And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. (Luke 23:34 ESV)
Forgiveness (2) and Love
At the very moment Jesus is praying, His blood is being shed. That blood that is not randomly dripping, but instead each individual drop is paying for the sins of those whom Jesus loves.
That is why He is, almost at that very moment, dying.
And among His last words are an amazing statement of how and why salvation works.
He is speaking particularly about those who are crucifying Him. By the context of the lot-casting, He is speaking about the Roman soldiers and officials.
Jesus says, “THIS blood is for them.”
Of course, more events need to happen. The soldiers and officials WILL come to realize their need for Christ’s blood because of their sins. The gospels record centurions saying conversion-like things, (Matthew 27:54, Mark 15:39, Luke 23:47) and perhaps this was a part of that story. But Jesus’ statement on the cross indicates that His blood was being shed for some of those folk standing right there.
But He was also, perhaps, referring to all of His saints.
Because we do not know what we do, either.
Our sins are often unnoticed and unconfessed.
But Jesus bled and died for us.