None of us would have chosen him as the first invitee into the kingdom of God…at least the first one during or after the crucifixion. Yet, he is the poster child of the Christian faith. An unnamed criminal, undergoing the brutal torture of crucifixion, guilty of crimes that landed him on a busy street outside Jerusalem, an example for others to who not to be.

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Luke 23:39-43, ESV

How did this unnamed criminal go from his own cross to paradise? We can’t overcomplicate this. This unnamed criminal owned his own sin. He tells the other taunting criminal, “And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds.” No one has ever entered heaven who did not first own his sin. No one ever will. It is the beginning point of every new follower of Jesus.

Second, this criminal believed Jesus was sinless. But this man has done nothing wrong. While the other criminal railed at Jesus, this man revered him. While the religious leaders reviled Jesus, telling him to save himself if he is the Messiah, this man requested that Jesus remember him. This man looked at a bleeding Jesus and saw a king.

Jesus hears that kind of prayer every time. Humility always gets God’s attention. Blown it? You’re in good company. So had the criminal. Yet he went with Jesus to paradise.

Final words. Seven statements uttered by Jesus in his most trying moments from the cross. The first, a prayer to God for those conducting his own crucifixion. Today (I wrote this on Wednesday) as I was riding to work and listening to the news, they shared the story of two cops sentenced to twenty years for beating and shooting two black men. The acts were atrocious, the sentiment behind them abhorrent. What caught the news’ attention was this: one of the cops apologized at his sentencing and one of the black men forgave him.

Forgiveness is newsworthy.

We are most like beasts when we kill.
We are most like men when we judge.
We are most like God when we forgive.

william arthur ward

Jesus knew that those executing him did not know who he was. And as a result, they did not know what they were doing. They were crucifying the creator! Mocking their maker. Casting lots for the clothes of the one who provided the very air they breathed and their own ability to clothe themselves.

They didn’t know.

Jesus’ words raise two questions for us: Can we ask God to forgive someone who is unknowingly hurting us. (or even knowingly). Can we forgive like Jesus?

Lisa TerKeurst, in her book Forgiving what You Can’t Forget, writes:

Staying here, blaming them, and forever defining your life by what they did will only increase the pain. Worse, it will keep projecting out onto others. The more our pain consumes us, the more it will control us. And sadly, it’s those who least deserve to be hurt whom our unresolved pain will hurt the most.

Who do you need to forgive? What hurt are you holding onto that is squeezing the life out of you? Are you willing to ask the Father to forgive them for hurting you? And then leave it with him?

Jesus was. And still is.

When someone is near death we lean in and listen. Final words have a sense of gravity. When someone is struggling to breathe, their choice of words is most intentional. Jesus’ words from the cross, comprised of 7 statements, ought to cause us to lean in and listen.

Over the next week we will take a closer look at each of these statements. For today, take a few moments and let these settle into your soul.

Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do.

Today, you will be with me in paradise.

Woman, behold your son, son behold your mother.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

I thirst!

It is finished!

Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

Here are a few observations. The first two statements address awful sinners, undeserving recipients of God’s grace. (the ones crucifying Jesus and one of the criminals). The third (woman, behold your son) addresses Jesus’ own mother and Jesus’ desire that she be cared for. The fourth is a cry of a child to his Father. Its personal nature (my God) shows the deep love between Jesus and his Father. The seventh is similar (Father, into your hands I commit my spirit). The fifth shows Jesus’ humanity. He was a thirsty, dying man. The sixth is an announcement to the world, to Satan and his demons, to the Father in Heaven, and to all who would hear. The work is completed. It. Is. Finished.

Tomorrow we will look at Jesus’ willingness to forgive the ones who committed the awful crime of crucifying him. What a Savior we have.

Not all manuscripts include this phrase: for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever, Amen. But if you’ve memorized this prayer, you memorized this phrase. Let’s jump in.

Why end the prayer with this reminder? It forms what biblical scholars call an inclusio, a beginning and ending thought that mirror one another. Your kingdom come and yours is the kingdom. I want to propose the idea of what it would look like if every prayer began with the reminder that it is God’s kingdom, not ours and ended with that same reminder. Here are some thoughts.

