Father,
forgive them,
for they know not
what they do.

Luke 23:34 ESV

In the final chapter of Genesis, Joseph’s brothers were in great fear after their father’s death that Joseph would begin to exact his revenge upon them. However, Joseph wept at the very thought and told them, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (v. 20).

Those words are not merely a fitting conclusion to the story of Joseph. They are also a powerful confession of faith in the providence of God when reflecting upon all of the sins and tragedies within the book of Genesis. But we can also go one step further. Joseph’s words become a kind of interpretive lens through which we can read all of Scripture and all of life.

Even in the time when the judges ruled Israel, this remained true. Consider the final judge in Judges. Samson was far from being the ideal man of God. Although God gives him superhuman strength, the story of Samson features him systematically breaking every element of his Nazarite vow. Finally, his hair is cut, he is captured by the Philistines, and his eyes are gouged out. The resolution comes when all hope seems lost. The Philistines gather to feast and mock the weakened Samson, but as he stretched out his arms to feel the pillars on either side, he prayed: “O Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes” (Judges 16:28). With one final act of strength, the pillars were destroyed, the roof caved in, and “the dead whom [Samson] killed at his death were more than those whom he killed during his life” (v. 30).

From evil (both Philistines and Samson), God worked good: the destruction of his enemies. “Who does Samson look like, standing there with his head down and those arms stretched out, touching stones?” Does he not resemble the true Judge? Christ “came to raise His arms, to get His hands up. Load those shoulders with the world. Put those law stones in His hands. And if they drop, destruction… He was pierced scourged and mocked. He was cursed and raised up on a tree, but He was in that ancient pose of victory” (Death by Living).

Indeed, Samson’s victory was a bitter-sweet grace of God. A kindness to the sinful and broken judge of Israel and a judgment upon Israel’s enemies. Christ, however, hung upon the cross in victory, even as descended into hell for our sake. Clemency, you see, is the prerogative of the victors. While Octavian battled for control over Rome, he was ruthless and merciless, but after securing his power and being named Augustus Caesar, he became famous for his mercy and patience.

In His darkest hour, like Samson, our Lord prayed. But, unlike Samson, He did not pray for vengeance upon His enemies. Instead, listen to His plea: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. This is the first of seven sayings that are recorded for us by the Holy Spirit from our Lord upon the cross. From it, we can make three observations.

First, note how our Lord prayed. When He stood before the Sanhedrin, He was silent. When He stood before Herod, He was silent. When He stood before Pilate, He was silent. When the Roman soldiers ripped open His back with the whip, He was silent. But as Spurgeon notes, “the lamb of God was silent to men, but he was not silent to God.” He goes on to say:

Our blessed Redeemer persevered in prayer even when the cruel iron rent his tender nerves and blow after blow of the hammer jarred his whole frame with anguish; and this perseverance may be accounted for by the fact that he was so in the habit of prayer that he could not cease from it; he had acquired a mighty velocity of intercession which forbade him to pause. Those long nights upon the cold mountain side, those many days which had been spent in solitude, those perpetual sudden prayerful utterances which he was wont to dart up to heaven, all these had formed in him a habit so powerful, that the severest torments could not stay its force. (78)

Are we imitating our Lord in this manner? The Scriptures command us to pray without ceasing, with all perseverance, at all times, and for all the saints. Are we striving to make prayer such a habit of our souls that it is our first reflex when trials come?

A. W. Pink’s encouragement is also worth hearing:

Perhaps these lines may be read by some who by reason of age and sickness are no longer able to work actively in the Lord’s vineyard. Possibly in days gone by, you were a teacher, you were a preacher, a Sunday-school teacher, a tract-distributer: but now you are bed-ridden. Yes, but you are still on earth! Who knows but what God is leaving you here a few more days to engage in the Ministry of Prayer–and perhaps accomplish more by this than by all your past active service. If you are tempted to disparage such a ministry, remember your Saviour. He prayed, prayed for others, prayed for sinners, even in His last hours. (10)

