So you can once again, with the help of the Lord, I'd like you to turn with me to the chapter that we read together, the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 23, and the text you'll find in verse 34. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

And they parted his raiment and cast lots. We come again to the scene of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross and all that took place to get him there. So you've seen over the last few weeks really Christ in the garden being in an agony. We've seen him upon the cross. We've seen him crying out, it is finished. We've seen the empty tomb that he is not here, he is risen. And we come again to the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross.

And it's always a very sobering thought to know that it was our guilt, our sin that put Christ upon the cross. As it was the only way for God to save sinners. Curses everyone that hangs upon a tree. Christ became a curse for us. that the only way that God could forgive sin was to impute that sin to his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was able, as the God-man, to absorb the wrath of God for sinners. as we've seen, you know, this is the cup that the Father has given me to drink, shall I not drink it?

And it came very clear to me really, you know, that an eternity it would take for us to drink that cup. It would never, ever, ever be finished. It would constantly be poured out upon us for all eternity, yet Jesus Christ made of a woman, born under the law, took it upon himself to save his people by drinking that wrath, by absorbing that wrath for his people, and he cries out, it is finished, and the last drop dripped from that cup, Christ had paid the price. He had absorbed the wrath.

He was able to bow his head and to give up the ghost, for his work was done. As he said to the thief, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. His body was left here upon earth, placed upon a tomb, placed in a tomb and the Lord Jesus went into glory with the thief that died right next to him. And there he waited for those three days and returned to earth to take up his body, his resurrected body, and to reveal himself to his people for those 40 days before he ascended up into glory. So here we have the first saying of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross. You know, there are many things, no doubt, that we would say. There are many things that we would think would come out of our mouths when we have some injustice done to us.

But if there was any injustice done to any person that never deserved anything, it was the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember even before the human law, they said there's no fault. We cannot find anything with this man that is worthy of death. And yet because of peer pressure, Pilate gave him over to the will of the people and the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. It was an unjust murder of the Lord Jesus Christ, yet it brought about the predetermined counsel of God. And you think of times in our lives when we've had some injustice done to us, especially when we were younger children, we might be able to restrain ourselves when we're a bit older, but when you get children, immediately if something's done, they get angry, they get cross, they start shouting out, that's wrong, that's injustice, they've got away with this, why is this happening to me? And yet you think of the Lord Jesus, led as a lamb to the slaughter, that his sheep before his shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth, all that the Lord Jesus Christ went through, the first thing that comes out of his mouth is not cursing, it's not bitterness, it's not vileness, it's not self-pity, but it demonstrates the true nature of Christ Father. Forgive them for they don't know what they do.

If you look at this word and then said Jesus. The word said in Greek language is called in a continual sense. It is that Christ repeated it. Not that he just said it once, Father forgive them, but they don't know what they do. But in the process of them nailing him to the cross and lifting him up upon the cross and parting his garments among themselves and looking upon him and mocking them, it's like Jesus was repeating the phrase. Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they do." No ounce of bitterness, no ounce of anger, just pity for those who had just crucified him to the cross.

We look at what Christ is really doing. He's interceding. If you remember what he said to Simon Peter, Simon, Simon, Satan has desired to have you and to sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you. that your faith fail not, an intercessory prayer of the Lord Jesus, the high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus, taking the hand of man and the hand of God and bringing about reconciliation. And here we have a high priestly prayer from the Lord Jesus Christ to those who are in the process of crucifying him, in the process of hating him, despising him, mocking him, yet he pleads with the father that the father would forgive them. We go to Isaiah 53 and to verse 12. It says there, therefore will I divide him a portion with the great and he shall divide the spoil with the strong because he has poured out his soul unto death.

He was numbered with the transgressors and he bared the sins of many and made intercession. for the transgressors. And so that's what the Lord Jesus Christ was doing upon the cross. He bore the sins of many and he made intercession. He stood between. He negotiated himself with the Father for the sins of the people. And he prays, Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing.

