The Prayer on the Cross

And there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death. 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.  Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. (Luke 23:32-34)

                The world watched as He hung on the cross.  Hung by three spikes, one through his feet and one on each hand, He had endured humiliation and shame at the hands of the very crowd who was watching Him take His last breaths.  Excruciating pain sailed through the vast network of His nerve system as He would push up with His feet and pull up with His hands, just to take a breath of fresh air to fill his lungs.  The skin on His back was shredded open from the flogging He received from the whips that were forcefully brought down upon His back which were filled with small sharp bones and pieces of metal to further enhance the pain of a guilty criminal charged with a crime.  A wooden staff, which served in mockery as a scepter for this “King of the Jews”, had bruised his skull that had also been bloodied by a crown made of thorns.  He had been further humiliated when He was forced to carry His own object of execution, a cross which weighed approximately over 250 pounds.  Along the journey to the crucifixion site the bloodthirsty mob hit Him, spat on Him, and pulled the hair in His beard.  It all lead to this point.  He painfully took another breath and within seconds uttered words that shook the foundations of the earth.  The crowd looked up in wonder and awe at the words He had just spoken.  “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

                Have you ever heard preachers and teachers say, when He was on the cross, you were on His mind?  Have you ever wondered at what point that occurred?  I would like to say it was when He prayed.  Let’s look at the phrase “Father, forgive them”.  If you look between the words Father and forgive, you will find an all-important punctuation, the comma.  There a few things I remembered from my grammar classes in high school and one of those things is that the comma denotes a pause.  As he prayed, he paused to think of the Roman soldiers who were at the foot of the cross gambling for their ultimate prize for this event, the garments of a “convicted criminal”.  Forgive them.  He thought of Peter, His own closest disciple who had denied him on three separate occasions.  Forgive Him.  He thought of the crowd that sat before Him who just hours before had hungered for His blood and His death.  They had chosen the freedom of a violent criminal and for Jesus to die.  Forgive them.  He thought of Pilate who pandered more to the wishes of a crowd than what was right.  Forgive Him.  He thought of the Roman soldiers who gleefully played a role in brutally punishing Him and inflicted the pain upon Him prior to being hung on the cross.  Forgive them.  He thought of Chris Thomas.  I was not there, but he thought of me.  He prayed for me.  He thought of you.  You were not there, but you came to His mind.  He paused as one by one each of us came to His mind and then he prayed, “forgive them”.  It is through this moment and through this prayer that we are able to find forgiveness and redemption from our sins. 

                This prayer during this ordeal is the ultimate act of compassion.  Have you found forgiveness from your sins?  God loves you so much that He sent down His son to die your death for your sins.  If you have found forgiveness, when was the last time you prayed a prayer of thankfulness?  Through Him, we have the gift of eternal life.