The Seven Words from the Cross #1

[HKHaugan]

The Seven Words from the Cross, #1

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34).”

 First, Jesus says, forgive them. Who is ‘them’? The leaders who conspired, the people in the crowd that shouted for His crucifixion, the disciples, the large group of people who did not want to get involved, those who couldn’t have cared less, the frightened, the disillusioned, the disappointed, the deniers, the doubters, the discouraged. Lump His disciples into the mix and that includes everyone. As Paul said, “There is no one who is righteous. All have fallen short of the glory of God (Rom.3:23).”

 Regardless of their spiritual condition, Jesus’ appeal is to His Father to forgive them. He stands between us and the Father seeking forgiveness for everyone. The Father is the key here. He becomes the One to whom all prayer is directed. Certainly, we can call to Jesus and the Holy Spirit. They are equally God. But Jesus gives us the example, the model, the center, for every human appeal to be directed to the Father. We are the Father’s design to be like the Trinity, mind, heart and spirit. We make our appeal to the Father like Jesus did, but we go in the name of Jesus because that is the Father’s will, to consider the life and teachings of Jesus to guide us. Remembering also that it is the Holy Spirit that carries our appeal to Him through Jesus.

 There is something very central in Jesus’ appeal, “Father, forgive them…”. If it is His first words from the Cross, then it carries top priority. Forgiveness is an attitude of the heart and to be the main attitude upon which we move relationally in the world. However, that doesn’t mean we forgive everyone we come in contact with before we meet them. Rather, forgiveness is to be understood as the forgiveness we have received for our personal sin. It is the Father’s personal forgiveness directed to each of us. If I understand how I have been forgiven then I’ll be prepared as I approach every person, whether I know them or see them from afar. Everyone is an image of God, believer and non-believer alike. If the Lord loves me as sinner, He loves others the same way. Forgiveness is the spiritual attitude that prepares me to act trusting the Holy Spirit in all my relational interchange. The only way I can begin to interact with and love others is to understand I have been personally forgiven.

 Now we have to grasp this. We have forgiveness from the Father for the same sin that crucified His Son. It was the ones who didn’t know Him, frightened leadership and those they conspired with, those who only heard about Him from biased sources, that called for His crucifixion. It is the same sin nature we inherited from Adam; the sin with which every human being is born. As David acknowledged 3000 years ago, “In sin did my mother conceive me (Ps.51:5).”  

 Let’s look at the nature of sin. Sin is the radical self-centeredness that replaces God and puts me first in every circumstance so that I can rationalize any behavior in my mind, justify my attitude and act out my idea of right and wrong. Sin is the heart condition that always tries to impress people, attempts to use any strategy to fit in and acts in pride to cover the heart’s fear. It is the fountainhead of all relational conflict; hate, name calling, gossip, dissension, division and disunity to name a few of its byproducts.

 Sin subtly moves into venting personal inner struggles onto safe areas like politics and religion, where distant personalities and institutions take the heat. It is seen in our willingness to take issues from the media and become over heated not realizing that the media depend on our anger and inner frustrations to build their audience. How willing we are to be taken in by their biases, opinions and divisive tactics. Actually, what is taking place in us is that we are giving power of over us to those who don’t even know us. If you look at the recent racial riots, the destructive behavior, the name calling that is heaped on others when those who use the epithets have no personal knowledge or personal connection with those against whom they direct their frustrations.

 TV personalities in news and entertainment have an agenda, assume power over us. Their reportage and presentation is negative, noisy, subjective, biased and self-serving. It sells. Profits are made. The vicious cycle continues, and we are their unwitting victims. These are the dynamics that crucified Jesus, the accusations, the false reporting, the Pharisees, the priests and the paid rioters colluding to kill Jesus out of the fear of losing power and social position. They who didn’t know Him called Him names and spewed hatred against Him. In the midst of all this He said “Father, forgive them…” as He hung on the Cross, the nails and thorns biting into His flesh. The media encourage us to get angry and drive the nails of hate and discord into whomever we dislike from afar and take local revenge when we feel like it.

 Yes, we need forgiveness and His first words on the Cross cover every word we have ever used against people we don’t know, against every attitude that lifts up self over God, getting heated over national and international issues over which, we have no control. We need to know that we have a forgiving God who is ready to lead us into every next moment because He loves us so much that He gave His Son to take the heat, the stuff of our sin, the self-willed opinions and attitudes that fuel our anxieties and frustrations.

 If we can start each day knowing we are forgiven, it will change the way we approach all our relational issues and how we view that world of others we don’t know. We will pause before we condemn, or allow media influenced opinions to victimize me, take root and permit their opinions and attitudes to direct how I think and act. Especially, when you consider that those who make the most noise have no personal experience of the individuals they’re talking about. As I read a lot of media and watch TV reportage, it is more sensationalized gossip than first hand reality. That’s their expertise and we need to realize that.

 The bottom line is this: do I start with God having forgiven me and carry that into all my thoughts and experiences in every next moment? Now we are dealing with the Cross as Jesus experienced it and how He calls us to take up our cross and die to the secular influences so ready to make me their tool, thus their victim.

 Father, forgive us for we know not what we do!