In Hebrews it tells us there about the Lord Jesus being a high priest. As we look at the Old Testament and we see the work of the high priest and all that he had to do and how that priesthood was constantly changing because of the lifespan of those high priests. Yet we are told that we have a high priest now who never changes. He ever lives to intercede for us. In Hebrews 4, it says, seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed into heavens, Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

If we want to know about this great high priest, we read about the Lord Jesus Christ and we look at all that he passed through and then we see the type of man that is at the right hand of the Father. The scripture tells us the type of man the Lord Jesus Christ was. He was in the very image of God. And so if we want to know what God is like, we look to the Lord Jesus Christ and everything we see in the Lord Jesus Christ is what we see in God the Father. And if we want to know what our High Priest is, we come to the Word. Who is this man that sits at the right hand of the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ? What is he like?

Well, he's praying constantly, in repetition, Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing. What is full of mercy, abounding in mercy. tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin, tempted by Satan, tempted to look at the material things of this world, tempted by doubt, if you are. saw it the other day as Jesus is on the cross, saying, if you are the son of man, come down from the cross, always causing Christ or seeking to cause Christ to doubt who he was. if thou be Christ the chosen of God to come down and so he was tried and tempted in all points as we are even to doubt that if that little if that can sink our faith maybe you've been doubting even today if satan's told you if you are you know truly a christian surely you would do this or you surely surely you wouldn't be doing that Take these things to your great high priest. He has told you he's able to be touched with the feelings of your infirmities. Why? Because he's passed through all of these things before. He's experienced this injustice. He's experienced this despising, this abuse, this shaming.

He's experienced it all and he's the living saviour at the right hand of the Father and he can be touched with those things that we pass through. And he says because of that, because he's able to be touched and because he was tried in all points as we are, he says, come boldly then to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

You see how merciful the Lord Jesus Christ is. to those who were crucifying Him. He is praying for them, that their sin would not be laid to their charge, that the Father would forgive them, for they didn't fully know what they were doing. As Paul says, if they did know, they would not have crucified the Son of God. They were not fully aware of all that they were doing.

And to the Lord Jesus then is leading by example. Now we are called to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. When you read this little prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ, where does your mind go? What part of the scriptures does this remind you of? Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing. What is Jesus doing?

He's praying for his enemies. those who have just crucified him, those who have just driven the nails into his hands and his feet, those who are shouting crucify him, crucify him, those who are mocking him, they're not his friends, they are his enemies. And so he is walking out his own teaching, he's praying for his enemies, just as he called his people to do. In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5, Jesus tells us there, from verse 43, this is the law.

You heard that it has been said, thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemies. I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them, which despitefully use you, that you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. For he makes the sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. But if you love them which love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors the same or the sinners the same? If you salute your brethren only, what do you more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. And what are we seeing then with the Lord Jesus Christ? Perfection. perfection. Be ye therefore perfect.

And so for Christ, it was walking out his own teaching, praying for those who hated him, who were despitefully using him. If we listen to Israel and the Muslims and even Donald Trump at this time, what are they saying? An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. You've bombed us, we're going to bomb you. We're going to drop a bigger bomb on you. It's full of hatred. There's no love. There's no peace in their eyes. There's no Christ-like likeness at all in their behaviour. It is all arrogance and pride and hate.

But the Lord Jesus says, not so for my people. not so for those who have been adopted into my family. We are to have the characteristics of our Heavenly Father. We are to have the attributes of the Spirit of God that indwells in us, the fruit of the Spirit. And so we are to be like Christ, not to rise up in anger to say, well, you know, he's done it. and so I'm going to do it to him.

He's hurt me, so I'm going to hurt him. He's took my money, so I'm going to take his money. He's scribbled over my drawing, so I'm going to scribble over his drawing. He's done this to me, she's done that to me, so I'm going to get them and make sure they pay for it.

That's not the attitude of a believer of the Lord Jesus Christ, one who is resting in Christ Jesus. As Jesus says, he's fulfilled the whole law of God. He says, be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. Love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. Do good to them that hate you. Pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be the children of your father which is in heaven. Why? Because he makes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just upon the unjust.

