“JESUS’ LAST WORD ON FORGIVENESS”
LUKE 23:34

I. Introduction
On January 9, 2014, my ninety-two year old mother passed into the arms of her Lord and Savior. In the final hours of her life she was, for the most part, unable to speak intelligibly. It was obvious that she was agitated and struggling to say something, but she just couldn’t get the words to come out. So I read some of her favorite passages of Scripture to her.

My brother Randy, his wife Jo, our daughter Stacey, and Ginny and I were at her bedside when she was finally able to say one thing. When she did, it was both forceful and clear. She said, “We’ll all be together.” And then she said it again. It was a testimony of her faith in God and her salvation in Christ. She knew where she was going and she knew that the day would come when we would be together again in His presence. My mother’s last words were instructive. They said a lot about her.

A person’s last words can be very instructive, and are often quite profound. They can tell you a great deal about that person, both from where they have come, and to where they are going. Tragically, some are quite horrible.

Francois-Marie Arouet, better known to most as Voltaire, the famous eighteenth century French philosopher, claimed that he alone would destroy Christianity. He had boasted, “In twenty years Christianity will be no more. My single hand shall destroy the edifice it took twelve apostles to (build).” But to his physician standing watch at his deathbed, he cried out, “I am abandoned by God and man! I will give you half of what I am worth if you will give me six months’ (of) life. Then I shall go to hell.”

William Pope, another eighteenth century infidel who led a group of unbelievers, delighted in ridiculing all that was Christian. One of their games was to kick Bibles across the floor. But those who witnessed his death said it was a scene of stark terror. He cried out, “I have no contrition. I cannot repent. God will damn me. I know the day of grace is past. You see one who is damned forever. Oh, Eternity! Eternity! Nothing for me but hell!” Then he said, “I hate everything God has made, only I have no hatred for the devil – I wish to be with him. I long to be in hell. Do you not see? Do you not see him? He’s coming for me.”

As I said, some last words are horrible, but then some are quite beautiful. Here are two just examples of the latter.

Samuel Rutherford, the Scottish preacher and theologian said, “Tell the Parliament that I have received a summons to a higher bar. I must answer that first, and when (comes) the day (that) your name shall (be called), I shall be where few of you shall enter. Oh, dear brethren, preach Christ, feed the flock of God! Beware of men-pleasing! Glory! Glory!”

Among his last words the Apostle Paul, writing to his young protégé Timothy, said this:
“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing (2 Timothy 4:6-8).”

Whether they are the words of Voltaire, William Pope, the Apostle Paul, Samuel Rutherford, or my mother, Vernette Timms, a person’s last words can speak volumes.

No one’s last words are more important than those of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Jesus spoke His last words on His own “deathbed,” the cross. While hanging there He said seven things that have been recorded by the Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. This morning we are going to begin a series of seven sermons that will give us an in-depth look into each of the things Jesus said on the cross, and consider how they speak to us today.

In this study I will be leaning heavily on the writings of Arthur Walkington Pink, from his book, “The Seven Sayings of the Savior on the Cross.” Known to us today as A. W. Pink, he lived from 1886-1952 and became one of the most respected theologians of the twentieth century. Among his writings is a massive thirteen hundred page commentary on Hebrews, a three volume commentary on the Gospel of John published in 1945, and numerous other works including studies on the beatitudes, and God’s attributes and His sovereignty. In fact, the men’s group recently finished our study of Pink’s book, “The Sovereignty of God.” Out-side of the Bible itself, it’s some of the richest and most profound reading I have ever done.

A. W. Pink’s last words tell us something about him. On July 15, 1952, as he lay dying, he said, “The Scriptures explain themselves.” As we hear Jesus’ last words, and carefully study them, may we see just how right Arthur Pink really was. May we all see that the Scriptures do indeed explain themselves.
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II. Text
Jesus’ first words on the cross were spoken as soon as He was nailed to it.
Luke 23:34
34 …Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

Is this the way you or I would respond to being crucified? I doubt it! I suspect we would be crying out in anger and in pain. I suspect we would be begging for mercy and for someone to take pity on us. I suspect that we might even be cursing those who are doing this to us.

