Luke 23:34 Komentář

This chapter carries on and concludes the history of Christ's sufferings and death. We have here, I. His arraignment before Pilate the Roman governor (Luk 23:1-5). II. His examination before Herod, who was tetrarch of Galilee, under the Romans likewise (Luk 23:6-12). III. Pilate's struggle with the people to release Jesus, his repeated testimonies concerning his innocency, but his yielding at length to their importunity and condemning him to be crucified (Luk 23:13-25). IV. An account of what passed as they led him to be crucified, and his discourse to the people that followed (Luk 23:26-31). V. An account of what passed at the place of execution, and the indignities done him there (Luk 23:32-38). VI. The conversion of one of the thieves, as Christ was hanging on the cross (Luk 23:39-43). VII. The death of Christ, and the prodigies that attended it (Luk 23:44-49). VIII. His burial (Luk 23:50-56).

And the whole multitude of them,.... Of the chief priests, Scribes, and elders; the whole of the sanhedrim, excepting Nicodemus, and Joseph of Arimathea, having in their court condemned Christ to death: arose; from the council chamber, where they sat in judgment upon him: and led him unto Pilate, the Roman governor, and into the praetorium, or judgment hall, where causes were tried by him; hither they brought Jesus, having bound him as a prisoner and a malefactor, that their sentence might be confirmed by civil authority, and that he might be put to the death of the cross, which was a Roman punishment.

And the soldiers also mocked him,.... The Roman soldiers, to whom the execution was committed, who crucified him, and parted his garments, and stood at his cross watching; these joined in the insult, which is not to be wondered at. Coming to him and offering him vinegar; which was what was a part of their allowance, and was their drink; See Gill on Joh 19:29. . Luke 23:37 luk 23:37 luk 23:37 luk 23:37And saying, if thou be the King of the Jews,.... Or their Messiah, who was spoken of as a divine person; for otherwise he might have been their king, and not have been able to have done what is proposed: save thyself: or deliver thyself from the cross.

But prayed for His enemies, "Father, forgive them; they know not what they do."

And from this fact, that He exclaimed upon the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," the long-suffering, patience, compassion, and goodness of Christ are exhibited, since He both suffered, and did Himself exculpate those who had maltreated Him. For the Word of God, who said to us, "Love your enemies, and pray for those that hate you," Himself did this very thing upon the cross; loving the human race to such a degree, that He even prayed for those putting Him to death.

Wherefore, in short, the Master Himself, when He was being led to the cross by those who knew Him not, prayed the Father for His murderers, and said, 'Father, forgive their sin, for they know not what they do!' [Luke 23:34] The disciples also, in imitation of the Master, even when themselves were suffering, in like manner prayed for their murderers. [Acts 7:60] But if we are taught to pray even for our murderers and persecutors, how ought we not to bear the persecutions of parents and relations, and to pray for their conversion?

But those who suffer these things, pitying those who are ensnared by ignorance, by the teaching of wisdom pray for those who contrive evil against them, having learned that ignorance is the cause of their sin. For the Teacher Himself, being nailed to the cross, prayed to the Father that the sin of those who slew Him might be forgiven, saying, 'Father, forgive them their sins, for they know not what they do.' They also therefore, being imitators of the Teacher in their sufferings, pray for those who contrive them, as they have been taught. Therefore they are not separated as hating their parents, since they make constant prayers even for those who are neither parents nor relatives, but enemies, and strive to love them, as they have been commanded.

(Hom. in Pass. Dom.) He also who for our sakes took upon Him all our conditions, put on our garments, the signs of Adam's death, that He might put them off, and in their stead clothe us with life and incorruption. It follows, And they parted his raiment among them, and cast lots.

Therefore, it is worth considering how one ascends. I see it as naked: let such a one ascend who is prepared to overcome the world; so that they may not seek the help of the world. Adam was defeated when he sought clothing; he who discarded covering was victorious. And such ones ascend as we, created by God as their author, nature formed: such a one dwelt in paradise as the first man, such a one entered paradise as the second man. And in order to conquer not only for oneself but for all, he extended his hand, so that he might draw all things to himself; so that, having stripped off the bondage of death, suspended by the yoke of faith, he might unite heavenly things with earthly things that were previously terrestrial.

