The first saying of Jesus from the cross:

“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”

Luke 23:34

Looking down from his grisly vantage point on that cross, Jesus could see the Roman soldiers below him. Moments earlier, he had looked up at these same cold faces from the flat of his back, as they expertly drove the nails through his hands and feet. They’d clearly done this before.

And as the cross was hoisted into place, he could see they had put the hammers and spare nails aside. The clothes they were now gambling for looked familiar. They were his.

It’s hard to conceive of a more complete humiliation. Found innocent by a Roman court, yet handed over to be crucified like a guilty man.

It’s harder still to imagine what you might say in such a situation, if anything at all. Just drawing breath would have meant searing agony let alone forming words. The screams of crucifixion tended to fade quickly because inhaling enough air was just too painful.

Whatever he might come out with, I am sure these hardened Roman soldiers had heard it all before.

So as they looked up and saw this pitiful man brace himself on the nails just high enough to draw breath, I wonder what they expected from him.

What would this Jesus have for those men whose hands were covered in his still-drying blood?

Silence perhaps? Angry screams of protest? Shouts of accusation?

They heard this:

“Father, forgive them“

I suspect that even the lucky winner of Jesus’ clothes might have paused at these words. Whether simply to laugh or to gaze up at him in confusion, I don’t know. It is quite a thought to imagine how the soldiers would have reacted to these words. Their facial expressions would be quite a sight.

You can hear them asking “What’s wrong with this guy?” or “Who does he think he is?”

And we should be equally as baffled by his words. They are completely disarming.

What sort of a man speaks like this?

Whose first response to his own torture is to pray for the forgiveness of those who inflict it?

It makes no human sense. None at all. But he isn’t finished.

“They know not what they do“

This is staggering. As well as praying for their forgiveness, Jesus goes further still and offers an excuse for their behaviour! This man has surely lost his mind.

He assumes the role of defence attorney, pleading for the verdict “Forgiven” to be issued to them by his Father. He intercedes on the soldiers behalf and pleads their case for them.

And all of this while hanging on a cross as a supposed criminal! The soldiers probably laughed at the irony.

He returns their hard nails of iron with his own tender words of forgiveness.

He replies to their teasing taunts with his own pleading prayer for their justification.

These words cut right against the grain of what’s expected. Like I said. They make no human sense. Perhaps because they are not merely human words.

Consider this:

You can hammer a nail into the wrist of Jesus.  
You can hoist him into the air on a cross.                          
You can gamble for his clothes and win.                                        
You can place a crown of thorns on his head.                               
You can taunt and mock and spit at him.                                        
You can pierce his side and kill him.

And having done it all, what would he say to you then?

“Father, forgive them“

God’s first word to the guiltiest of sinners is not one of accusation. No. It is one of forgiveness.

And although addressed to a group of Roman soldiers many years ago. These same words are addressing you right now as you read them. These words, croaked from the parched mouth of a dying Jesus resound to this very day. Because they have power. Power to change. Power to transform.

Don’t believe me? Look what became of one of these soldiers.

He finishes up the game of dice for Jesus’ clothes. He goes on to taunt and mock him some more. His ignorance continuing a little while longer.

But as this hardened executioner observed Jesus on the cross over the course of the morning, hearing these 7 “words” and watching his conduct, that ignorance and hostility start to crumble.

Indeed, later on, as Jesus breathed his final breath and this soldier considers all that he has seen and heard from Jesus, he cries out:

“Surely this man was the Son of God!”

Matthew 27:54

If a Roman soldier who crucified Jesus can be forgiven and brought to worship. So can you.

Whatever you think might be stopping you from enjoying a relationship with God. Whatever it is from your past that you think disqualifies you. Whatever you’ve done, whatever has been done to you, whatever you’ve thought, whatever you’ve said.

It is ALL shattered by Jesus Christ on the cross.

Because it is there that forgiveness can be found.

Not cheap forgiveness. Not forgiveness that turns a blind eye to what really happened. Not forgiveness that sweeps it under the carpet and asks no questions.

No.

It’s a forgiveness that watches the nails being driven home. It’s a forgiveness that gasps as the blade pierces its side. It’s a forgiveness that looks you in the eye as blood trickles down its face as it hangs on a cross. It’s a forgiveness that knows the terrible cost. And pays it.

Christianity is a radical religion because its God is radical in paying that cost himself. In his words, Jesus talked the talk, though that’s easy to bluff. But in dying on the cross for us, we see that God was prepared to walk the walk too. Along the Calvary road where he pays that price in full.

And I want you to know that the cross has not lost its transforming power in the last 2000 years. The price is still paid. The power is still potent. God still extends his forgiveness today. And receiving it has transformed my own life and continues to do so to this day. I can know true forgiveness and peace not because I’m good, not because I pray, not because I am anything. But because God is a God who loves me to such an extent that he sent his Son to die in my place, that I might receive forgiveness and know him and love him and enjoy him for all of eternity.

It’s important to note that our pasts don’t disappear when we become Christians. Even the risen Jesus had scars that spoke of his. But our pasts can all be redeemed and forgiven and become wonderful testimonies of the power of the cross to change the direction of the human heart forever. Just think of that Roman soldier. In an instant, his awful past becomes a dazzling example of just how far a journey with God can bring you.

So I hope you hear these words spoken to you this Easter and consider them for yourself.