26 As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27 A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. 28 Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 Then ” ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!” ‘ 31 For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” 32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals-one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” 36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” 38 There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. (Lk. 23:26-38 TNIV)
Sometimes on Sunday nights after I’ve preached and I’m driving to my house, I’ll scan through the AM stations and listen to some of the preaching on those stations. Having spent much of the day delivering sermons I sit back and receive those radio sermons. I’m always entertained by some of what I hear on those AM stations. Some of those preachers say the craziest things. But I’m also disturbed by some of what I hear. Because some of those preachers talk about heath and wealth: Obey God and he’ll give you health and wealth. Live a righteous life, love God, love your neighbor and you’ll have health and wealth. Yet here in this morning’s word is the most righteous person in history. No one loved God more than Jesus. No one loved his neighbor more than Jesus. No one had more integrity than Jesus. But look all the people hurting Jesus. The people in the government abuse him. The people in the religious leadership reject him. The people in his friendship circle abandon him. The people being executed on the next cross ridicule him. Look at all the people hurting Jesus. If Jesus’ experience is any indication, following God offers no immunity from the hurt that other people can cause. There’s no health and wealth here. There’s only people hurting Jesus.
I recently read the story of Heather Gemmen Wilson.[i] She’s the author of Startling Beauty and speaks internationally on forgiveness. When Heather and her husband were penniless college students, the only place they could afford was an inner city apartment. They planned to move out of that apartment as soon as they could afford to. But they started attending a church which had a vision for community development and racial reconciliation. They were hooked. They decided to live long-term in the inner city. They began to raise a family. They were core members of that church. For four years they reached out to the neighborhood. They held block parties and community rummage sales. They invited kids who once trashed their flower garden to help build up that same garden. Then one night while her husband was at a meeting at the church building and her two young children were sleeping, Heather woke to find a stranger standing by the side of her bed. Before she could do anything he attacked her. She survived. Her church rallied around her. She still has a loving family. She writes and speaks publicly about the event. But it was a defining moment in her life. This righteous and godly woman-dedicated to serving the inner city-was not immune from the ugliness of that same inner city. People hurt her.
There is no getting around it. People who follow God get hurt by people. Like those who hurt Jesus, some of the people who hurt us are people who claim to follow God. A preacher who betrays a confidence. A church-going father who rarely ever says “I’m proud of you.” Like those who hurt Jesus, some who hurt us have nothing to do with God. An agnostic university professor who won’t give us a second chance. An unbelieving mother who ridicules our faith. Like those who hurt Jesus, some of the people who hurt us are those closest to us. A spouse who leaves. A friend who steals your boyfriend. And like those who hurt Jesus, some who hurt us are complete strangers. A woman who cuts in front of you in the long line at the grocery store. A customer who complains to the boss about you. People who follow God get hurt by other people.
And in the midst of this hurt, Jesus prayed. In the garden, Jesus prayed for help-that God would make it possible for Jesus to escape the hurt that people were about to cause. On the cross, Jesus lamented the pain he was experiencing by others. It was a cry for help. And, on the cross, Jesus turned his hurt over to the hands of God. It was a plea for help. When people hurt Jesus he prayed for help.
Especially on the cross, Jesus prayed through this hurt with the help of the Psalms. The Psalms seemed to give him the words he needed to cry for help. It is interesting to reflect on some of the ways the Psalms pray about the hurt caused by people. There is a collection of Psalms called “imprecatory psalms.” They are written by people who have been hurt deeply by other people. But these pray-ers don’t just ask for help. They ask for hurt. In Psalm 69 David writes about Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me (Ps. 60:4 TNIV). David is following God. He is obedient. Yet people are hurting him. So, like Jesus, he prays. Like us, he prays. But listen to how he prays: May the table set before them become a snare; may it become a retribution and a trap. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever. Pour out your wrath on them; let your fierce anger over take them. May their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents…May they be blotted out of the book of life… (Ps. 69:22-28 TNIV). David doesn’t just pray for help. He prays for hurt. He prays for God to hurt those who hurt David.
These are the words we might like to pray about the people who hurt us. Punish them! Make them pay! Blind them! Break their backs! And send them to…. (that’s the implication of praying that they’ll be blotted out of the book of life). When we are hurt by others, we may be tempted to pray for hurt.
But we certainly pray for help. We pray for God to end the pain. We pray for God to turn the hearts of those hurting us. When people hurt us, we pray for help and for hurt.
But listen again to this prayer of Jesus. Listen for three things. Listen to what he prays. Listen to when he prays. Listen for whom he prays.
First, listen to what he prays. Jesus did not only pray for help. He did not pray for hurt. Here is what Jesus prayed: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Lk. 23:34 TNIV). Jesus prays that God would forgive them. Literally, Luke writes, Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them, for they do know what they are doing.“ The language Luke uses suggests ongoing action. They beat him and Jesus was saying, Father, forgive them, for they do know what they are doing. They cursed at him and Jesus was saying, Father, forgive them, for they do know what they are doing. They nailed the right hand and Jesus was saying, Father, forgive them, for they do know what they are doing. They nailed the left hand and Jesus was saying, Father, forgive them, for they do know what they are doing. He did not pray for help here. He did not pray for God to hurt them. What was Jesus consistently praying for during this time? He prayed for their forgiveness.
