Luke 23:34 (ESV)
And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

What Jesus was doing in forgiving others on the cross was a culmination of everything he was about:

  1. Jesus, while on earth, demonstrated that he, as the Son of Man, had the authority to forgive sins (Luke 5:20-25)
  2. Jesus clarified in the “Lord’s Supper” what was his purpose in dying:
    (Matthew 26:27-28) “for the forgiveness of sins”
  3. Before ascending, Jesus explained what his suffering and death had provided:
    (Luke 24:44–49)
  4. Following Jesus’ Ascension, forgiveness of sins was preached by the early church: (Acts 2: 38; 5: 31; 10:43; 13:38; 26:16–18)
  5. The theology of the cross is all about forgiveness of sins:
    (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:13–14; Hebrews 9:22)0
  6. The application of the cross is about forgiveness:
    (Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13; Acts 7:60)

QUESTION: What is man’s greatest need?
ANSWER: To have his sins forgiven.

Through the cross, Christ has given us an example of how to respond in forgiveness even while others are doing wrong to us.

1 Peter 2:21–23 (NIV)
21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

It’s been my experience that in many cases, when someone does wrong toward me, they truly don’t realize what they are doing. It’s also been my experience that most of the times in which I have done harm to others I did not realize what I was doing at that time.

This realization helps me as I seek to live in forgiveness.