Thought of the Day April 6, 2020 Father, forgive them
Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke
23:34)
Why were these the first words from Jesus’ lips from the pulpit
of the cross? How often did he preach on the need for forgiveness? Now, he
chose to preach through personal active testimony.
He addresses the Father directly. He knows that his persecutors
are acting out of ignorance, resulting from hardened hearts against the truth.
Yes, they were aware of the prophesies about a suffering servant, who, though
from God, is put to a violent death. Yet their hardened hearts refused to be
opened even to the Word of God, like their ancestors.
No act could be more heinous than to put to death an innocent
man out of refusal to accept the truth of his real identity. This is the Son of
God, the Lord and Messiah. Yet, Jesus, out of mercy, chose to forgive them,
less his heart become hardened like theirs. Have we hardened our heart against
another for something much less severe?
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