Notice also when this prayer comes. It came quickly. It came immediately after the hurt:[ii] 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals-one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” (Lk. 23:33-35 NIV). The hurt comes and the prayer for forgiveness immediately goes up. The prayer for forgiveness does not come at the very end after Jesus has had time to process the hurt; after Jesus has had time to think about the situation and work up some kind of compassion for these people. Instead, it’s the first prayer out of his lips on the cross.
Finally, notice for whom Jesus prayed. It’s not simply someone who cut him off in traffic. It’s not simply a stranger with an unkind word. Jesus prayed this prayer of forgiveness for his worst enemies, for those trying to end his life. Jesus’ prayer list included his worst enemies. If we could look over his prayer list we’d find not only his disciples, not only some of the poor and lame and crippled he helped, not only children-we’d find the names of the people who hurt him most deeply. And we’d find this prayer buy their names: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.
Luke is the only gospel writer to record this prayer. It seems to hold special significance for him. Why? More than the other three Gospel writers, Luke was interested in how Jesus treated the marginal people; people at the margins of ancient society-the poor, the lame, the blind, women, tax collectors, blue collar people and the like. Luke includes stories found nowhere else about Jesus’ interaction with those in the margins. And here, at the cross, we find a group of people at the farthest edge of the margin. People so far from center they hardly seem like they belong-enemies. And what does Jesus do with these enemies? How does Jesus treat the scum at the farthest circumference in life? That’s what Luke wants to highlight. How does Jesus treat the most marginal? He prays for their forgiveness.
This may be the greatest lesson about prayer we learn from Jesus-the call to pray for the forgiveness of those who hurt us. This is the peak of the Mount Everest of prayer. It is the ultimate mark of spiritual maturity. It is the greatest practice toward which we should strive: to pray for the forgiveness of people who hurt us.
A friend of mine pointed me to the true story of a woman named Immaculee Ilibagiza. [iii] She is the author of the New York Times bestseller Left to Tell. In 1994 during the Rwandan genocide, Immaculee and seven other women hid from murderous warlords. A local preacher, at risk of his own life, took the eight women in and hid them in a small bathroom in his home. Using large furniture he hid the bathroom from those searching for the women. Immaculee spent 91 days huddled silently with the seven others in that small bathroom. On the day she fled for her life into that room she was a 115 pound university student with a loving family. On the day she was able to escape, she was only 65 pounds. And with the exception of a brother who had been studying outside of the country, her entire family was murdered. Immaculée credits her ability to survive to prayer. Anger and resentment ate at her day after day in that bathroom. But rather than succumb to the rage, she prayed. She began to pray from the moment she awoke to the moment she fell back asleep. It was prayer, she said, that enabled her to deal with her pursuers and her family’s murderers. She later came face to face with the killer of her mother and her brother. “I forgive you,” she said. In 1998, Immaculée immigrated to the United States. She shared her story with co-workers and friends who were so impacted they urged her to write it down. Immaculée’s first book, Left to Tell was released in 2006. To date it has been translated into fifteen languages worldwide. She has appeared on 60 Minutes, CNN, The New York Times, and USA Today. She was recently featured in Michael Collopy’s “Architects of Peace” project, which has honored legendary people like Mother Teresa, Jimmy Carter, Nelson Mandela, and the Dalai Lama. She has been recognized and honored with numerous humanitarian awards. Left to Tell has been adopted into the curriculum of high schools and universities, including Villanova University, which selected it for the 2007-2008 “One Book Program,” making it mandatory reading for 6,000 students.
What amazes people around the world about this story? What is it about her that makes teachers tell 6,000 students, “You must read her book”? Why has she been honored time and time again? Because she was able to pray something so few pray. She was able to pray this prayer of Jesus: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.
Warren Larson is an associate professor of Islam in South Carolina.[iv] From 1969 through 1991 he was a church-planter in Pakistan. He tells of a time in 1979 when a holy place was run over by insurgents. A rumor was spread that it was the work of Americans. When the rumor hit the city where Larson was living, a mob formed. The mob descended upon Larson and his family. The mob burned their jeeps, smashed their furniture, burned their literature and could have killed the Larsons. A few days later the news revealed that those who had run over the holy site had not been Americans but Saudis. The police and military of Larson’s city rescued them and put some of the mob in jail. Larson went to them. He said, “We forgive you. We are not going to lodge a case against you.” When Larson’s neighbors learned of what he had done, they embraced him. They said, “Mr. Larson, we now know the difference between you and us. We do not forgive our enemies. When there’s trouble between us, Sunnis and Shiites, we fight and burn one another’s shops. But you have forgiven us.” Larson replied, “We’re just doing what Jesus taught us to do.” It’s what Jesus teaches us all to do: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.
Many of you have someone in your life that you’ve not extended forgiveness to. Here’s the challenge: pray this prayer for that person. First, hear this prayer as one Jesus prayed for you. For what you’ve done that hurt Jesus, he prayed this prayer for you. He asked God to forgive you, for you didn’t know what you were doing. Receive this prayer as Jesus’ act of forgiving you. Then, having received this prayer, pray this prayer for others.
[i] Heather Gemmon Wilson, “Calling on the Saints,” Christianity Today (February, 2008), 50-51. [ii] John Indermakr Traveling the Paths of Jesus (Upper Room Books, 2003), 146. [iii] http://www.immaculee.com/ [iv] Stan Guthrie, “Waging Peace with Islam,” Christianity Today (June, 2005), 46-47