And in chapter 6 the Lord Jesus tells us how we are to pray. He tells us Verse 9, after this manner therefore pray ye our Father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us of our debts forgive us of our sins as we forgive our debtors or those that sin against us lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom the power and the glory forever amen then he goes on if you forgive men their trespasses or their sins against you your heavenly father will also forgive you But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses. And so Christ is walking out his own teaching. What he has taught his disciples, that is what he will do.

Not an eye for an eye. but he is praying for his enemies, he's praying for those who are despitefully using him and persecuting him. There's not an ounce of anger or hatred or any cursing thought that crosses his perfect mind because he is perfect. He is acting in perfection. This is the will of the Father that Christ prays for his enemies, those that are crucifying him.

If you look a little deeper at this, the implications for the Lord Jesus Christ, for him to ask the Father to forgive the sins of his enemies would mean that Christ would have to bear those sins himself. For the only way that sin can ever be forgiven is by it being imputed to the Lord Jesus Christ, being credited to his account.

It would be like you saying to somebody, why are you in so much debt? How much debt are you in? And then going and then paying that debt for them. Someone who you go even worse with. Someone that you totally dislike. Someone that has been so horrible to you. You find them that they're in debt and they're struggling. You could walk by and say, sirs, you're right. You know, you deserve it. You've been so nasty to me. You deserve everything you get.

But that's not how Christ says that we should be. He demonstrated it upon the cross that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly. And so it would be looking at this person that has been so horrible to you and going to them and demonstrating love and bringing them out of that desperate position that they are in by paying that debt and by helping them in their situation. Why? because Christ says, be ye perfect as your father in heaven is perfect. Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing.

In Ephesians, it tells us, Ephesians chapter four, verse 29, that no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearers. and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. This is all what could have come out of the Lord Jesus Christ's mouth as he hung upon the cross. But be ye perfect So he comes to this, be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God has forgiven you for, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you. When we experience injustice and we experience hurt, when we experience the anger of another, Maybe when we experience persecution, our natural response is to rise up and to defend our cause, to fight and not to back down, to respond in some way, to overcome the threat that has come upon us. But here the scripture says, don't respond in such a way. Don't let any corrupt communication come out of your mouth. Don't harbour bitterness or wrath or anger. And don't let that bitterness and that wrath and that anger produce evil speaking.

And remember how Jesus Christ died for you. Remember that it is not because you are good that you have been saved. Remember that you are just like the thief upon the cross, going to hell. But Christ, in his sovereign mercy, in his redeeming love, saved you by his grace. While you were in your sins, he gave you his spirit that you might also see your own sin and come to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so he says, as you have received this kind of forgiveness, as you have received this kind of grace, as you have received this kind of of behaviour from the Lord Jesus Christ then now respond in the same way.

Jesus tells the parable, doesn't he, of the man who was in a lot of debt, and yet the man, his boss, forgives him of that debt. And so this man then goes to those who were in debt to him and throws them into prison and acts all harshly towards them. And his boss finds out, doesn't he, and says, you know, I dealt with you in such a way. I forgave you of your debts. Why are you now imposing a hardship and prison sentences on those that owe you money?

And Jesus uses it as a parable to demonstrate that as Christ has forgiven you, as he has dealt kindly and mercifully with you, so you also are to respond to your fellows in such a way. be kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, understanding, seeking to understand one another for Christ's sake, for God has forgiven you. You know when we hold on to bitterness, I don't know if you've ever been bitter or you've ever been jealous.

These two things, they eat away at you. They have a tendency to, as the Bible calls it, like woodworm. As those worms get into the wood, they just eat away and that becomes rotten. And it eats away so much that it all collapses. And these things have a tendency to eat away at us.

If we harbour bitterness and if we claim injustice and we're always wanting to have an eye for an eye, if we always want to deal with this problem, whatever it is, it's just going to eat away at you. Maybe you want revenge. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. Now sometimes you've just got to walk away and let the Lord fight your battles. When you put your hand to things, it just makes things worse. When you harbour on to things, it just makes things worse. Sometimes you've just got to walk away. and allow the Lord to fight for you.

