Luke 23:26-43
Jesus us Crucified and Says Forgive Them For They Do Not Know What They Do
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.”
God's Plan and the Way He does things are done in a very interesting Way...Believers know His Ways and Means are the Perfect Ways...God sent His Son to earth to find sinners, save sinners, and to die for sinners...God wants us to learn more about forgiveness and make it a part of our lifestyle and our everyday thinking...Jesus' resurrection is a stumbling block for the unbeliever, but His resurrection is the Truth, the Way, to Eternal Life for the believer...Jesus' death brings us atonement, salvation and redemption...So Jesus' death was necessary for our salvation, and for Him to be our Savior and Redeemer...His death had to happen for us to be saved...And Salvation is found in no other name...
God shows us the power and the difficulty of our willingness to forgive...Jesus' Kingdom is nothing about rooting out our enemies and those we dislike and disagree with...Jesus' Kingdom is a Kingdom of LOVE...He gave us a new commandment, that we love one another, just as He LOVED all those He met...Se we also should love one another...We should even love our enemies...Jesus said, “Love your enemies” in His Sermon on the Mount...This means that we should act lovingly toward those who hate us or treat us unjustly and wrong...But how are we to do this?...We should respect others the best we can, accepting them for who they are and not who we think they are or who we think they should be or be like...They do not have to be like us or who agree with us and our views for us to love them...We should not hold misguided, negative feelings toward those who have harmed us or who have wronged us...So if our enemy is hungry, feed him; if our enemy is is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing we will heap burning coals on his head...So do not resist an evil person or our enemy...If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also...And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well...If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles...Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you...We should forgive them, for if we forgive other people when they sin against us, our heavenly Father will also forgive us...But if we do not forgive others of their sins, our Father will not forgive us of our sins...Jesus showed us His LOVE and forgiving qualities when He said as He was about to be hung on the cross, He said forgive them Father, for they do not know what they do...He said that when we love our enemies, we resemble and reflect our Heavenly Father, who is perfect and forgiving....Be Perfect like our Father is Perfect...
God shows His LOVE for us in that while we were still sinners, His Son died for us...For God so LOVES the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish and doe but have Eternal Life...For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him...
Death had to happen for us to be saved...And His Resurrection shows us He overcame this world and death itself...Mankind is saved through His resurrection and death...Through Jesus Resurrection and Death we will have Eternal Life with Him and His Father in Heaven...