the verse “Father, forgive them because they dont know what they are doing” which is found in the book of Luke 23:34 shows the total mercy of Our Lord Jesus Christ when he was crucified on the cross of Calvary, surrounded by the cruelty of the soldiers and along with the criminals who, like him, were on the cross.
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Despite the agony that Jesus Christ felt after being cruelly beaten, humiliated and crucified, he felt concern for the salvation of his enemies, for the Roman soldiers who had mocked him and for the thieves who were also on the cross. We can see this in his words:
“And those who passed by insulted him, shaking their heads and saying: Bah! you who demolish the temple of God, and in three days you rebuild it, save yourself, and come down from the cross. In this way also the chief priests, mocking, said to each other, with the scribes: He saved others, himself he cannot save. The Christ, King of Israel, now descend from the cross, so that we may see and believe. Those who were crucified with him also reviled him” (Mark 15:29-32).
In this way we can see how Jesus Christ, despite all the injuries, mistreatment, humiliation and cruelty, felt the need to pray for them, because of their ignorance and lack of faith, so that God would have mercy and could give them forgiveness. But not everyone can be forgiven if there is no real repentance.
3 Important aspects of the verse “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing”
It is important to note that this prayer that Jesus Christ makes when he is on the cross of Calvary does not indicate that God forgave everyone, since without real repentance they cannot achieve salvation. However, Jesus Christ interceded for them so that God would have mercy for what they were doing out of ignorance and lack of faith, which was to humiliate and beat the Messiah.
In this regard, there are 3 aspects that must be considered to analyze this verse and understand why Jesus prayed for those who did him evil:
1.- Jesus forgave his adversaries:
When Jesus Christ came to this world, he did it with a divine purpose, to search for those who were lost and offer them the way, the truth and the life. Our Lord teaches us with his actions love towards our neighbor and places it as one of the commandments:
“Jesus said to him: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is similar: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22: 37-39)
This does not constitute a simple New Law that we must abide by, but reveals to us the criteria for the authenticity of our faith and our way of being people committed to Christ. On the one hand, it shows us that these two commandments are the fundamental basis of truth and can support any law.
On the other hand, it exposes us to the reality of God and to the reality of our neighbor. So in love we find that source of living water, that food that sustains us and encourages us every day.
Thanks to that love that Jesus shows us on the cross of Calvary and that surpasses all understanding, we can realize the magnitude of the love that Christ felt for humanity, even when it has put him in a very painful and humiliating situation. So Christ teaches us with his actions that we can love our neighbor despite the fact that he hurts us.
In this sense, when we love God and our neighbor, we are feeling passion for God and compassion for Humanity, since Passion-Compassion means that we praise existence from its roots, and we must take part in life showing gratitude and always choosing for what is good, and live spiritually and not carnally, let die all the things that bind us and surrender to the will of God. In this way, we will forgive our neighbor from the heart, just as Jesus did nailed to that cross.
2.- Jesus interceded for his enemies
When Jesus was nailed to the cross of Calvary, he felt the need to pray for all those who had attacked, insulted and humiliated him, since he understood that due to their ignorance, they would lose the gift of salvation.
In this way, Jesus Christ felt compassion and revealed the new manifesto of loving our neighbor as oneself, since this act demonstrates the true faith of the believer.
In addition, he was fulfilling the prophecy described in the Old Testament: “He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12). In this way, and from the cross, Jesus Christ interceded for sinners. Today, after Jesus Christ was resurrected and glorified, he continues to be “the only mediator between God and men” (1 Timothy 2:5).
3.- Jesus Christ put into practice the commandment: “love your neighbor as yourself”
Jesus Christ added to the commandments to love our neighbor as ourselves, so instead of lashing out at our enemies, we should love them and pray for them just as he did when he was crucified and experienced pain, humiliation and exhaustion.
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Jesus prayed in this way: “Father, forgive them,” because he was carrying out the principle that he had imparted with his teachings in his gospels, as evidenced in the Sermon on the Mount: “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.”(Matthew 5:43-44). Jesus, still being persecuted, felt the need to pray for his transgressors.
Why did Jesus ask forgiveness for his adversaries?
Those sinners who placed Jesus Christ on the cross did not know the truth and were ignorant of the real importance of their acts against the teacher. The soldiers, specifically, were just following orders, but they were unaware of what was really happening, since those who were convicted were treated that way and they thought they were doing the right thing by punishing them.
In this sense, the Roman soldiers did not know that they were killing the Son of God, as his word reveals: “But we speak wisdom of God in mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God predestined before the centuries for our glory, which none of the princes of this century knew; for if they had known it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory.” (1 Corinthians 2: 7-8).
So the mob didn’t really know who they were trying to destroy for no reason other than their own evil and ego. The Jewish leaders were deceived into thinking that Jesus Christ was just a charlatan. As his word reveals: “But now, brothers, I know that you did it through ignorance, as did your rulers” (Acts 3:17).
When Jesus Christ prayed saying “Father forgive them,” Jesus made evident his infinite mercy, showing that he loved them despite all their transgressions: “So, it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.” (Matthew 18:14).
This prayer made by Jesus when he was on the cross was answered in the lives of many people. The Roman centurion at the foot of the cross, when he saw the way in which Jesus died, affirmed: “Surely this man was the Son of God.” (Mark 15:39). In addition, one of the thieves who was also crucified asked Christ to take him to paradise:
“And one of the criminals who were hanged reviled him, saying: If you are the Christ, save yourself and us. Answering the other, he rebuked him, saying: Do you not even fear God, being in the same condemnation? We, in truth, justly suffer, because we received what our deeds deserved; but this one did no harm” (Luke 23:39-43).
In this way, Jesus on the cross granted forgiveness to all who wanted to believe in him. Our Lord paid the price with his blood to be able to free us from all the sins committed in our ignorance, since by not knowing the divine plan we are ignorant and therefore the entrance to the kingdom of heaven was forbidden to us.
But now thanks to his perfect sacrifice, he decided to forgive us and free us completely from the slavery of sin, which kept us tied to the things of the world and carnal desires, moving us further away from the presence of God every day.
This can be appreciated in the word where he shows us the purpose of Christ on earth: “As the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).
The prayer of Jesus Christ on the cross was answered
Once we analyze the situation of Jesus in which he asks God to forgive his transgressors, we would think that it is a prayer addressed to people who carried out his arrest and who participated in his death.
However, this approach is somewhat limited, since this prayer goes much further because it includes all humanity that in their ignorance can also fall into sin. As his word reveals: “For when they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor gave him thanks, but were puffed up in their reasonings, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (Romans 1:21)
Although we can find evidence about the existence of God and his goodness, all of us in some sense can reject him and move away from his mandates, since we are human and have free will. But perhaps we were ignorant of what we were doing when we turned against our Lord, creator of heaven and earth.
But when Christ prayed for those transgressors, he also did them for us, that within our ignorance, many times we can fail God, without measuring the consequences of our actions. So it is a privilege to be able to know the word of God and know the divine plan of the sacrifice of Christ, since thanks to this we can appreciate the light of truth, which was previously forbidden.
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So the situation totally changed with this beautiful prayer of Our Lord Jesus Christ saying to forgive us for our ignorance. Therefore, the death of the Son was the answer to this prayer, since when Jesus died, the sacrifice was pleasing to God for the forgiveness of our sins, so that anyone who believes in him for salvation and is born again, I can get the gift of salvation. In this way that when this sacrifice was consummated, the veil that kept us away from God was torn, and now we can have access to him through his son Jesus Christ of him.