At the end of time, all these injustices will be put right. Everything will be settled, every account dealt with. And just say, Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing. Pray for them. Maybe you have an enemy in your life. Maybe you have a persecutor in your life. Maybe you're filled with bitterness against that person. or then pray for them.

Pray that the Lord would bring them to their senses. Pray that the Lord would bring them to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Pray, Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing. They don't know the problems that they are causing. They don't fully are fully aware that behind them is Satan working. Pray for them. They're not return evil for evil, eye for an eye. Don't look at the news and say, well, I just want to be like Donald Trump. A fight. Look to Jesus. Be ye therefore perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect. Sometimes we have to humble ourselves and seek reconciliation. have to go to a person and explain the hurt or ask for forgiveness. But sometimes that's not possible. Sometimes people behave in such a way that they hurt you. Reconciliation never takes place. That person moves on.

But if you're left harbouring bitterness, you'll carry that bitterness for the rest of your life and it will eat away at you. You'll never get better. They will continue on with their life. You will struggle and struggle and struggle. Say the person passes away and you're saying, well, I'm not going to deal with this. You're saying, I'm not going to forgive them. Then you're going to carry this bitterness for the rest of your life. If you demand acceptance of an apology, they don't get it.

The only way for you to deal with it is to be like Jesus. Father, forgive them for they don't know what they're doing. That is the way to release. bitterness. It's to hand it over to the Lord Jesus Christ. Pray for restoration. You see, sometimes when the person is gone and the restoration is not possible, then you have to come to that position like Christ now, Father forgive them for they don't know what they're doing, for yourself, for yourself to move on. But where restoration is possible, when that person comes to a knowledge of their sin and they're able to repent then there can be the reconciliation of the relationship. You see Jesus says, father forgive them for they don't know what they are doing. Now that father forgive them was not a universal forgiveness.

There were two thieves on the cross. One did not accept Jesus Christ and rejected him. The other received him. the day of Pentecost, 3,000 souls are saved. Some of those, no doubt, were those that were praying, that were crying out, crucify him, crucify him, crucify him. And they are brought to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. It is then that Christ's saving work has been completed and there is reconciliation between God the Father, God the Son and that individual person.

When Matthew 18, remember Peter, he asks Jesus how often How often shall I, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Till seven times. But Jesus here is saying, Father forgive them for they don't know what they're doing. Peter's asking the question, how many times do I have to forgive? So as I said, if the person isn't there, if the person is unwilling to repent of their sin, then there will be no restoration of the relationship, but you yourself can find peace in your own heart by committing them to God and praying for them and forgiving them yourself. But with the words of Christ, even then, that those people also have to, by the Spirit's power, respond to Christ's sacrifice. And then there is the restoration of the relationship. And so with Peter, he says, how many times do I have to forgive my brother?

Jesus said unto him, I say not unto thee until seven times, but until seventy times seven. If we are having Christ as our example, if he has said be ye perfect as your heavenly father is perfect, how many times a day do we have to go to the Lord Jesus Christ and ask for forgiveness? How many times do we sin and wrong Him? How many times a day does He have to pray, Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing? How many times at the end of the day, Lord, forgive me of my sin, I've failed again.

Sins that I should have. Sins of omission and sins of commission. Sins that I should have behaved in a certain way. I should have done this and I should have done that, but I haven't done it. Sins that I have done. How many times does Christ forgive us? How many times should we forgive others if they come to us and say, look, I am sorry for what I have done.

And they come again the next day, I'm sorry. They come again the next day, I'm sorry. Be ye therefore perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Father, forgive them, for they don't know what you are doing. Jesus says, not once, not twice, but 70 times seven, continue to forgive them. if they come to you and ask for forgiveness. As Christ has forgiven you, so you forgive one another. There's one verse that has helped me time and time again. You know, sometimes things come into our lives and they're difficult. sometimes other people are involved and things are said.

And the other day, someone said to me, you know, as a minister, he doesn't even think you're a Christian. He says, because you gave up your business, how you went to Africa. And the Bible says that he who doesn't provide for his family is worse than an infidel. And then you've come back to England and you've got a little job and you're not able to provide for your family and people are having to gather money around and help you out. So you're worse than an infidel.