God reigns. We do not. God is not somewhere twiddling his thumbs wondering what to do next. No! A thousand times no! He rules. He reigns. Whatever you are under, he is over. He is God. We can relax…we are not God.

His kingdom is powerful. God is omnipotent. He does not reign in fear of any other kingdom or power. He is not intimated. He is undeterred by Putin, unmoved by China, undaunted by the United States. He is all-powerful. He also isn’t caught off guard by your personal dilemma.

His kingdom is glorious. Yours is the glory. All earthly glory is temporary. The grass withers. Flowers fade. Kings and rulers are born and then die. Their glory is tainted by their own limitations. God gloriously reigns. No sin has ever entered his eternal kingdom, nor will it! He reigns in glory. Majesty alone belongs to him.

Forever and ever. Amen. His kingdom is eternal. Every other kingdom is temporary. God sees the end from the beginning, knows the last from the first. He is not constrained by time or knowledge as we are. Because he rules in an eternal kingdom, his reign is one of complete knowledge of all things. Past. Present. Future.

Worried? Pray to the King. Afraid? Pray to the King. Bewildered? Pray to the King.

Some enemies are too big, some battles too hard, some mountains too steep, some valleys too low for us to go alone. We need help. Let that sink in. In our day of self-sufficiency, we can lose sight of the fact that we need help.

One of my favorite Old Testament stories is an account where King Jehoshaphat needed help only God could give:

After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, Engedi). Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the LORD; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.

2 Chronicles 20:1-4, esv

I love the honesty of this passage. Then Jehoshaphat was afraid. He’s a scared leader. If you’ve ever coached a team, parented a child, led an organization, spear-headed a project, you’ve been afraid. It’s the common cold of leadership. Jehoshaphat had reason to be afraid. Not one, not two, but three of Israel’s bitterest enemies had formed a coalition and were coming against him. He set his face to seek the Lord. And he led the entire nation to do the same. They came together, with the sounds of trumpets and horses hoofs in the background, to seek the Lord.

Listen to his public prayer, before the people, to his God:

And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, and said, “O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’ And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy—behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

2 Chronicles 20:5-12, ESV

Jehoshaphat’s prayer is worth emulating. He remembered who God is. He recalled what God had done. He reminded God of his promises! And that last line! We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.

What enemies are marching in formation toward your camp this Monday morning? Afraid? You’re in good company. Concerned? Cry out to God. He stands ready to deliver. Keep your eyes on him, all day long. Until he comes through victoriously.

Almighty God, we pray for your blessing
on the church in this place.
Here may the faithful find salvation,
and the careless be awakened.
Here may the doubting find faith,
and the anxious be encouraged.
Here may the tempted find help,
and the sorrowful find comfort.
Here may the weary find rest,
and the strong be renewed.
Here may the aged find consolation
and the young be inspired;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

from The Worship Sourcebook, ©2004, Faith Alive Christian Resources

I must honestly say that this part of the model prayer has baffled me. If we know that God would never lead us into temptation, why does Jesus instruct us to pray such a prayer? I think this instruction is best understood against the background of Jesus’ most monumental moment of prayer: in the Garden of Gethsemane.

During Jesus’ most difficult moment, Jesus taught the disciples: watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Jesus understood human nature better than we ever will. When he became one of us, he robed himself in human flesh. The writer of Hebrews sheds light on Jesus as God and man.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

hebrews 4:15, esv

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus faced the ultimate temptation: follow through with the very reason God had sent him and feel something he had never felt before: separation from the Father. Or follow his own will. He faced the dichotomy of a willing spirit and a weak flesh.

We know the Lord’s Prayer is meant to be prayed daily (give us this day our daily bread). Temptation then, is a daily reality. We are never free from its allure. Our flesh is always weak. When Christ comes to live in us, our spirit is always willing. To pray daily lead me not into temptation is to imitate the greatest battle ever fought on the battleground of prayer: not my will but yours be done.

Where are you most tempted? What area of sin most easily trips you up? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation! Don’t ever be lulled into the false sense of security that your struggle has passed, your flesh has strengthened! Only when you are in the presence of God in unhindered worship will the allure of temptation become a forgotten reality.

Here Jesus seemingly attaches a condition to our own forgiveness…our willingness to forgive others.

Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Jesus

While we may balk at the idea of conditional forgiveness (and yes we are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves–Ephesians 2), we cannot logically or rightly ask for a gift from God we are not willing to give to others. Our willingness to forgive is directly linked to our ability to receive forgiveness. Paul elaborates on this theme in Ephesians 4:

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

ephesians 4:31-32, esv

At the forefront of every relationship, every conflict, every disagreement, every marriage, every interaction with our coworkers must be the reality that we live as forgiven people. We are known by our forgiveness. The reason Paul instructs us to let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and slander be put away from us is because, on the cross, Jesus drank the cup of bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and slander. He was mocked so that we don’t have to be. He was ridiculed so that we could be redeemed. He was made sin so that we could be made righteous. We are who we are because Jesus did what he did.

When we carry bitterness and anger against someone else, we deny the forgiveness we have received for ourselves. We live as unforgiven people, not forgiven people.

In order to legitimately pray this prayer, we must examine ourselves. Who are we holding a grudge against? Is there someone who has offended us and we can’t let go of the offense? Let me offer a helpful exercise. Get a sheet of paper. On one side, write down all the things God has forgiven you for. All the things. The worst and the least, the oldest and the most recent. Now on the other side of the paper write the names of people who have offended you and what they did. Compare the list. As you read the list on the left, forgive the people on the right as God has forgiven you for the things on the left. You will most likely discover that God’s forgiveness is more than sufficient reason for you to forgive what someone has done to you.

Sin always creates a deficit. Sin is always a deduction. Sin is expensive. Very costly.

When Jesus teaches us to pray for forgiveness of our debts, he’s teaching us to ask God to cover the bill. We can’t ask for forgiveness of a debt we don’t think we owe. In order to honestly pray for forgiveness of our debts, we must first own them. Name them. This requires more than a tacit admission of sin. Rather, it necessitates an active recognition of our sins. A specific list. We will much more readily forsake something we have honestly named.

Second, naming our debts gives us a greater understanding of how much we owe. We get a better grasp of the costliness of our sin and the grace of God in Jesus that he is willing to cover the entire cost. As a matter of fact, Jesus demonstrated this reality when, having been asked to have dinner at a Pharisee’s house, was approached by a woman who washed his feet with her hair and some very expensive perfume, mixed with her tears. The Pharisee, seeing that Jesus did not stop the woman, viewed this as a failed test: if Jesus had known what kind of woman this was, he would have stopped her. Surely Jesus couldn’t be a prophet and let this sort of thing happen.

Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

luke 7:39-40, ESV

Before we get to Jesus’ longer answer to the Pharisee’s question, we can’t overlook that Jesus answered the Pharisee who “said to himself.” Jesus didn’t even have to hear the question out loud to know what Simon was thinking! Of course he knew the woman who knelt at his feet! Now hear Jesus’ response:

“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Luke 7:41-50, ESV

Don’t be afraid to list your sins. And when you realize how much he has forgiven you, your worship will be like expensive perfume poured out on Jesus’ feet. Others may think you’re out of control, your worship unwarranted, your prayers uncalled for.

They aren’t.

He who is forgiven little, loves little.

This is a prayer Jesus never had to pray, but one he teaches us to pray. One has to wonder, especially during the season of Lent, if Jesus was thinking of the high cost of the forgiveness the Father is willing to grant to the disciples (and to us).

Forgiveness is both emotional and transactional. We cannot be simultaneously angry and forgiving. Forgiveness works like a pressure release valve, letting go the frustrations and anger we feel toward someone who has hurt us. It is also transactional: when we truly forgive someone we cancel their debt. They no longer owe us.

To live is to need forgiveness.

The transactional reality of forgiveness is that God’s forgiveness of our sins comes at the expense of Jesus’ own life. We are able to be forgiven because Jesus was willing to die for our sins. When Jesus instructs us to pray for forgiveness, ultimately he will pay the price for that very prayer.

My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought. My sin, not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord O my soul.

Horatio Spafford, It is Well with my soul

What sin(s) need to be forgiven today? Could I remind you that the price has already been paid, the debt is already canceled. Don’t hesitate to ask. What an insult to the Father if you spurn the most precious gift he has ever, and will ever, give you…his only Son.