Our Compassionate Christ

Our Compassionate Christ

“Father, forgive them, for they
do not know what they are doing.”

Luke 23:34 NIV

Have you ever wondered how Jesus kept from retaliating against the mob that killed him? Have you ever asked how he kept his control? Here’s the answer. It’s . . . this statement: “for they do not know what they are doing.” Look carefully. It’s as if Jesus considered this bloodthirsty, death-hungry crowd not as murderers, but as victims. It’s as if he saw in their faces not hatred but confusion. It’s as if he regarded them not as a militant mob but, as he put it, as “sheep without a shepherd.”

“They don’t know what they are doing.”

And when you think about it, they didn’t. They hadn’t the faintest idea what they were doing. They were a stir-crazy mob, mad at something they couldn’t see so they took it out on, of all people, God. But they didn’t know what they were doing.

No Wonder They
Call Him the Savior