THE VERSE
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”~Luke 23:34
THE THOUGHT
This is astonishing mercy. Having been beaten, tormented, falsely accused, betrayed, and now nailed to a cruel instrument of execution, with soldiers gambling for his clothing and the watching crowd mocking in derision, Jesus utters these unexpected words: “Father, forgive them.”I would probably have been consumed with bitterness and anger, overflowing from emotional pain and physical agony. When I stub a toe, I am likely to lash out. How much more so with the pain of crucifixion! But Jesus doesn’t lash out, and here in his first word from the cross, we see the mystery of mercy.
Here at the cross, we see the enormous cost of the forgiveness that falls, unbidden, from Jesus’ lips. Jesus is asking the Father to forgive them, at the cost of His own life. Think back to the other moments of mercy in Jesus’ life: the woman caught in adultery, the words of forgiveness to the paralytic, and more. All of those were only possible because of what is happening here. The only way the holy and just God could say to the woman caught in adultery, “Neither do I condemn you, now go and sin no more,” is because the condemnation would fall on someone else. The only reason Jesus can say to the paralytic, or to any of us, “Your sins are forgiven,” is because of the costly price paid at Calvary.
ANNOUNCEMENT
Today’s Daily Verse is the first seven devotional meditations on “the last words of Jesus” that will be posted on the DVO Blog for your encouragement and meditation this Good Friday. Join us as we enter into the Savior’s suffering and taste the costly grace of Calvary. Head over to the DVO Blog for these additional resources that will be posted throughout the day.EXTENDED READING
Luke 23:32-381 Peter 1:18-21
THE QUOTE
"Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us." ~John Stott
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