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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen.
Jesus’ first words from the cross are an inaccessory prayer given up to his Father, but who were these words meant for? Was Jesus crying out on behalf of the Roman soldiers, the ones who flogged him mercilessly, who mocked and ridiculed him and then drove the nails into his flesh? Was he pleading for Pilate, the one who had the authority to find him innocent, to set him free, and yet he cowardly washed his hands of the entire matter? Was he appealing for Caiaphas or for the other members of the Sanhedrin who had judged him falsely in violation of their own rules and their own procedures? Or maybe it was for the disciples, for the one who betrayed him, for the one who denied him, or simply for the others who turned their back on him and ran and scattered in fear when he was arrested.
And why does Jesus say about these that have crucified him that they know not what they do? For surely the soldiers and Pilate and Caiaphas, the Sanhedrin, they would all say, “We know exactly what we’re doing, we’re ridding the world of a troublemaker.” And after this, they would just go back to their normal lives, as if nothing happened, and not even having a second thought about the events of that day. And they didn’t know what they were doing, not really, for they were spiritually blind. They were not crucifying merely some man who claimed to be a prophet, who claimed to be a king. They were killing the Lord of life.
Jesus, God the Son, not once raised his voice in anger or spoke words of retribution. He didn’t return the slander and insults with aspersions of his own. He only spoke words that testified to the glory of the Father, words spoken for the soldiers, for Pilate, for Caiaphas, for the Sanhedrin, words spoken for the one who did betray him, for the one who did deny him, and for all those who ran, and even they, though being his closest friends and his disciples, really didn’t know who he was.
But the first words of Christ from the cross were also on our behalf. They are words spoken for me, and they are words spoken for you, for we too killed Christ. We also are responsible for his death. It was, after all, the sin of the world for which he died. And while no doubt there are many we can point the finger at and say, “It was you. You’re to blame.” We can blame the soldiers, we can blame Pilate, we can blame Caiaphas, we can blame the Jews, but we also must point our finger at the man in the mirror and say, “And it was you also.” And so Christ was praying to the Father that you too will be forgiven.
And notice Jesus doesn’t say, “Father, if it be your will, forgive them.” He knew the Father would because it was the Father who gave the Son to the world as the atonement for sin. Christ was God incarnate, the earthly manifestation of the love, mercy, and compassion of the Father. And in his cry to the Father, Jesus testifies about this relationship of God, for those transgressions that came against Jesus the Son were transgressions against the Father, the one who sent him.
So Jesus’ words should be words of comfort for sinners because his prayer was for sinners, and in these words we find an example for us to follow. What do we do and say when we are wronged? What do we do when someone transgresses us, when we are sinned against? Is it our initial response to be one of anger or to desire some type of getting even? Christ’s first words, His prayer, it’s a prayer for us to take as our own. We pray not for whatever our perception of justice or punishment is for those who’ve wronged for those who’s trespassed against us.
We pray this prayer that Jesus gives us from the cross. We pray the prayer that the Lord gave to his disciples. We pray the prayer that Stephen prayed that even as the stones were being hurled against him, that he prayed that God would not remember the sins of those who persecuted him, yes, killed him. We learn to earnestly pray to God that he forgive us those that hate us, that in their grace, that through repentance they might too be forgiven. And we also have this example of Christ’s suffering to follow, that we learn to imitate Christ’s humility, knowing that in his suffering he endured pain and shame of the cross so that we may live.
Now, Jesus’ prayer of forgiveness wasn’t in vain, and the answer to the prayer was never in question. The Father answered Jesus’ prayer because he found Christ’s death satisfactory as the payment for the sin of the world, and he continues to answer this prayer today, for it is our prayer that God would forgive us for the sake of Christ even when we don’t know what we do.
And where do we find this forgiveness? We find it wherever the gospel is rightly taught and wherever the sacraments are rightly administered. We find it—we find forgiveness—in baptism where we are given new life of water and of the Spirit. We find forgiveness in the sweet words of the absolution where we hear that God has had mercy on us. We find forgiveness in Christ’s body and blood which he has given us to eat and drink. And so it is our obligation as Christians to trust in these means of grace and to receive the forgiveness therein. For it is faith itself that is the belief in the forgiveness of sins.
Jesus’ first words from the cross are a prayer of forgiveness because it is for this purpose that he is on the cross at all. The work of God on the cross, his love on and from the cross, is the one and only way that the sin of the world could be put away. It could be done away with forever.
So in praying, “Father, forgive them,” Jesus’ words are not just words for those who persecuted him and who saw to it that his death was carried out. They’re words for sinners. They’re words for you, and they’re words for me. And they are the words of the assurance of forgiveness. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there’s also life and salvation. Amen.
