A thought by Steven Furtick from his book, Seven-Mile Miracle: Journey into the Presence of God Through the Last Words of Jesus (p. 17). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)
Have you ever thought about that? Those around him did everything they could to trip Jesus up, but they couldn’t.
Steven in this book is highlighting the last seven statements that Jesus made while on the cross getting ready to die. Steven says, “Jesus seems to have made his first statement almost immediately after being lifted up on the cross, and it couldn’t have been what anyone was expecting.
“Starting the evening before, he had been…
• betrayed by one of his own disciples for money
• arrested by temple soldiers
• interrogated by the high priest Annas
• tried with falsified evidence by the Jewish ruling council
• denied by his most vocal supporter, Peter
• beaten by some temple soldiers
• questioned by the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate
• questioned by the ruler of Galilee, Herod Antipas
• questioned a second time by Pilate
• whipped by some Roman soldiers
• condemned to death by Pilate at the insistence of locals
• mocked by the Roman soldiers and crowned with thorns
• forced to carry his cross to the place of execution
• stripped
• nailed to the cross
• lifted up in the air to hang from his nail-pierced hands and feet until dead”
Steven then says, “If you were Jesus and you were looking down at the Jewish leaders and their supporters whose schemes had put you there, as well as at the soldiers who had actually carried out the criminal deed, what would you want to say? I won’t tell you what I would want to say. It’s unprintable. What Jesus actually said was this: ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’ (Luke 23:34)
“I’ve always been gripped by the power of that statement. I know that I wouldn’t be able to find it in my heart to ask God to forgive the enemies who were responsible for my murderous, scandalous death. Yet the very first thing Jesus did was to issue forgiveness in the face of his betrayers.”
Steven says, “You can’t say Jesus didn’t practice what he preached. ‘Love your enemies,’ he had taught, ‘and pray for those who persecute you.’ (Matthew 5:44) That’s exactly what he did on the cross.”
He then says, “If you are a believer in Jesus, he has interceded with the Father to forgive you. And he continues to live to intercede for sinners. At this moment, all around the world, people are turning in faith to Jesus, and in heaven, he is asking the Father to forgive them. (Romans 8:34) Every spiritual journey starts with realizing we need forgiveness.”
What unconfessed wrongdoing do you need God’s forgiveness for right now? Whom do you need to forgive right now? For what? How could you go about it?
So, will you ask God to forgive you and will you forgive that person who has wronged you? Will you?
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