Week 9 · Day 5: Forgiveness
Father, Forgive Them
Forgiveness spoken from the cross, before repentance is offered.
What the labels mean
- Scripture explicitly says
- This states what the biblical text itself says, in the passage being read.
- Direct quotation or allusion
- One part of Scripture quotes or clearly alludes to another. The citing reference is named so you can check it.
- Canonical theme
- A connection across the whole Bible. The passages develop the same theme; one is not quoting the other.
- Interpretive conclusion
- A conclusion drawn from the text. The reasoning is given so you can weigh it against the passage.
- Application
- A step, prayer or question for the reader. Not a claim about what the passage states.
Today’s verse
Loading Luke 23:34…
Luke 23:34
Today’s focus
The truth of the day
This prayer is spoken while the crucifixion is happening, not after it, and to people who have not asked for anything. The soldiers are casting lots for His clothing in the same verse. Forgiveness here precedes any request and any repentance from those forgiven.
Jesus does not say they are innocent. He says they do not know what they are doing, which names ignorance, not innocence, as the reason given in His own prayer. Forgiveness in Scripture never depends on the offender first understanding the full weight of their offense.
Today’s reminder
Scripture explicitly says- This forgiveness was voiced before repentance was offered by anyone.
- Naming ignorance is not the same as excusing guilt.
- The prayer is addressed to the Father, not spoken as a verdict removing consequence.
Deeper insight
What the passage says in its own setting
Luke alone among the Gospels records this saying, consistent with his repeated attention to Jesus' compassion toward the unlikely: Samaritans, tax collectors, a dying thief later in the same chapter. The prayer fits a pattern Luke has been building since the beginning of his Gospel, of mercy reaching people who have done nothing to deserve it.
The Greek word behind know carries the sense of full, informed knowledge, not mere awareness. The soldiers know they are executing a condemned man; they do not know they are crucifying the Son of God. Peter says something similar to the crowd in Acts 3:17, that they acted in ignorance, as did their rulers. Jesus' words on the cross and Peter's sermon afterward describe the same limited knowledge, not a claim that no wrong occurred.
Christ connection
Where this leads to Jesus
Canonical themeThis prayer is one of the seven sayings from the cross, and it shows the same heart that Isaiah 53:12 describes centuries earlier: he made intercession for the transgressors. The cross itself is the forgiveness this prayer requests being enacted.
Reflection
ApplicationCan you pray for someone who has wronged you before they have acknowledged any wrong at all?
Today’s action
ApplicationPray by name for someone who has hurt you and has not apologized, asking God's mercy on them specifically.
Today’s prayer
ApplicationFather, You heard Your Son ask forgiveness for those crucifying Him. Teach me to pray that same prayer for people who have hurt me and do not yet see it. Amen.