Last Words Of Jesus, Part One

When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.  But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they are doing." And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.
Luke 23:33-34

Have you ever wondered what was on Jesus' mind and heart as He hung from the cross? Jesus once said that the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart (Matthew 12:34). So if we want to hear the heart of Jesus, we must listen to His words.  The Gospels record seven different sayings spoken by Jesus while He was on the cross.  As this week leads us to Easter, we will be looking at one saying a day.

Today we begin with the first saying.  "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they are doing." Imagine the scene.  Jesus has been arrested, beaten, scourged, humiliated, and condemned.  He was spit on, His beard was plucked, and a crown of thorns was stuck on His head.  If that was not enough, He carried a large wooden cross for a portion of the way out of the city.  The same city that had welcomed Him a week earlier, with people yelling out "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"  Now the people have yelled, "Crucify Him!"

At the place called the Skull (from Aramaic: Golgotha, from Latin: Calvary), He is nailed to a cross.  If that pain was not excruciating enough, the cross was then raised so that Jesus' body hung from those nails.  The pain and torment He was experiencing was beyond suffering.  We cannot imagine.

Besides the physical pain He was experiencing, we must also remember the spiritual toll placed upon Him.  He was bearing our sins.  He was suffering both physically and spiritually for sins He had not committed.

And as He hung there, seeing soldiers gamble over His clothes, seeing a crowd mocking Him and wagging their heads, raised between two criminals, what was on His mind?

Forgiveness.

He prays to the Father, asking Him to forgive the very ones who are killing Him.  We hear compassion in the words of Jesus.  These killers and scoffers do not even know what they are doing.

The fact that Jesus could pray this prayer, for those people, should tell us something about the magnitude of the love of Christ.  Does it know no bounds?  Does it have any limits?  If He can pray for them, if He can seek their good, if He can interceded for them, who could ever be beyond His grace?

At a time when natural thoughts would turn to hate, vengeance, self-pity, or hopelessness, Jesus turns to love and forgiveness.

If that does not reveal something great about the heart of Jesus, I do not know what will!

In Luke 6:35-36, Jesus said, "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

At His weakest, Jesus still shows us not only His heart, but the heart of the Father.  Jesus is the exact representation of the Father's nature (Hebrews 1:3).  What a great God and Savior we have! Hallelujah!

Alas, and did my Savior bleed?
     And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
     For such a worm as I?
Was it for sins that I had done
     He groaned upon that tree?
Amazing pity! Grace unknown!
     And love beyond degree!

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