His First Order of Business

Luke 23:34 ”Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’” [1]

Introduction:

Since the original sin, there has been a need for sacrifice.  Adam and Eve covered themselves with leaves but God covered their sin with blood.  He offered them animal skins because something has to die to make atonement for sin.  There is no way out except sacrifice.

When Moses brought down the Ten Commandments, it was not so that we could know how to renew our lost relationship with God.  The Ten Commandments show us the things that prevent us from having a relationship with God.  Try as we might we can never be obedient enough to cover our own sin.  There had to be a perfect sacrifice.

Jesus came to this earth in absolute submission and obedience.  The cross is the purpose for which Jesus came to this world.  The passion of the Christ!  Without the cross we would have no hope for life, let alone an eternity with God.

To understand the mind of Christ, a Christian must hear Jesus.  Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:16, “For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” [2]  His cries from the cross were during Jesus’ most passionate time here on earth.  A study of these sayings will yield a deeper understanding to His Divinity, His Humanity, and His Passion while taking our sin upon His shoulders.  These sayings will get us closer to the mind of Christ.  Today we will study the first of His seven cries from the cross.

Scripture:  Please turn in your Bibles to Luke 23:34.  When you have found it, please stand for the reading of God’s word.

Prayer:  Let us pray…  Please be seated.

Message:  The message title is “His First Order of Business.”  As Christians we are to be Christ like.  Jesus’ first order of business has always been prayer and so should it be ours.

Today we will divide His first cry from the cross into three parts.  “Father forgive them” reinforces the truth that intercessory prayer should be our first thought as we remember people throughout our day.  We should not only ask for their blessings but first we should ask for God’s presence in their lives which requires repentance on their part.  When we ask for and receive forgiveness for the thing that separates us from Him, His presence is felt.

The second part is, “for they know not.”  People walk in foolishness not knowing how vulnerable they are without God.  Many do not care.

The last part of His cry was, “what they do.”  There is no way to be good without God.  When the rich young ruler addressed Jesus as good master he heard Jesus say that there was no good without God.  What we attempt to do without Him then is failure!

In this, His first cry from the cross, Jesus asked His Father to forgive.  When someone gives you something it is a gift which you have not worked for.  It is not a wage earned.  When someone forgives, it is like a pardon for a thing done in the past.  Going forward however, means the gift of redemption delivers us from the separation of relationship.  You are given a new relationship going forward into eternity.

Forgive them; who is “them?”  Was Jesus praying for everyone regardless of their decision to confess and repent?  Warren Wiersbe wrote this in the “Bible Exposition Commentary”:

“We must not infer from His prayer that ignorance is a basis for forgiveness, or that those who sinned against Jesus were automatically forgiven because He prayed. Certainly both the Jews and the Romans were ignorant of the enormity of their sin, but that could not absolve them. The Law provided a sacrifice for sins committed ignorantly, but there was no sacrifice for deliberate presumptuous sin (Ex. 21:14; Num. 15:27–31; Ps. 51:16–17). Our Lord’s intercession postponed God’s judgment on the nation for almost forty years, giving them additional opportunities to be saved (Acts 3:17–19). [3]

To understand Wiersbe, we must understand the word ignorance.  Webster gives the contemporary definition of ignorance as a lack of knowledge.  That is the contemporary definition.  If you break the word ignorance down, you see that the root word is ignore.  To ignore a thing means you have a knowledge that you choose to ignore.  IGNORANCE.

The apostle Paul argued that lack of knowledge about God and His desire for us is no excuse.  When we see God’s creation yet discredit the truth of His existence, it requires a conscience effort to deny Him.  Jesus did indeed die for sins we ignore but first we must confess our wrong decisions and then ask His help to turn from them.  We know the wrong things we choose to do.  Our conscience tells us that some things that society agrees with are wrong and yet we do them anyway.  Our nation’s history is blemished with things we chose to ignore until we were forced to decide differently.  We often look back at generations before us and judge when we ourselves are still living in sin that we decide to ignore.  Jesus died for the sins of our forefathers just as He died for your sin.

This joins the second part of the cry we are studying today.  “For they know not” is no excuse for doing a wrong thing.  There are always consequences.  Remember what Wiesrsbe said about deliberate vs. mistake?  The soldiers who mocked Jesus were under orders.  In their view of the thing, they were doing what they were supposed to do.  The possibility of refusing Caesar was not a possibility.  We live with a different set of possibilities today in this free country.  We limit our possibility to serve because we choose to limit our prospects to serve where we are.

