Luke 23:26-43
A Forgiving Jesus as He Was About to be Crucified
26 As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27 A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. 28 Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 Then
“‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”
and to the hills, “Cover us!”’
31 For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”
36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
38 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.
39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
As Jesus was about to be crucified He forgave all those around Him who were going to kill and torture Him on the cross...God had sent Jesus to earth to die for us, particularly for our sins...But also in forgiving our sins, God and His Son are teaching us all the time about forgiveness as we read about Them...And as we read the above verses, with all that is going on around Him and hanging from His cross, we might miss that He says, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”...Not only does Jesus forgive those who are physically harming and hurting Him, He forgives a criminal that is beside Him...Jesus and His Father teach us much about forgiveness and having a forgiving nature toward ourselves and especially others...We read much about The Father and Son's forgiving nature in Scripture...So the Bible reminds us that God's LOVE and forgiveness are available to everyone, even those who have done wrong...God and Jesus also teach us that we should forgive others, even when they have hurt us...
Who, but Only Jesus, could say in a Forgiving and Divine Way, this about our own enemies, who have hurt us or we are in a disagreement with...“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’...But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven...He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous...If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?...Are not even the tax collectors doing that?...And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others?...Do not even pagans do that?...Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect...
So let us learn these things about forgiveness and forgiving others: You, LORD, are forgiving and good, abounding in LOVE to all who call and seek You...Let us know that blessed are the ones whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered...If You, LORD, should mark our iniquities, O LORD, who could stand?...But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared...And if you forgive other people when they sin against us, our Heavenly Father will also forgive us...But if you do not forgive others of their sins, your Father will not forgive you of your sins...Because love will prosper when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on another's sin against you will separate close friends and those we love and all our neighbors...Know that our LORD our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against Him...Let us get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice...Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Jesus has forgiven you...So bear with each other and forgive one another even if you have a grievance against someone...Forgive as the LORD has forgiven you...And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you of your sins...Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered...Peter once asked Jesus how often it is necessary to forgive others, and Jesus replied, “Seventy-seven times.”"...So let us not judge others, and then we will not be judged by our standard of judging that we have set...Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned...Forgive, and you will be forgiven...We all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God, so let us confess our sins, because He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness...For God will forgive our wickedness and will remember our sins no more...And God will blot out our transgressions, for His Own sake, and remember our sins no more...In Jesus we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of His Grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence...And thus, God has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the Kingdom of His Son with His LOVE, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins...And let us never forget when Jesus was about to be crucified and killed by others, He said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do...