Father, Forgive Them

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up His clothes by casting lots. Luke 23:34 NIV

I’ve been thinking about this verse since we discussed it in Bible study a few weeks ago. Jesus gave us an example of forgiveness to follow, but have you ever thought about the fact that the people who killed Him really didn’t know what they were doing? I’ve always thought they had to know what they were doing. They may not have known that was God on the cross, but they must have known that crucifixion was cruel. And they must have known that Jesus was innocent. How could He say they didn’t know what they were doing? Jesus is truth (John 14:6), so He can’t lie. If He said they didn’t know what they were doing, then they really didn’t know. There must be something in that statement that I’ve never noticed.

Could Jesus be saying they didn’t understand the big picture? You know, God uses everything that happens to us for His good purpose. I’ve spent years trying to forgive one of my son’s teachers. I’ve also had a hard time forgiving myself for letting him stay in her class. I thought, even then, that God was calling me to homeschool, but I was afraid I couldn’t do it. I know the statements “God is calling me” and “I can’t do it” don’t belong in the same sentence. Still, I wasn’t sure. My son is in college now, and we are still thankful for his first grade teacher, Mrs. Fortner, and his second grade teacher, Mr. Lilly. We’ve always considered those teachers to be gifts God gave our son. But until now, I’ve had a hard time considering one of his teachers to be a gift from God. Since Jesus looked at the big picture, maybe I should too. She didn’t know what she was doing, but God used her to accomplish His purpose.

It didn’t happen immediately, but this teacher did help us make the decision to homeschool. And God uses adversity to make us into the people He wants us to be. I tend to try to shield my children from adversity. Yes, when we look at the big picture, we can forgive anyone who hurts us because we can see it as part of God’s plan. The cruel death that Jesus suffered was also part of God’s plan.

I don’t think Jesus meant that the people who crucified Him didn’t know it was cruel. He meant they didn’t know that God was using their cruelty to fulfill His plan and offer us forgiveness for our sins. So, Jesus humbled Himself and became obedient to death. Few of us will be called to be that obedient, but we can learn from Jesus’ prayer on the cross. We can forgive and wait to see God’s plan.