FROM TODAY’S READING (3/31/2020)...
EASTER THOT...
“So, the Savior prayed for the priests as well as the soldiers. But in praying for these Jews and Gentiles, Jesus was showing on the cross how he prays for us all. Even if he was praying exclusively for the people who actually crucified him, it would still give us hope for our own forgiveness because here, we see the heart of the mercy of God. The Savior’s words demonstrated his redemptive purpose in dying on the cross. If Jesus was willing for the Father to forgive the very men who murdered him, then what sinner is beyond the reach of his mercy?
Surely anyone who repents will be saved. When his enemies said, ‘Crucify!’ Jesus said, ‘Forgive.’ Jesus is willing to forgive anyone—even people like us, no matter what we have done, as long as we come to him in faith.”
Dave Jenkins (contributing writer to BibleStodyTools.com)
Luke 23:32-34 (NLT) Two others, both criminals, were led out to be executed with him. When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified—one on his right and one on his left.
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.
Matthew 5:44-47 (NLT) But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.
Image: CC (Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Image/Antonio Ciseri)
