“Who Were 'They'?”

Tuesday, March 05, 2013

When Jesus hung on the cross, He said, "Father forgive them for they do not know what they do.”  Who were the ‘they’?  Those standing there?  All those who were involved in His crucifixion?  Or the whole world?  If it was the whole world, then the whole world and everybody in it at that moment and time forward would be forgiven their sins.

Sincerely,
Translate That

Dear Translate That,

Jesus was asking God to not hold that particular sin against the people who were crucifying Him (Lk 23:34).  That statement was not a blanket statement that saved all mankind, regardless of their choices, from sin.  Jesus made it very clear that everyone has a choice.  We can take the wide road to destruction or the narrow road to salvation (Matt 7:13).  Jesus is the way to salvation, and we must choose to follow Him (Jhn 14:6).  After Christ’s death, Peter preached that we must choose to repent and be baptized if we want to receive forgiveness from our sins (Acts 2:36-38).  Salvation is a free gift offered to the whole world (Jhn 3:16), but we must choose to take advantage of that gift (Acts 2:40).

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