Thirsty4Truth

We have all heard that Jesus set the perfect example of forgiveness on the day that He was crucified when He prayed: "Father forgive them; for they know not what they do". Luke 23:34 But did Jesus really forgive those who hung him on the cross to die, or did He merely pray to the Father to forgive them?

Christianity teaches that we need to forgive others before they have a chance to repent, or even in cases when they refuse to repent. They take many verses and stories of the Bible to back up their claim of this false doctrine. But what many do not realize is that the stories and the verses that Christianity uses are taken out of context and twisted to fit their views.

The story on the cross is taken out of context as well. They have to take it out of context because that is the only way for Christianity to continue in their false teachings.

Normally, Christians do not take away from the Bible, but they usually add, which is what they have done in this case as well. The Bible makes no mention that Jesus forgave the soldiers, and thus, we are forbidden to teach such a thing. Not only that, it doesn't add up to the rest of the Bible, or match with the character of Jesus.

There are many cases in the New Testament where Jesus healed the sick, and in many cases, He would also forgive their sins. Nowhere do we read that Jesus prayed to God the Father to forgive those whom He healed. But instead, Jesus took the matter into His own hands and simply said "Thy sins are forgiven thee". Matthew 9:2. And thus, the individuals were healed and forgiven at that very moment. There was no need for Jesus to pray to God so that their sins could be forgiven, for Jesus had the power to do so.

In the same way, while He was hanging on the cross, He still had the power to forgive the repentant thief who hung with him. But when it came to the soldiers, He did not forgive them, but instead, He prayed that God would do so.

After forgiving all the others, why did He have to pray to the Father to forgive the soldiers? This is the only case where Jesus prayed to God that He should forgive someone on His behalf.

It wasn't that Jesus did not have the power to do so, but rather, it was not His nature to do so. Why? Because there was no evidence that the soldiers repented. The soldiers continued to mock Jesus, and therefore, Jesus could not forgive them. Had they repented, then Jesus would have forgiven them in the same way that He forgave the thief who repented.

The New Testament makes it very clear that there will be no unrepentant sin that will enter into heaven. Therefore, if one does not repent, then God cannot forgive. Once we repent, then God has promised that He will forgive us. That is how we are to forgive others as well. When we see that they have repented and want to do different, then we are to forgive them, and not a moment sooner.

So the example that Jesus gave us on the cross, was not on how we should forgive others, but rather how we should pray for others. He could not forgive them, but He was able to overcome the anger, and thus, was able to pray that God might forgive them. That is exactly what we are to do.