daily java

Daily Java:

Two others, both criminals, were led out to be executed with him. When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified—one on his right and one on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.  (Luke 23:32-24 NLT)

They tried their best to make him look bad. They even crucified him between two thieves, hoping that all who saw him would associate him with the thieves. They had beaten him, publicly humiliated him, falsely arrested him, put him on trial in a kangaroo court – in short, had done everything they could to make him pay for having made them look foolish.

That was what much of it boiled down to anyway. Jesus had come along and made them look like what they were: hypocrites. And that made them mad.

All of the other stuff was just window dressing as far as they were concerned. Jesus had the audacity to come and claim that he spoke from God. And when he did, he didn’t say what they wanted God to say. So that made him the enemy.

But in the midst of it all, as the broken and bloody Jesus hung from the cross, he did something that is so surprising. He forgave them.

He forgave them even though they had not asked for it and, chances were, never would. And what is more, it didn’t matter to Jesus whether they asked for it or not. He still forgave them.

The old song says, “He could have called ten thousand angels, to destroy the world and set him free. He could have called ten thousand angels, but he died alone, for you and me.”

Jesus could have done a lot of things, but what he did was to forgive those who were killing him. I have always wondered how that affected those listening.

It was said that people who were dying on a cross often hurled imprecations at those who were killing them, cursing and screaming all the way to the point of death. Those in charge were used to this. They were used to the cries of agony, the moans, the cursing – all these things were common.

But to have someone forgive them. Did it give them a moment of pause? Did it even affect them? Were they so far gone in their bitterness and anger at his not asking their permission to do what he did that they just overlooked it?

The Roman soldier at the foot of the cross for sure heard it. And he was amazed. In Luke 23:37-38, it says: When the Roman officer overseeing the execution saw what had happened, he worshiped God and said, “Surely this man was innocent.” And when all the crowd that came to see the crucifixion saw what had happened, they went home in deep sorrow.

They knew that something about this guy was different. He was different. He didn’t act like all the rest.

And he forgave when everybody else was screaming.

Things have happened to my family in my life as a pastor that were truly damaging. My son has removed himself from church today as a result of some of it. His comment once was “Dad, they knew what they were doing.” My answer: “No they didn’t. What they thought they were doing was church as usual. They really didn’t understand.”

What those who did these things thought was that it was the normal way to deal with people who didn’t do what you wanted. They really and truly thought it was normal, even though it was against God's will. Those who crucified Jesus thought they were doing things in a normal way.

And I guess they were. They had killed all the prophets who came before Jesus, so why not him too. They were bound and determined to get what they wanted.

But he forgave them.

I would like to say I forgave those who hurt my family, and I tried. I probably did a lot better job forgiving them than they did asking for forgiveness from me or my family.

But Jesus could do that. And did.

I want to be like him. Praise his name.