Yet Jesus is not doing on any of these things. Rather, He is focusing on those who hate Him. Jesus’ first word from the cross isn’t about Himself – it’s a prayer for His murderers.
Have you always thought that the words, “Father, forgive them…” refer only to those who have just nailed Him to the cross (the Gentiles) and to those who have put them up to it (the Jews)? They do not!

We need to be very clear here. All of us are His murderers! Don’t let your human pride or anti-Semitism get in the way here and find yourself saying, “Those murderous Romans, those rotten Jews. They did this to Him.” No, we, you and I, did this to Him. Jesus would not be on the cross if it were not for your sin and for my sin.

But does He rail against us, His murderers? No, He does not. He loves us unconditionally and so He asks His Father to forgive us for what we have done. And in this we see Jesus acting as our intercessor – our great High Priest – for the very first time. The Prophet Isaiah spoke of this.
Isaiah 53:12b
12b He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.

Listen, Christian. Just as Jesus prayed for you and for me as He was being crucified, so too does He pray for us right now. He is interceding for us right now. So draw near to Him.
*Hebrews 7:25-8:1
25 He (Jesus Christ) is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
26 For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unde-filed, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;
27 who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.
28 For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.
1 Now the main point in what has been said is this: We have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the hea-vens…

Now hold that last thought – “We have such a high priest…” and turn to Romans.
*Romans 8:26b-27, 34b
26b …for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself inter-cedes for us with groanings too deep for words;
27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
34b Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

In saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing,” Jesus is inter-ceding for us. He is going to His Father on our behalf. He is acting as our great high priest. Jesus must go to God for us because we cannot go to God on our own merits. Here at the cross, in the first of Jesus’ seven words, we can see the reality of the His answer to Thomas’ question about how to find the way to God.
John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.”

We often think of this verse when we hear someone claim that people can go to heaven with-out Jesus. But the fact is that we cannot even approach God or hope to enter into effective prayer without Jesus leading the way, without our great high priest interceding for us.

“Father, forgive them…” You and I are on His mind as the horror of the cross begins. And as it does, Jesus prays. He prays not just for us, who, by God’s grace, have become His “friends,” but for His enemies. He prays for those who hate Him and even those who are engaged in the process of committing His murder. What an example for us all!

Listen and take courage. No one is beyond God’s reach. A convicted criminal, condemned and dying alongside Jesus, is about to be reached by God’s Holy Spirit. And a Roman offi-cer, watching the Lord die, is about to confess his faith.
Mark 15:39
39 And when the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last (breath), he said, “Truly, this man was the Son of God!”

Are you praying for the salvation of a friend or a loved one? Are you discouraged because it seems as though nothing is happening? Does someone you care about seem to be an avowed and open enemy of Jesus? Has someone become your enemy because of your testimony of faith in Christ? Even when He was nailed to the cross Jesus prayed for His enemies.

And what about those who hate you and spitefully use you? Who hates you today? Is that too strong a word? All right…who dislikes you?
Luke 6:27-28
27 “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
Matthew 6:14-15
14 “For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15 “But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Who has hurt you or turned against you? Can you say, “Father, forgive them…”?
By the way, if you wonder whether Jesus’ prayer extended beyond one of the criminals who was being crucified and a Roman officer, consider what happened fifty-three days after the crucifixion. On the day of Pentecost – the day the church was born – the power of the Holy Spirit fell upon those who heard Peter preach. Acts 2:41 tells us that “…those who received his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls.”

So don’t stop praying for those people God has placed on your hearts. Your great high priest is interceding for you…and He is interceding with you.

Jesus’ ministry of intercession was prophesied. Earlier I read a few words from Isaiah 53. Go back there with me and we’ll see some of what it cost Jesus to become our intercessor.
*Isaiah 53:3-7a, 10-12
3 He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we our-selves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourg-ing we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.
7a He was oppressed and He was afflicted…
10 But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
11 As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My servant, will justify the many, and He will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was num-bered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and inter-ceded for the transgressors.

