Dear Christian friends:

It is true that Christ died only once in the year 30 A.D. on Calvary's hill far away, and will never die again and by once dying He has paid in full for man's sin. But Christ has not stopped suffering with mankind. He shares man's every sorrow and pain. Jesus often healed the sick. In Matthew 14:14, "When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity of them and he cured their sick." Jesus also showed his concern for the hungry in Matthew 15:32, "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way."

It is also true that we by our sins against one another add to His suffering. He says, "For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’" (Matthew 25:42-43) You say when? Jesus answers, "Because you did not help My poor brothers you did not help Me." (Matthew 25:40,45)

And so by our selfishness and lovelessness we hurt Jesus and make Him suffer still today. By such sins we crucify Him again and again.

Now in His first words on the cross Jesus prayed for those who crucified Him, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34) He could have prayed for God to punish and destroy them because of their evil deed. He only wants God to make their sin be sin no more. Oh the deep and wonderful love of Jesus.

And see, He prays aloud so they can hear Him. It would not help them if Jesus prayed that silently. So Jesus prays loudly that all His enemies may hear of God's mercy and love. Later after He arises from the dead some of them will realize their mistake and be sorry. Jesus wants them to know that God has forgiveness for them, even before they want it.

Now Jesus prayed, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they did." The Jews, Pilate and the Roman soldiers crucified Jesus in ignorance. But is that true of us today? Do we hurt Jesus in ignorance?

Pilate and the Roman soldiers thought Jesus was only a trouble-maker. They believed that Caesar of Rome was the God, the Lord, not Jesus of Nazareth. The Jews considered Christ a false Messiah. When they taught about the coming Savior they expected a military and political hero.

So neither the Romans nor the Jews on Good Friday understood their terrible mistake. They did not realize that Jesus of Nazareth was obeying God's plan and that He would rise again on the third day.

But we are not that ignorant. We have heard of His resurrection and ascension into heaven. We have the whole New Testament to prove to us that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God and Savior of the world. The Jews and Romans did not know what they were doing when they crucified the Son of God. But can we say that we know not what we do?

Both we and the Jews crucify Jesus in that we are the same. But they did it in ignorance; we do it and know better. And Jesus asked the Father to forgive them because of their ignorance. Can He pray that for us Christians? Is this prayer only meant for the ignorant, the pagan and heathen and not for us Christians?

Let none fail to answer that question. It is meant to break your heart. We Christians with all our full knowledge of Jesus are worse sinners than the Romans and Jews because we sin and know better. They sin knowing not, we sin and know better. This should break our hearts, and wound us very deeply.

Only with such broken and wounded hearts can we appreciate Christ's suffering and death of our Lord. Only he who has been broken by the cross can be healed by it.

Amen.