So what do I do? Do I rise up and seek to justify my behavior? Why I have done certain things, or do I just say, Father, forgive them? For they don't know what they're doing. Now when David was chased from Jerusalem by his son, as he was escaping, there was a man there that was cursing him in 2 Samuel 16. and he was cursing David. One of David's soldiers said, why should this dead dog curse my Lord the King?

Let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head. That's the natural reaction, you know, how dare you to say something like that? I want to go and fight, justify, put my point across. What has David said? David says, Let him curse, because the Lord has said to him, Curse David. Who shall say then wherefore hast thou done so? And David said to Abishai and to his servants, Behold my son, which came forth from my bowels, seeketh my life.

How much more now may this Benjaminite do it? Let him alone, let him curse, for the Lord has bidden him do it. You see, nothing happens in our life without the Lord allowing it to take place. Even the hard things, even the horrible things, even the things where we want to say, well, I'm going to fight, I'm going to have to deal with this myself. Just sit back and say, the Lord has bidden him do it and learn from it. Why has the Lord allowed this certain thing into my life? Why has this, why has someone felt it necessary to tell me something that somebody else thinks? The Lord has bidden them do it.

Learn from it. Learn how other people think and how other people see certain situations and let them curse you. Let them say what they've got to say and stand back and say, as Christ has forgiven me, So I also forgive you. Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing.

May the Lord grant us that true mind of Christ, that true heart of Christ, who was in the process of being crucified by his enemies, and yet he prays to the Father, forgive them. I don't know what they are doing. And we see one of the centurion later as the darkness goes and Christ cries out, truly, this is the son of God. And we see the thief on one of his sides confessing Christ and believing in him. We see on the day of Pentecost, those who hated him are now saved and begin to trust because Peter says, Jesus, who you crucified, They were pricked in their hearts. What must we do?

Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The one that they said, you know, we don't want him, is the one they came to trust him. Such is the grace and the love of the Lord Jesus Christ that Father forgive them. How can he forgive them? By taking their own sin and putting it on himself. paying the price for it.

That is who is at the right hand of the Father this night, the full manifestation of God himself. This is the God that we serve. Yes, he's a just God, but he's a loving God and he's given us his beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ as our great High Priest, that we can come to the throne of grace in our time of need, but We also have to walk worthy of our calling. We are also called to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. We are also called to be perfect as he is perfect, making it to reign upon the righteous and upon the unrighteous. And so then may the Lord then grant us to cast our bitterness aside, cast our injustices aside, and to pray for those who persecute us and despitefully use us that we might be the children of our Father which is in heaven and when may he add his blessing.

Amen. Let us sing together our final hymn from Hymns for Worship, number 132, to the tune 212. 132. Fill thou my life, O Lord my God, in every part with praise, that my whole being may proclaim thy being and thy ways. 132 from Hymns for Worship. O my God, fill every heart with praise, that thy holy name may pervade my ears. not for the lip of praise alone, nor in the praising heart.

Learn us, but for a life made up of praise in every part. Praise in the common things of life, His goings out and in. Praise in each duty and each deed, however small they seem. of me with praise, let all my beings speak of thee and of thy love, O Lord, for though I be half-weak, The Lord promiseth me, with thee the glory due. And so shall I begin on earth the song for ever new.

So shall no part of day or night from sacredness be free, but all my life in every step be fellowship with thee. Almighty God and loving Heavenly Father, we come before Thee once again asking that we may be helped to remove from our hearts any bitterness, any jealousy or any envy and to cast it at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ and we pray that thou help us to pray for our enemies and pray for those who have wronged us, despitefully used us and persecuted us and said all manner of things against us. Lord we ask for that forgiveness to be in our hearts that we may unburden these things and roll them to thy feet and we pray Lord, for those relationships that may have been destroyed by jealousy and by persecution, we pray that where possible those friendships may be restored and that unity in Christ Jesus. We pray then, Lord, that Thou wouldst dismiss us with Thy blessing, help us to be more like Thy children, and as we pray in Jesus name and now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father with the fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit to be with you each hour and forevermore. Amen.