So Jesus’ ministry of intercession for us was prophesied in the OT. And in the NT we see Jesus forgiving sins. In Matthew 9:2 He said to a man, “Take courage, My son, your sins are forgiven.” In Luke 7:48 He said to a woman, “Your sins have been forgiven.” Since Jesus could forgive sins why does He ask His Father to forgive them now? While Jesus was on this earth He had the right to forgive sins, but once He was on the cross, once He was being made sin, He no longer had that right. Therefore, in Mark 2:7, the scribes were asking the right question when they said, “…who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Let me quote Pink directly:
“Mark carefully (Jesus’) own words, and then behold the marvelous accuracy of Scrip-ture. (Jesus) had said, ‘The Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins (Matthew 9:6).’ But He was no longer on the earth! He had been ‘lifted up from the earth (John 12:32).’ Moreover, on the cross He was acting as our substitute. The just was about to die for the unjust. Hence, He was hanging there as our representative, (and) He was no longer in the place of authority.” (p. 23)

To be sure, all of Jesus’ authority, power, majesty, and glory were returned to Him when He was resurrected. There can be no question about that. But once He was on the cross, His ministry of intercession began. And so He prayed, “Father, forgive them…”

Now consider the second part of Jesus’ plea – “…they do not know what they are doing.” In Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth he says that the rulers of this age (those who cruci-fied Jesus) lacked God’s wisdom. It had been hidden from them. He says, “…for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Corinthians 2:8).”

So again we can see that Jesus is praying for His murderers. “…they do not know what they are doing.” That is to say, they are acting in ignorance. But what about us; what about sins we have committed unintentionally? Are they still sins?
*Leviticus 5:17-19
17 “Now if a person sins and does any of the things which the LORD has com-manded not to be done, though he was unaware, still he is guilty, and shall bear his punishment.
18 “He is then to bring to the priest a ram without defect from the flock, accord-ing to your valuation, for a guilt offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his error in which he sinned unintentionally and did not know it, and it shall be forgiven him.
19 “It is a guilt offering; he was certainly guilty before God.” (“Does the phrase ‘ignorance of the law is no excuse,’ ring a bell?”)

Sin is always sin, isn’t it? God’s divine and holy standards are not set aside because of our ignorance. Thus the sins you and I have committed that we don’t even know about need to be forgiven as well as the ones we do know about and confess. Therefore, I hope you can see that Jesus is praying for us when He says, “…they do not know what they are doing.”

Now let’s take this a step further. Jesus’ murderers did not understand the enormity of the crime they were committing because they did not know who He was. But they should have known! The OT prophets made it clear. Their writings pointed to Jesus.
John 5:39 (Jesus speaking to the Jewish religious leaders)
39 “You search the Scriptures (the OT), because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bears witness of Me.” (The fact is that countless Jews have come to saving faith in Christ by reading the OT and finding Jesus there.)
So those who murdered Jesus should have known. But, I ask again: What about us? Does “should have known” apply to us? Can we Christians be excused for our ignorance or lack of knowledge about God’s Word? If we are ignorant of God’s truth can we blame others for that ignorance? Can we say things like, “It’s not my fault? My Sunday school teacher, my Bible study leader, and my pastor weren’t very good teachers.” Are you neglecting your own study of Scripture? Or, if you are not a Christian, are you neglecting God’s clear call for you to receive Christ? Jesus said that you “…do not know what you are doing.”

How are you doing when it comes to loving your enemies? In Jesus’ first statement from His cross we hear Him put into practice precisely what He preached.
Matthew 5:43-44 (Jesus’ teaching from the Sermon on the Mount)
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.’
44 “But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.”

There is a rich truth for us here. Stick with me on this because at first it may be somewhat confusing. Jesus did not personally forgive His enemies. Neither did He command His dis-ciples to forgive theirs. But, you ask, “Doesn’t Jesus teach us to forgive always, and under every circumstance?” No, He does not! What Jesus does command us to do, always and under every circumstance, is to pray for them.
*Luke 17:3-4
3 Be on you guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, (“if he repents”) forgive him.
4 “And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

Clearly, there is a God-ordained condition which every offender must meet if he is to expect forgiveness. That condition is repentance! If the offender refuses to repent, he has no right to expect any forgiveness. Now to be sure, the one who has been offended has no right to hate the one who has committed the offense or to seek vengeance against him. Yet the one who has been offended is never required to treat the offender as if he had done no wrong or committed no sin. To do so would be to condone the offense.

