Please share your thoughts on this passage (Luke 23:34). Christ asks for sins to be forgiven, seemingly because of the ignorance of the sinner. Perhaps the magnitude of the offense is chiefly at hand here? Others suggest that the text is only speaking of the criminals at his side.

Lastly, is his petition granted?

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Michael Turner
Christ Reformed Church | Independent [WCF]
Georgia

They think they're just humiliating and horribly killing someone and they have no idea of the magnitude of their crime, so Jesus asks for their forgiveness. If God forgives them it will surely be through them being clothed with the resurrected Lord. What a thought! The man who drove in the nails on his knees in repentance and shame; being lifted up to an equal degree of grace!

It might have been that they were forgiven this particular act, but not the rest of their sin filled lives. Who knows? I don't know if God the father should necessarily grant every request of Jesus; A father does not grant every request of his son (I know I don't). But I see no importance to the question of whether these particular people were saved, because it does not bear on whether someone can be forgiven apart from the cross of Christ.

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Paul
No denomination, affiliated with FIEC
"Deliver me from worldly dispositions, for I am born from above and destined for glory" - Valley of Vision
"They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation" - Peter

If the Son makes a bona fide request that this sin be forgiven his executors, and the Father rejects that request ... then how certain can we be that the intersession of the Son on our behalf is effective?

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Lance G. Marshall
Pastor
Georgetown, Indiana

The thing that still baffles me to this day is reconciling Luke 23:34 with Psalm 69:22-25, where Christ is also calling down a curse upon these same people.

James Adams in War Psalms of the Prince of Peace tries to do it, but does not do a good job in my opinion. His answer was not satisfactory for me.

If anyone else has a good article or commentary making the reconciliation, I would love to see it.

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Randy Harris
Heritage PCA Church
Oklahoma City, OK

Ultimately, there's really no problem with the text. God will forgive those who repent. Those who do not, He will not. And those who do not, it's because He hasn't granted it to be so. Those who do, it is because He has granted it.

IMHO, the Lord here is simply making a general request, and the request is answered. How so? Well, He was about to take the punishment for His people, of whom were some of the people present for which He petitioned the Lord's forgiveness thereof. For whom the Lord decreed to die for, He did die for. For whom He died He will effectually call. To whom He effectually calls, they will come. For whomsoever comes He will forgive.

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Josh Hicks, Chloë's Dad
Christ Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church, RPCGA
Facebook - The Calvinist Vent
Board Rules - Signature Rules - Suggestion Box

It is God that multiplies our sorrows.... God, as a righteous Judge, does it, which ought to silence us under all our sorrows; as many as they are, we have deserved them all, and more: nay, God, as a tender Father, does it for our necessary correction, that we may be humbled for sin, and weaned from the world by all our sorrows; and the good we get by them, with the comfort we have under them, will abundantly balance our sorrows, how greatly soever they are multiplied. - Matthew Henry

I think you might be right. I retract my statement. Not only for the reason you gave "then how...", but simply because of the situation and the Father's love for Christ. Although every request of a son might not be granted, I'd be willing to bet that every paternal request made by sons hanging on a cross has been granted.

Was not His petition granted at Pentecost? (Acts 2:23, Peter explains to them what they did?)

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Heidi
Indianapolis, Indiana

Patience must dwell with Love, for Love and Sorrow
Have pitched their tent together here:
Love all alone will build a house tomorrow,
And sorrow not be near. -Christina Rossetti

Weren't some of those who crucified him also those who later came to faith?

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Andrew DeShazo
Husband of Kathryn
Father of Phillip-Giles B. DeShazo
Deacon
Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, Memphis, TN
"From out of the depth of unbroken Infinfity arose the Question, "Who am I?" And to that Question there is the answer, "I am God!" -Meher Baba, died 1969.

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Christ, died 33 AD, ressurected three days later.

I guess it all boils down to who were the "them" in the petition. Obviously not all present at the cross repented, and wanted Him gone. Yet there were some who did repent. (When the centurion responded "truly this was the Son of God," had he become a believer and had repented?)

Exactly. And since we don't know who Christ meant by "them," then we trust it is not incompatible with the theology we find in all the other whole of Scripture.

Gee, you never saw " The Robe" ?

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Lynnie

PCA

Central NJ

How do you know that?

I've thought that statement to be ironic, but that does make sense.

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Jake; Hold to Original WCF, member of SBC; Greater Atlanta, Georgia Area

The cross does not give us a minor shift or two with regard to a few of our ethical and moral and religious values; the cross radically disrupts the very center and citadel of your life from self to Christ. —Albert N. Martin

Many people fear being called racist so they exclude the Jews from being responsible for Christ death. Even though many parables point to the fact that it was the Jews who had Christ killed. This feeling reached it's apex when Mel Gibson put out his ode to Rome, The Passion. Leaders in the mainstream had to all toe the line and say, "the Jews did not kill Christ! It was ALL of our sins who killed Christ." We all sinned but only the Jews and Jewish leaders at the time of Christ were the ones who had Christ blood on their hands.

The Jews today need no special forgiveness, they need only answer the call of Christ. As King David paid a heavy price for his sin with Uriah's wife, so did all the Jews of that day pay a price for their sin in 70ad destruction.

I am still learning but I think that those who think he was only talking to the Roman guards have a lot of explaining to do about why Christ was not specific as to thier future.

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Alan Hughes
PCA
Lake Zurich, Illinois

If you think I'm a Hyper-Calvinist, God planned that thought before the foundation of the Earth. If you try to tell me that God only planned some things and not all things, then your problem is with God not me.

What is interesting to me is that there seems to be no indication in the text that Christ is speaking of those who were repenting (at least at that time). In some not so certain terms it actually appears as if he is praying for those who were not repenting, hence the "they know not what they do."

This prayer was heard, just as certainly as His prayer "if possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet, not my, but Thy will be done."

The scope of the prayer, and did any repent? We cannot tell with certainty. Seems like the centurion certainly confessed His Name...

There may well have been others.

Let us rest in the fact, that His will is done.

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Bert Mulder
Elder of the First Protestant Reformed Church of Edmonton
Edmonton Alberta Canada