Willing to forgive

As Jesus was hanging on the cross being spat on and mocked, He lifted up His voice to the Father and said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34a). What a noble and gracious statement to make about those who were crucifying Him. He had pity on their hearts and saw their lost souls and was willing to forgive them. Of course, Jesus being God could have, at that moment, forgiven them of their sins like he did the thief, but didn't until the day of Pentecost. Peter speaks to the very same people who crucified Jesus and said, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). They asked in vs. 37, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Peter’s response was, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” They were to repent and be baptized for the remission of sin. Clearly they hadn’t been forgiven when Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” Jesus was willing to forgive them, but didn't until they had repented and were baptized.

The lesson we learn from this is that we should be willing to forgive those who do us wrong. We may not forgive them until they have repented but that still doesn’t mean that we should have hateful feelings for them at any point in time. Jesus didn't forgive those who were crucifying Him while He was on the cross, but He didn't have hateful feelings toward them either. This is something that many individuals, even some brethren, do not understand. They think if you haven’t forgiven someone, then you have harsh feelings towards them. Jesus said in Luke 17:3, “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.” We need to rebuke and then forgive when the one who has wronged us repents. Jesus also said in Mark 11:26, “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” We need to have a forgiving heart or God will not have one toward us come Judgment Day. Rebuke and forgive! It’s just another part of being a faithful Christian.

Jonathan Glaesemann