Now if this is a new thought for you, or if you should find this questionable, just ask yourself one thing: Does God ever forgive – ever – where there is no repentance?
1 John 1:9
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The corollary to this should be obvious to all. If we do not confess our sins, God does not forgive us. (At this point it may be helpful to remind ourselves that the Bible defines “repentance” as “a change of mind that leads to a change of direction,” and “to confess” means “to say the same thing.”)
Have you been offended by someone? Have they confessed their offense and repented? If the answer is “Yes, they have,” then you are bound to forgive them. But if the answer is, “No, they have not,” then you are not bound to forgive them. Rather, God calls you to pray for them, and ask God to forgive them. Is this not exactly what Jesus did on the cross when He said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”?

This forgiveness that Jesus prays for is our greatest need. It is our greatest need because it is impossible for us to enter into God’s presence when we pass from this life unless He has granted us His forgiveness. The reason that an unrighteous and unholy person is unfit for God’s presence is as simple as it can be. God is absolutely righteous and absolutely holy.

Do you see? Absolute righteousness and unrighteousness of any kind cannot coexist. Abso-lute holiness and unholiness of any kind cannot coexist. As a result, no one can “work their way to heaven” because no amount of good works can make one righteous and holy. We can cultivate excellent character and we can spend a lifetime doing good deeds, but we can’t make ourselves righteous and holy in God’s sight. Excellent character and good deeds are something we should all strive for, but none of those things – if they are left unaccompanied by God’s forgiveness of sins committed – will ever open the gates of heaven.
Isaiah 64:6a
6a For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment…
Romans 3:10-12
10 “There is none righteous, not even one;
11 There is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.”

Thus our only hope is God’s forgiveness, and God’s forgiveness is only found in the blood of Christ. Hebrews 9:22 reminds us that “…without the shedding of blood there is no for-giveness.” What else will matter when you lie upon your own deathbed? If you do not have God’s forgiveness for your sins, you will have nothing. Shortly before Jesus’ ascension to heaven He told His disciples…
Luke 24:46-47a
46 “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead (on) the third day;
47a and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations…

When Jesus said, “Father, forgive them…,” He spoke to our greatest need. And all who will be washed in His blood will be welcomed into the very presence of God.

There’s one more thing we dare not overlook about Jesus’ first statement from the cross.
In it we see the completeness of God’s forgiveness. There is nothing else that can be added to it, and there is nothing else that can eradicate sins from our account. All who have heard the truth of the gospel are called to receive it and apply it to themselves. If you have heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, and have then turned away from Him, you are in grave danger. This is because you have turned away from the only One who can forgive your sins. I can-not. Your friends cannot. Your family cannot. And you yourself most certainly cannot.
*Hebrews 10:26-27
26 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
27 but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.

What a sobering passage this is! If you have heard the gospel, you have heard how to be declared righteous and holy in God’s sight. If you have heard the gospel, you have heard God’s offer of salvation through the forgiveness that comes from repentance and faith in Jesus’ finished work on the cross.
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III. Conclusion
We are all sinners. We have all offended God’s absolute holiness. As such, forgiveness is what we all desperately need.

Years ago there was a popular bumper sticker that many of you may remember. It said “Christians aren’t perfect – they’re just forgiven.” While I’m not promoting bumper sticker doctrine and theology, I must admit that that message speaks divine truth. Christians ARE forgiven…and blessed. Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul.
*Romans 4:3-8
3 For what does the Scripture say? “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.”
4 Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor, but as what is due.
5 But to the one who does not work (to “earn” his salvation), but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness,
6 just as David also speaks of the blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered.
8 “Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD will not take into account.”

Listen, there was a day when you were unforgiven and didn’t even know it. But Jesus prayed for you. He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

~ Pray ~