Second, observe the nature of Christ’s prayer: forgive them. In the midst of torment and scorn at the hands of people who were only living because they were being sustained by the word of Christ’s power, He does not call for vengeance. He calls for mercy, for forgiveness. Mark Jones writes:

Christ did not make the plea ‘Father forgive them, for they know not what they do’ (Luke 23:34) for friends and followers who continued to struggle against sin, but rather on behalf of people (i.e., Romans and Jews) who hated him. He desired the very best for the very worst, and was most loving when others were most hating. (144)

On Sunday mornings, we have been considering the Beatitudes, which are Jesus’ description of those who are blessed, that is, who are truly and eternally happy. Here are two more to add to that list from the Old Testament:

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit. (Psalm 32:1-2)

Indeed, if God is the almighty Creator of heaven and earth and is the Giver of every good and perfect gift, then there can be no terror greater than knowing that He will judge our every sin. But conversely, there can be no greater happiness and blessedness than knowing that He does not count our sins against us. But of course, the Judge of all the earth cannot simply overlook our sins. That would be unjust.

That is the tremendous beauty of Christ’s prayer. It is wonderful to consider that Jesus modeled His own teaching for us. In the Sermon on the Mount, He commands us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. And if we thought that teaching was too difficult, He Himself gave us the greatest example possible by praying for those who were crucifying Him while He was still upon the cross!

But again, He went even further than we are ever able to go, for it was through His own crucifixion that He made their forgiveness possible. Through His suffering and death, Christ offered Himself to God as the perfect and final sacrifice for our sins. Thus, our iniquities are not counted by the LORD against us, not because He sweeps them under some heavenly rug, but because they have already been punished in Christ.

Marvelously, some of those who crucified Him very well may have actually turned in repentance. Peter concluded his Pentecost sermon by saying, “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36). Indeed, it was quite likely that many in the crowd listening to Peter had also chanted ‘Crucify him!’ three months earlier. And here is what happened: “Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do'” (v. 37)? Praise God that the prayers of our Savior never fall short.

Finally, consider the reason which Christ gives for His prayer: for they know not what they do. The Good Shepherd knew that He would be bitten, and He did not respond in anger but in pity. Do you see the great irony here? The soldiers, the Jewish leaders, and the crowds all should have pitied Jesus. Even though Pilate found Him to be innocent, Christ was still given the most vile execution possible, and those who cried ‘Hosanna’ a few days before were now mocking Him.

Yet it is Jesus who pities them, for they were ignorant. They did not know that they were slaughtering the King of glory and putting to death the Author of life. They did not understand the depths of their sin, and Christ pitied them.

Indeed, that is the great secret to loving our own enemies and praying for those who persecute us. Stephen and countless other martyrs followed the example of Jesus and prayed for those who were killing them. They did so knowing that their own torment is nothing more than a fleeting trial and then would come eternal happiness. But for those apart from Christ, their control, power, and pleasure are fleeting vanities of this world and then comes eternal torment and death. Like Christ, martyrs for His name need no pity. They are ones of whom the world is not worthy. Let us pity those who persecute Christ’s Bride.

Of course, we should similarly pray for all those in the world who are still ignorant of Christ because we were among their number. Before the Holy Spirit opened our eyes to see the glories of Christ, we scorned Him just as much as those who were physically present. Indeed, each time we place our confidence in our own righteousness we mock the once for all sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice. But our Lord had mercy upon our ignorance and has continued mercy for our continued ignorance even now.

Therefore, as we come to the Table before us, which is a remembrance of Christ’s death, let us here our Savior’s beautiful prayer for us: Father, forgive them. Although we were as deserving as the Philistines of destruction, Christ is the greater Samson, who took our destruction entirely upon Himself. Abel’s blood cried out for vengeance from the ground against Cain, but Christ’s blood cries out for the redemption of we whose sins were upon His shoulders. As we eat this bread and drink this cup, let us taste and see the goodness our Savior who prayed for our forgiveness even as He was slaughtered for our sins.