Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
In Luke 23:34, Jesus uttered these Words while hanging on the cross.
Luke 23:34
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted His raiment, and cast lots.
I’ve read this verse many, many times through the past 52 years of my walk as a Believer. It wasn’t until ten years ago that I came to truly understand what Jesus was saying when He decreed these Words from the cross while in immense pain and agony. In my earlier years, my thinking was, “they sure did know what they were doing. They wrongly accused Him, they wrongly scourged Him, they wrongly mocked Him, and they wrongly crucified Him. They absolutely knew what they were doing.” Ten years ago, when I finally became a “student” (II Timothy 2:15) and “disciple” of God’s Word (John 8:31-32), I began to understand what Jesus was truly saying. In other words, I began to understand Spiritually, and not physically, or carnally. Revelation, or “rhema,” only comes through a Spiritual discernment from The Holy Ghost, our teacher. And it only comes to those who “diligently seek after Him (Hebrews 11:6).” God’s reward to diligent seekers is “rhema.”
The Holy Spirit, through Paul, writes in Romans 12:14 the following:
Romans 12:14
Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
Both what Jesus said and what Paul said were inspired by The Holy Spirit. The messaging is exactly the same, in different circumstances. Jesus is saying to His Father that They (His Father and He) cannot put His death, the mocking, the blasphemy of His name and The Name of God, etc. to each person’s account that, in any way, shape, or form, participated in the mocking, blasphemy, and death of Jesus Christ. Why can Jesus say this? Because Jesus knew it was not the people who did this, but it was satan manipulating them (…..for they know not what they do.) Jesus was saying, “His death is committed ‘unintentionally’ by mankind and that it was satan behind it all.” This “unintentional” death is first symbolized in the Old Testament with the “six cities of refuge” spoken of in Numbers 35:14-15 for those who had slain someone to flee to for protection until the facts could be ascertained and proper verdict rendered. The names of the cities are given in Joshua 20:7-8. The six cities named there have a particular Spiritual meaning:
Kedesh – means “Holy place.”
Shechem – means “Strong shoulder.”
Hebron – means “Fellowship.”
Bezer – means “Strong hiding place.”
Ramoth – means “High place.”
Golan – means “Enclosure for captives.”
Every being of mankind has been forgiven for all sin, past, present, and future. It just has to be accepted and acknowledged by each being through Jesus Christ our Lord. There is only one sin that condemns a person to eternal damnation and torment and that is not accepting and professing Jesus Christ as one’s Lord, Savior, and King. Notice the meaning of the Hebrew name of each city. All of the names point to Jesus Christ, our Holy Place, our Strong Shoulder, our Fellowship, our Strong Hiding Place, our High Place, and our Enclosure for Captives.
The Holy Spirit, through Paul, continues The Words Jesus spoke from the cross by commanding us to bless those that come against us, persecute us, and not to curse them. Why? Again, for the very same reason Jesus spoke His Words from the cross….”for they know not what they do.” Jesus made it clear to us in His Word that we are not persecuted because of us, we are persecuted because of Him, Whom we represent. And the persecution is from satan as he manipulates flesh to come against us. But we have our Strong King of Refuge in which we stand, guarded with His Word decreed by us against the unjust attacks of satan. We must learn to forgive and bless all who come against us or else we expose ourselves, ignorantly or willing, to receive satan’s attacks. Our blessing and forgiving others who unjustly and wrongly persecute us keep the flow of The Blessing (Deuteronomy 28:1-14) open to us with the blessings of The Blessing overcoming and overtaking us each day.
Let’s model ourselves after Jesus Christ, through His power, His strength, His faith, and His forgiveness, to forgive and bless others, praying for their salvation and for them to receive and feel the warmth, mercy, grace, and generosity of Jesus Christ. Let’s get over ourselves and how important we think we are to this world. Apart from Jesus Christ, our identity in Him, and the ministry of reconciliation we have all been charged with by God (II Corinthians 5:18), we are all nothing but retreads in a forsaken world. Even the noblest among the flesh of the earth will bow their knee, willingly or unwillingly, and confess that Jesus Christ is King and Lord before their eternal sentence from The Great White Throne. Praise God as Believers we don’t have to stand in The Great White Throne Judgment because we’ve already been judged through Jesus Christ. We will stand before Jesus Christ at the Bema Seat to receive our rewards for the life we have lived in this earth. How great are your rewards?
Merry Christmas to all and blessings to your families and you in The Matchless Name of Jesus Christ,
Larry