At the cross,
Jesus asked God the Father to forgive them. Who were the “them?” It likely
included the Roman soldiers who had beaten Him, pounded spikes into His wrists
and now were casting lots for His clothes. Forgive
them. It probably included the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders who
arranged for His arrest, trial and ultimately for His crucifixion. Forgive them. It was the crowd of people
who had shouted “Crucify Him” and now were gawking at Him as He hung on the
cross. Forgive them. Does it include
us—He had taken on the heavy weight of the world’s sin and was dying for our
sins—for yours and for mine. Forgive them.
He was going through so much pain, agony, and humiliation hanging there on the
cross—but He wasn’t crying out to be saved from the pain—He was thinking of
others. Forgive them.
Can we be
like Jesus? Thinking of others instead of selfishly thinking of our own pain,
problems and offences. Forgive them.
Training Tip – If your children are older teens you may want to
watch the movie “The Passion” with them. It graphically depicts the agony of
Jesus from His trial, the beatings and then on to the cross. Discuss Jesus
ability to ask God to forgive those who had hurt Him…to forgive mankind.
For younger
children, read an Easter/Resurrection storybook at their reading level to them.
Talk about how Jesus wanted God to forgive those who had hurt Him. That is how
much we should forgive those who hurt us.
Lord Jesus—You endured so much for me and for my
family. Thank you. Help us to be forgiving to others—just like You.
All
scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise
noted.
© 2013 by Mickey
M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
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