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"Father Forgive Them, For They Do
Not Know What They Are Doing"
Do you know what you are doing? I remember when I was a boy,
it seemed like I was always doing things that caused my parents
or caused my teachers to look at me and say, "Scott… What in the
world has gotten into you? Do you even know what you are doing?"
I was always doing silly things when I was a child - like getting
my head caught in-between the railings of the staircase… Or trying
to jump off the roof of my house with an umbrella thinking I would
float gently down to the ground…
It reminds me of a true story about a mother who was in her
kitchen looking out through the window above the sink watching
her three boys playing out in the back yard – the boys were 6,
7 and 8 years old… And as she watched them she noticed to her
horror that they were playing with some baby skunks thinking
that they were puppies…
And so the mother ran out the back door frantically yelling:
“Skunks boys! Skunks! Run! Run! Run!” And so the boys
each picked up a skunk and started to run…
My friends… Do you know what you are doing? You see… This
is what Jesus Christ saw as he was being nailed to the cross…
This is what Jesus Christ saw as he hung upon the cross
struggling to breath – covered in your sin and my sin and
the sin of the world… Jesus Christ looked down from the
cross – hanging there on the very edge of hell itself and
he saw a bunch of people who did not know what they were doing!
He saw the Pharisees – the religious leaders of his day…
The supposedly good, righteous, moral, upstanding citizens…
He saw their hatred… He saw their loathing… He saw the
disgust and the contempt they had for him… Why? Because
he had dared to suggest to them that they were in need of
forgiveness just like everybody else… He had dared to
suggest to them that they needed the grace of God just
as much as the thieves and the criminals…
Jesus saw these holy men… These so-called righteous men…
And they were standing there mocking him – teasing him –
laughing at him… A dying man! A dying man who wasn’t just
a man but was in fact God Himself! YHWH Himself! The
creator and sustainer of all things! My friends, do you
see? They did not know what they were doing…
As he hung there on the cross Jesus Christ looked and he
saw one of the criminals who was crucified at the same time
he was hurling insults at him… Yelling at him… Demanding
that Jesus use his great power to come down off the cross
and rescue him and his fellow thief from the terrible
situation they were in…
Now, my friends, just imagine if Jesus had actually
listened to him… Just imagine if Jesus had actually come down
off the cross… Just imagine the death… The darkness… The
despair that would have consumed the world… You see, that
criminal… He just didn’t know what he was saying… He just
didn’t know what he was doing.
And finally, my friends, Jesus looked down from the cross and
he saw the soldiers… The same soldiers who had spit on him and
tortured him… The same soldiers who had driven the nails through
his hands and his feet… Jesus looked down from the cross and he
saw those soldiers right there at the foot of the cross casting
lots for his clothing… Gambling at the foot of the cross
for the purple robe he had been forced to wear by King Herod…
Now folks, I want you to really think about this for just a
minute… I want you to really think about this… Because I’m sure
that that purple robe was worth a little bit of money… I’m
sure that whoever won that robe probably sold it and made a
few bucks…
But, my friends, can you begin to comprehend the staggering
nature of what they lost? Can you begin to comprehend the
absurdity of what is going on here in this text? Here they were,
gambling for a few dollars at the foot of the cross, inches
away from absolute joy! They could have stood up and
actually touched the Lord of glory! They could have stood up
and actually touched the Lord of bliss! Absolute, infinite
joy could have been theirs! And yet they turned away… Blinded
by their desire for a few dollars…
I don’t know about you, but when I read this account it gets
me so frustrated – it gets me so angry – it makes me want to
go up to these guys and say, “Don’t you understand what is
going on? Don’t you have any clue what you are doing?” And
that’s when I stop… That’s when I stop and I realize that when
I choose to sin I am doing the very same thing.
You see, we live every single moment of our lives at the foot
of the cross… What does Jesus see when he looks down at you?
What has he seen this past week? What has he seen this past
month? What has he seen this past year?
Have you been like the Pharisees looking down on those who
you think are beneath you? Looking down on those who are not
as good of a Christian as you…
Have you been like the criminal who demanded that Jesus come
down off the cross? Do you think you know better than God how
your life should go? Have you questioned God’s goodness demanding
to know why the job was lost – why the marriage is over – why the
loved one is gone…
And let me ask you one more question… How many times have you
been like those soldiers? How many times have you chased after
the petty things of this life… Your desire for power – pleasure –
love – acceptance – control...
How many times have you chased after those things rather than spending
a few moments with your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? How many times
have you turned away from absolute, infinite joy for something that
ultimately has left you restless, empty, and unfulfilled… Brothers
and Sisters in Christ, “DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING!!!”
If your answer to that question this Ash Wednesday is no… If your
answer to that question this Ash Wednesday is a hopeless – desperate –
no… That you do not know what you are doing… Then my friends I
say it is time for you to rejoice!
It is time for you to rejoice… It is time for your heart to be
overflowing with joy and praise because Jesus Christ loves those
who do not know what they are doing! Jesus Christ gave his life
for those who do not know what they are doing!
At the very moment the soldiers were pounding the nails into his
hands and feet… At the very moment the soldiers were bringing down
their hammers with a sickening thud… Jesus Christ cried out in a loud
voice: “Father forgive them! Father forgive them for they do not
know what they are doing!”
Brothers and sisters in Christ it is time for you to rejoice! It
is time for your heart to be overflowing with joy and praise at these
wondrous words! Jesus Christ died for you! Jesus Christ gave his life
for you! Jesus Christ is interceding for you – praying to his Father
to forgive you all your sins for you do not know what you are doing…
And you see, it was those words… It was those stunning – shocking –
wondrous words of forgiveness that melted the heart of the other
criminal who was crucified along side of Jesus Christ causing him to
humbly ask: “Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom.”
And as we will see next week, Jesus said to him, “Remember me? I’ll
do more than simply that… I tell you the truth today you will be
with me.”
To God alone be all the glory. Amen!
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