Is ignorance a premeditated preference or do we simply slip into looking away from the thing that should take preference in our lives?  That one who lives to work instead of working to live has been taught by example that working for your family excuses all the times you miss with them.  Take me for a bad example.  That time is not excused.  I know!  It’s good to work hard for your family until they come below your job in your priority list.  It is inexcusable to make God come somewhere even lower.

The last part of His first cry, “What they do” is translated elsewhere as “what they are doing.”  Jesus prays for our failures which we are in the process of right now.  Notice that in no translation does it say Jesus prayed for what they had done.  Jesus intercedes for us at the moment we need Him.  His intercession for the Christian is timeless.  He doesn’t put our sins into our account to be excused sometime in the future.  We are forgiven the moment we ask.  We will answer for them one day when we stand before Him because He sacrificed Himself for those things.  Then our answer will be praise to Him alone.

What we do!  Often our failures are done actively either publicly or privately.  We privately bias toward those who think, act, and look like us.  He died for whosoever will accept Him.  Our prayers should be for whosoever will.  Those shouting at Him that day while He was on the cross made their contempt public.  As a chaplain I often heard things around the corner in the workplace that I don’t hear in church.  People say things publicly that would make them blush if they knew the preacher was near.

Sometimes we fail to acknowledge people for the right reasons.  We raise people to pedestals because of the way they play sports.  We vote for people who we think will help our wallet without considering their true agenda.  Sometimes we fail by accusing a person based on what they are instead of who they are. 

Sometimes we fail by endorsing wrong plans.  We look at a thing that will help us personally yet might cause pain for those who come after us.  We fail because we plan with very short goals in mind.  “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”  What we do affects people around us.  We are to be the salt and light for those around us.  When we decide to be self centered and not God centered we fail!

One test of a prophetic message is whether the message first affected the prophet.  The message today that you hear was my message.  I need forgiveness for the foolish failures I made for my family, friends, and most everyone I have ever had a relationship with including and mostly God.  If there is anyone here today that feels the message is pointed at you too, good!  That means God has hit more than one of us.

So what do we do with this forgiveness we received from God through Jesus’ prayer of intercession?  He is up there at the right hand of His Father praying for you right now.  He is praying for that thing which you are doing that is causing a failed relationship between you and the God who created you.  Now that He has prayed for you, what changes will you make to come back to a place where your priorities match His?

Dr. Charles Stanley once spoke about relational priorities.  He said that God should come first in a person’s life.  After God, family is next starting with spouse if you have one.  Children, Grandchildren, Parents, Extended family come next within the priority of family.  Ministry to those who God has placed in your path which you have been equipped to minister to comes third after family.  The fourth priority is your occupation or job.  That one is easy to get confused for clergy or church paid staff.  Where does ministry stop and job start for the paid minister?  Finally and lastly in priority comes self.  Put yourself last but put yourself!  Take time to relax.

You will see how Jesus prioritized those five relationships as you review His earthly life.  Reviewing priorities often will bring you closer to the mind of Christ.  You will pray more and fail less.  Daily Bible study will prevent your unawareness of what it is that God has for you to do.  Deliberate action for Him will replace ignorance about Him.  You will draw on scripture to help guide you along each decision.  You will pray for those whom you once would have spoken evil against.  You will move from failure to forgiveness for others and yourself.

Prayer:

Invitation:  Perhaps you are here today and have never understood that Jesus died for your personal forgiveness.  His act was deliberate and final.  A perfect sacrifice was made once and for all sinners who would accept Him.  The thing that is gnawing at your soul and keeping you from loving others is the same thing that is preventing you from knowing yourself to be that person God loves.  He does love you.  Jesus is the only perfect sacrifice because only Jesus is God.  He came to earth as a human being like you so that He could experience all the hurt and pain that you do.  Only Jesus can wash away your sin.  It is not anything that you can do for yourself.  Today may be your time.  Please accept Him.

Perhaps you have some things to lay on this altar today.  Leave them here with Jesus.  Don’t carry them anymore.  He can take the burden because He already has.

You may have a need that only intercessory prayer can address.  I will be here to pray with you if you need.  This is your time.  Please come as we sing…

[1]The New King James Version., Lk 23:34. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

[2]The New King James Version. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), 1 Co 2:16.

[3] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, "An Exposition of the New Testament Comprising the Entire 'BE' Series"--Jkt. (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996, c1989), Lk 23:32.