God's Forgiveness and Our Blindness

And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. – Luke 23:34

Father Forgive Them

One of my favorite lines from Ghost Ship’s song “Son of David” is this: “The blind won’t gain their sight by opening their eyes.”

Early in Jesus’ ministry Jesus gave his followers some alarming instructions. They went something like this: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. If you only love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the most deceitful people do that. And if you only greet your friends, you are just like everyone else. You must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect, not just good by comparison, but perfect (Matthew 5:44).

A few years later we find Jesus on the cross. His enemies have lied about him, shamed him, spit on him, tortured him, mocked him, and wrongfully accused him; his friends have left him and denied him; his people are now executing him in public next to actual criminals. And somehow in the middle of his own suffering his heart is to intercede on behalf of his accusers for God’s forgiveness, because they don’t know what they are doing.

Later in the song by Ghost Ship they write, “If I could see, I would follow, too.”

For They Know Not What They Do

What we see in the words of Christ gives us a whole theology of regeneration, a right understanding of evangelism, and much more.

First, people who do not know Christ are blind and deaf to the Gospel. If they could see it and hear it, they would follow and believe. These people have no idea what they are doing. God knows this, but no one else does. In the face of their anger, hate, lies, and fear, Jesus teaches us to pray that God would forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Notice what Jesus is not saying: “Father, punish them for their sin.” The New Testament reveals an ignorance that accompanies us in our sinful unregenerate state, yet Christ, in his suffering, acknowledges and intercedes for those blind souls who put him there. Instead of the common frustration, disdain, fear, and contempt people hold for those who speak, act or think negatively towards Christians, Christ expresses compassion and offers intercession to God for their forgiveness.

At school, in your social group, or on your sports team you may be afraid to admit that you are a Christian. You may fear receiving unloving comments or actions if you proclaim your faith. Christ tells us we are to expect this as we follow him. It would be a mistake to remove ourselves from any and all possibilities of interaction with those who believe different than us.

On the contrary, to follow Christ is to be willing to wisely walk into relationships with those who believe different than us, to love them, remembering that salvation is a work of the Lord not our efforts. What we needed, and what the world needs, is someone with the power to open blind eyes and remove the deafness in ears.
 
Here’s how Paul describes that blindness in one of his letters: “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

So we can see that it is not just sin that blinds us, but Satan himself has blinded us. Therefore we look to and pray to the one who has the power over sin and death: Jesus, the one who loves those who do not know what they are doing and intercedes on their behalf for God’s forgiveness.

If we must be perfect as God in heaven is perfect, then we have no hope in clearing the record of our past sins. There is no act, or culmination of works, we can accomplish to perfect ourselves before a holy God. There are no steps we can take that would satisfy God’s wrath towards all this unholiness in the world and in us. Far worse than a builder with no plans or a sailor without a compass, when we find ourselves outside of the regenerative work of God through Jesus Christ our Lord, we are hopelessly lost.

Jesus’ love for sinners and his prayer for his enemies reflect at least two amazing things – First, man’s only hope is God’s interceding power on their behalf. It’s not about trying to be good or comparing myself to others, but in trusting God’s means of salvation for sinners. The Second amazing thing: God desires to save sinners through Jesus Christ.

The chorus and ending of the song goes like this,

I cannot leave this gate
Since I cannot see my way
But I can stand and call His name
No, I could never leave this gate
But I will stand and shout His name
And I will count on His grace

Son of David, have mercy on me
Son of David, have mercy on me
Son of David, I want to see
Son of David, have mercy

I was blind, now I see
Jesus saved me
I was blind, now I see
Jesus saved me

Persevere,                                                                                              Joey Turner      
Pastor of Student Ministry