"Father, Forgive Them"

 

By Dan C. Bailey     When Jesus was upon the rugged cross of Calvary, He prayed for those who were responsible for His crucifixion saying, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do..." (Luke 23:34). The prayer came forth from the only sinlessly perfect man to ever live. It was prayed from a heart of love and spoken without malice. Yes, my friend, Jesus loved their souls and was concerned about their forgiveness.      On the first Pentecost after the resurrection of Christ, Peter told many of the same crowd to "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:38). "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls" (Acts 2:41).      Yes, Jesus prayed for their forgiveness and His prayer was answered when the people repented of their sins and were baptized into Jesus Christ. Let us never forget that forgiveness involves not only our Lord, but also ourselves. Jesus wants us to be forgiven just as much as ever. The only question is, are we willing to obey Him in all things? "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:16). "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15).

- Dan C. Bailey serves as a minister with the State Street Church of Christ in Bristol, VA. He may be contacted through the congregation's website at https://www.thelordsway.com/statestreetchurchofchrist/framedindex.asp?Group=Home