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“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

1 Corinthians 15:58

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Our God Passion: Awakening (Deluxe Edition) Chris Tomlin Genre: Christian & Gospel Price: $0.99 Release Date: March 09, 2010 © (C) 2010 Sparrow Records/sixstepsrecords. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is a violation of applicable laws. Manufactured by EMI Christian Music Group,

What Faith Can Do It Is Well Kutless Genre: Christian & Gospel Price: $1.29 Release Date: October 20, 2009 © (C) 2009 BEC Recordings. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is a violation of applicable laws. Manufactured by EMI Christian Music Group,

City On Our Knees Tonight (Deluxe Edition) tobyMac Genre: Christian & Gospel Price: $1.29 Release Date: February 09, 2010 © (C) 2010 ForeFront Records. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is a violation of applicable laws. Manufactured by EMI Christian Music Group,

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"Father Forgive Them, for They Know Not What They Do"

By Narthex
Published: April 7, 2009

In some ways this first word sums up the whole of Jesus' life. Of the seven, many of the words say something particular about him or the moment -- I thirst; Mother behold your Son; -- but this saying is the first one and it touches on the whole of Jesus' life.

Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.

He had taught that they should forgive, but forgiveness is sometimes easier and sometimes harder. To simply say, as is written in the Our Father, "as we forgive those who trespass against us" without something in mind, without some grievance that we truly are intending to let go, forgiveness is easy to talk about. Oh sure, forgive.

But here is Jesus having taken onto himself all the brokenness of the world unjustly. It was not his. It was wrong. A miscarriage of justice. Yet, "forgive them".

So part of this is the depth of what forgiveness is, and how it was shown forth on the cross, not only in act (that he might not even have been aware of what he was doing, but was simply doing), but also in conscious word and intentional movement of his spirit.

I also notice that he is asking the Father to forgive. There is probably some mileage here thinking about that interplay, the role of the Father, the role of the Son. The father listening to the Son. The Son offering what at the same time is a request but also one made in such a way that you sense it is and will be so.

In fact, as I look even closer at this sentence you could look at each word and it's significance:

Forgive... as I wrote before.

Them... those who were doing this to him, as they were doing it. They came with anger and swords and clubs and nails, and yet his heart was full of forgiveness. ...what this means, and how such power is surely supernatural but also given to those who are "in Christ" -- the ability to so radically love.

Father... as I wrote before.

For they know not what they do... ah, but don't we always think we do? We figure we know. Socrates finally acceded that he was the wisest person in the world when he realized he was the only one who was aware of how unwise he was.

Or maybe Jesus meant they don't realize they are condemning God incarnate, love incarnate, the perfect revelation of God to creation. Many people hate to say the words, "crucify him" on Palm Sunday. Those are people who know what they are doing. But many of those who crucified Jesus perhaps did not know.

How many of us truly realize all the people we have hurt with our words and deeds, how many we have injured or wounded in their hearts? How wonderful for us that we can be forgiven not only for what we know we have done, but even, as Jesus says, for those things we do not realize we are doing or have done.

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