Constant Appeal...

An important understanding gained during Jesus’ walk to the cross is how His words revealed His reasons…
“When they got to the place called Skull Hill, they crucified him… Jesus prayed, ‘Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing.” ~Luke 23:33-34
Jesus death was indeed a great act of love. But the reason beneath the act is what gives it great meaning. As He hung on the cross, He uttered these words, “Father forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing”. I wonder if sometimes this simple sentence gets lost amidst the more poignant parts in the crucifixion retelling. If His paying the price for our ransom with His blood wasn’t enough, He called out to the Father that we be forgiven even before He died. He based this appeal on a very human truth, that mankind simply didn’t realize the full extent of our sinful actions and couldn’t comprehend how deeply we contradicted the world of God’s holiness. It’s a powerful thing when a dying son makes a last request to a Father. Can we even begin to understand how those few words affected Jesus’ father? If anything reveals Christ’s greatest desire for coming to earth, these words would be it. When you put all of Christ’s appeals in order; His prayers for us listed in John, this appeal on the cross and then His ascension to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father to plead for us daily, it’s a continuous truth. What would we do if we didn’t have a Savior making such a CONSTANT APPEAL for us! ~Verlon