Open Heart, Eyes to See

Luke 23:34

"Then Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.' And they divided His garments and cast lots."


This past Sunday for our Easter service we took a look at the characters that were present at the crucifixion. There were about 18 or so groups or individuals there, and I felt like the Lord wanted me to focus on the crowd, their reaction, and we as individuals and the church corporate relate to that crowd. Chances are, we would have been one of those in the crowd either jeering at Jesus, or just wondering what to do. But personally, I was intrigued by two people at the scene and these are the only two that made professions of faith. The Centurion, and the thief on the cross.

All throughout scripture, there is one theme that comes out a couple of times in the gospels. This is when Jesus looks at the crowds of people and we are told that He has compassion for them. This compassion reigned throughout all of Jesus life. Jesus told us that He would be with us 'even unto the end of the age', and proved His willingness to do just that as He showed compassion on those who nailed Him to the cross, and most especially to the repentant thief.

The Centurion had a lot more to go on. He was there from the trial to the crucifixion. He was able to observe Jesus through the whole process, for a great deal of the time probably just trying to get into Jesus head a little bit. What is this guy thinking not answering the questions? Unaware of how deeply Jesus was delving into the soul of Pilate in his quest for truth. Being a Roman, a passive path towards conquering is not in his vocabulary. The very idea of doing nothing in the face of aggression was completely foreign to his nature. But then again, seeing one lay down His life so that another might live, or so that a Kingdom might be furthered made complete sense to him. That, reinforced with the fact that the skies went dark, and the earth shook violently as Jesus death gave the Centurion faith to believe.

But what did the thief have? What drove the thief, who knew he was guilty of a crime punishable by crucifixion, what did he do or see that caused him, unlike his cohort in crime, to cry out for mercy, and see Jesus for who He was?

The thief had no prior interaction or knowledge of Jesus. All indications seem to show that he and the other thief were already on the cross when Jesus got there. The thief also saw the darkened sky (that we always assume is a thunderstorm), and felt the earthquake. But all this happened after the Jesus committed his spirit unto the Father, and more importantly, after he had made his profession of faith. So what could have convinced this particular thief that Jesus was his salvation? It can only be one thing: The very words of Jesus.

Dying an agonizing death of crucifixion, one is in pain beyond measure just to take another breath, let alone speak full sentences or carry on small conversations. The thief knew this because he was living it (or dying from it whichever way you look at it). But he was able to look over at another human being, going through the same torture as he was and see a loving and forgiving heart. And that was what convinced the thief that this man had already overcome all the evil that was thrown against Him. Not only that, facing the same outcome, he wanted some of that for himself.

They were jeering at Jesus, spitting at Him, had beat Him beyond recognition, cursed Him, blasphemed Him and probably every other vile thing you can think of. And then as He hung there dying, He prayed to the Father, "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do." The thief is thinking how can any man ask for forgiveness for the people who had done what they had done to Jesus?

In a similar fashion to what the Centurion experienced: His heart was ready. Scripture tells us that the Centurion "looked upon Jesus" or "saw Jesus" or "saw what had happened" (Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23), the thief listened to Jesus, and saw Jesus, even nailed to the cross 'walking the walk' of true Christianity. Forgiveness is more powerful than anything you might know, because true forgiveness requires pure unadulterated, uninhibited uncompromising love.

I want to present to you the idea that humble forgiveness in the face of your enemy, even when they are fully wrong, may be the best witness you can ever show of Jesus. On Golgotha it converted two men from lives that could not be father from seeking God then they were when that day began. But the moral to the story is: nothing works unless your heart is prepared to hear, see and act upon God. And that's your choice. Out humility and tenderness in our witnessing is important. Never, never compromise truth for any reason, but always be prepared to show the love of Jesus in humility.