them forgiveness, but refers the whole matter to His Father for action. It would be to God, the Father, to grant to them regeneration, to give them repentance and faith, and to bring them savingly to Christ. For His part, Christ demonstrated the spirit of forgiveness toward these hard men and prayed for them in His dying hours. Christ shows us how to live, and how to die.

Our Kind and Loving Savior,
we praise You that You show us everywhere Your Compassion.
We rejoice that You are ever willing to forgive
and to intercede for us, that we may be forgiven.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning