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Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his
raiment, and cast lots.
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EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)
with the awful state of the other thief, who died hardened in unbelief, though a crucified Saviour
was so near him. Be sure that in general men die as they live.
he hung upon the cross, and while insulted and abused by all sorts of men, and put to the greatest
pain and torture, he addressed himself to God his Father: the Arabic version reads, "my Father",
who was so to him, not as he was man; for as such he had no father; but as he was God, being as
a divine person, his beloved, and only begotten Son: and this he uses, whilst, as man, he is
praying to him; partly to express his faith of relation to him; his confidence of being heard; and
partly to set believers an example of praying, as he has directed, saying, "our Father", &c. and
the petition put up by him is for forgiveness; which is with God, and with him only; and that for
his enemies, his crucifiers: not for those who sinned the sin unto death, the sin against the Holy
Ghost, who knowing him to be the Messiah, maliciously crucified him, for whom prayer is not to
be made; but for those who were ignorantly concerned in it, as the next clause shows, even for
his own elect, whom the Father had given him out of the world, which were among his
crucifiers; for those, and not the world, he prays: and the fruit of this his prayer quickly appeared,
in the conversion of three thousand of them under Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost, next
following, in six weeks time. Though such might be his affection, as man, in general, as to wish
for, and desire, as such, was it consistent with the divine will, forgiveness for all of them; adding,
for they know not what they do, or "are doing", meaning, in crucifying him, which was the case
of many of them, and of their rulers; they did not know that Jesus was the Messiah, nor the
prophecies concerning him, nor the evil they were committing in putting him to death: not that
their ignorance excused their sin; nor was it without sin; nor does Christ use it as a plea for
pardon, or found his intercession upon it, which is always done upon his own propitiatory
sacrifice; but this is mentioned as descriptive of the persons Christ prays for, and points out a
branch of his priestly office he exercises, in having compassion on the ignorant, and them that
are out of the way;
and they parted his raiment, and cast lots: that is, upon his vesture, or seamless coat, and so
fulfilled the prophecy in Psalm 22:18. See Gill on Matthew 27:35. See Gill on John 19:23. See
Gill on John 19:24.
Luke 23:34. , etc.: a prayer altogether true to the spirit of Jesus, therefore, though
reported by Lk. alone, intrinsically credible. It is with sincere regret that one is compelled, by its
omission in important MSS., to regard its genuineness as subject to a certain amount of doubt. In
favour of it is its conformity with the whole aim of Lk. in his Gospel, which is to exhibit the
graciousness of Jesus., etc., and parting His garments they cast lots =
they divided His garments by casting lots.
34. Father, forgive them] Isaiah 53:12, He bare the sins of many, and made intercession for the
transgressors. These words were probably uttered at the terrible moment when the Sufferer was
outstretched upon the Cross and the nails were being driven through the palms of the hands.
They are certainly genuine, though strangely omitted by B, D. We must surely suppose that the
prayer was uttered not only for the Roman soldiers, who were the mere instruments of the
executors, but for all His enemies. It was in accordance with His own teaching (Matthew 5:44),
and His children have learnt it from Him (Acts 7:59-60; Euseb. H.E.ii. 29). They were the first of
the seven words from the Cross, of which three (Luke 23:34; Luke 23:43; Luke 23:46) are
recorded by St Luke only, and three(John 19:27-28; John 19:30) by St John only. The last cry
also
began
with
the
word
Father.
The
seven
words
are
Luke
23:34.
The
Luke
23:43.
The
Promise
to
John
19:26.
The
provision
for
Matthew
John
27:46; Mark
19:28.
John
Luke
The
Prayer
15:34.
sole
Father,
Eli,
the
into
Thy
Penitent.
the
Mother.
lama
of
It
Murderers.
the
Eli,
expression
19:30.
23:46.
for
sabachthani?
human
is
hands
commend
agony.
finished.
My
spirit.
Thus they refer to His enemies, to penitents, to His mother and disciple, to the agony of His soul,
to the anguish of His body, to His work, and to His Heavenly Father. St Luke here omits our
Lords refusal of the soporthe medicated draught, or myrrh-mingled wine (Mark
15:23; Matthew 27:34), which, if it would have deadened His pains, would also have beclouded
His
faculties.
forgive them] aphes; Christ died for the remission (aphesin) of sins, Matthew 26:28.
they know not what they do] Rather, are doing. Through ignorance ye did it, Acts 3:17; 1
Corinthians 2:8. Judaei clamant Crucifige; Christus clamat Ignosce. Magna illorum iniquitas
sed
major
tua,
O
Domine,
pietas.
St
Bernard.
they parted his raiment] For the fuller details see John 19:23-24.
Bengel's Gnomen
Luke 23:34. , said) This is the first utterance of Jesus Christ on the cross. There are in
all seven such utterances to be drawn from the four Evangelists, no single one of whom has
recorded them all. From this it is evident, that their four records are as it were four voices, which,
joined together, form one symphony; and at one time single voices sound (solos), at another, two
voices (duets), at another, three (trios), at another, all the voices together. The Saviour went
through most of the ordeal on the cross in silence; but His seven utterances contain a
recapitulation of the doctrine calculated to be of profit to us in our last hours. [It would not be
unattended with profit to comp. with this the German hymn of the Author, composed on a
particular occasion, beginning thus:Mittler! alle Kraft der Worte, etc. It may be found in
Sen. Urlspergeri Unterricht fr Kranke und Sterbende, Aug. Vind., 1756, p. 408, and in S. R.
J. C. Storrii Gottgeheiligten Flmmlein, etc., Stuttg. 1755, p. 315.E. B. For in these utterances
He hag regard to both His enemies and a converted sinner, and His mother with His disciple, and
His heavenly Father. These seven utterances may also be compared with the seven petitions in
the Lords prayer. Even in the very order of the utterances, mysteries are hidden; and from it
maybe illustrated the successive steps of every persecution, affliction, and conflict (agonis) of the
Christian., Father) At the beginning, and at the close of His suffering on the cross, He
calls upon God by the appellation, Father., forgive) Had He not uttered this prayer, the
penalty might have begun at once, whilst this most atrocious crime was in the act of perpetration,
as often happened in like cases in the time of Moses. The prayers of the Long-suffering One (or
simply, the Sufferer) prevent the immediate execution of wrath, and obtain a full forgiveness for
the time to come, as well as repentance [Acts 5:31] for those who were about (i. e. willing) to
accept it. [Who knows but that forgiveness and repentance were vouchsafed to the few soldiers
who took charge of the crucifixion?Harm., p. 563.], them) viz. those who were
crucifying Him.[ , what they do) They knew certainly that they were in the act
of crucifying, but Who it was that they were crucifying, they knew not. And truly it was awful
ignorance on their part; but if that ignorance had been removed, they would not have crucified
the Lord of glory; nevertheless, even heavier guilt was incurred by him who sinned knowingly.
V. g.]
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 34. - Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.These words
are missing in some of the oldest authorities. They are found, however, in the majority of the
most ancient manuscripts and in the most trustworthy of the old versions, and are undoubtedly
genuine. These first of the seven words from the cross seem, from their position in the record, to
have been spoken very early in the awful scene, probably while the nails were being driven into
the hands and feet. Different from other holy dying men, he had no need to say, "Forgive me."
Then, as always, thinking of others, he utters this prayer, uttering it, too, as Stier well observes,
with the same consciousness which had been formerly expressed, "Father, I know that thou
hearest me always." "His intercession has this for its ground, though in meekness it is not
expressed: 'Father, I will that thou forgive them." In the same sublime consciousness who he
was, he speaks shortly after to the penitent thief hanging by his side. These words of the
crucified Jesus were heard by the poor sufferer close to him; they - with other things he had
noticed in the One crucified in the midst - moved him to that piteous prayer which was answered
at once so quickly and so royally. St. Bernard comments thus on this first word from the cross:
"Judaei clamant, 'Crucifige! 'Christus clamat,' Ignosce!' Magna illorum iniquitas. seal major tun,
O Domine, pietas!" And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. The rough soldiers were treating
the Master as already dead, and were disposing of his raiment, of which they had stripped him
before fastening him to the cross. He was hanging there naked, exposed to sun and wind. Part of
this raiment was torn asunder, part they drew lots for to see who was to wear it. The garments of
the crucified became the property of the soldiers who carried out the sentence. Every cross was
guarded by a guard of four soldiers. The coat, for which they cast lots, was, St. John tells us,
without seam. "Chrysostom," who may have written from personal knowledge, thinks that the
detail is added to show "the poorness of the Lord's garments, and that in dress, as in all other
things, he followed a simple fashion."
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