It is important then to consider, in what condition He ascends the cross; for I see Him naked. Let him then who prepares to overcome the world, so ascend that he seek not the appliances of the world. Now Adam was overcome who sought for a covering. He overcame who laid aside His covering. He ascends such as nature formed us, God being our Creator. Such as the first man had dwelt in paradise, such did the second man enter paradise. But about to ascend the cross rightly, did He lay aside His royal garments, that you may know that He suffered not as God, but as man, though Christ is both.

Because the Lord had said, Pray for them that persecute you, (Matt. 5:44.) this likewise He did, when He ascended the cross, as it follows, Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, not that He was not able Himself to pardon them, but that He might teach us to pray for our persecutors, not only in word, but in deed also. But He says, Forgive them, if they should repent. For He is gracious to the penitent, if they are willing after so great wickedness to wash away their guilt by faith.

Look at the Lord who did precisely what he commanded. After so many things the godless Jews committed against him, repaying him evil for good, did he not say as he hung on the cross, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing”? He prayed as man, and as God with the Father, he heard the prayer. Even now he prays in us, for us and is prayed to by us. He prays in us as our high priest. He prays for us as our head. He is prayed to by us as our God. When he was praying as he hung on the cross, he could see and foresee. He could see all his enemies. He could foresee that many of them would become his friends. That is why he was interceding for them all. They were raging, but he was praying. They were saying to Pilate “Crucify,” but he was crying out, “Father, forgive.” He was hanging from the cruel nails, but he did not lose his gentleness. He was asking for pardon for those from whom he was receiving such hideous treatment.

So, brothers and sisters, let us learn above all from the example of this martyr [Stephen] how to love our enemies. We have just had the example given us of God the Father, who makes his sun rise on the good and the bad. The Son of God also said this after receiving his flesh, through the mouth of the flesh which he received for love of his enemies. After all, he came into the world as a lover of his enemies, he found absolutely all of us his enemies, he didn’t find anyone a friend. It was for enemies that he shed his blood, but by his blood that he converted his enemies. With his blood he wiped out his enemies’ sins; by wiping out their sins, he made friends out of enemies. One of these friends was Stephen, or rather, is and will be. Yet the Lord himself was the first to show on the cross what his instructions were. With the Jews, you see, howling at him from all sides, furious, mocking, jeering, crucifying him, he could still say, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing; after all, it is blindness that is crucifying me.” Blindness was crucifying him, and the crucified was making an eye-salve for them from his blood.But people who are reluctant to carry out the precept, eager to get the reward, who don’t love their enemies but do their best to avenge themselves on them, don’t pay any attention to the Lord, who would have had nobody left to praise him if he had wanted to avenge himself on his enemies. So when they hear this place in the Gospel, where the Lord says on the cross, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing,” they say to themselves, He could do that as the Son of God, as the only Son of the Father. Yes, it was flesh hanging there, but God was hidden within. As for us, though, what are we to do that sort of thing? So didn’t he really mean it when he gave this order? Perish the thought; he certainly meant it. If you think it is asking too much of you to imitate your Lord, look at Stephen your fellow servant.… So Stephen loved his enemies. I mean, while he stood up to pray for himself, he knelt down for them. Clearly he fulfilled what had been written. He proved to be a true imitator of the Lord’s passion and a perfect disciple of Christ, completing in his own passion what he had heard from the Master. The Lord, you see, while hanging on the cross had said, “Father, forgive them because they do not know what they are doing.” And the blessed Stephen, when he was already almost buried under the stones, spoke like this: “Lord Jesus, do not hold this sin against them.” Oh, what an apostolic man, already from being a disciple become a master! It was necessary, after all, for the first martyr of Christ to follow the teaching of the Master. He prays for the godless, he prays for blasphemers, he prays for those who are stoning him.

Let me now tell you something that will help you believe what you cannot possibly understand unless you believe. Tell me, how many souls were there, in the Acts of the Apostles, who believed when they observed the miracles of the apostles? I mean those Jews who had crucified the Lord, who brought along blood stained hands, who had sacrilegious ears, whose tongues were compared with a sword. “Their teeth are weapons and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.” Christ had not prayed for them in vain. He did not say in vain, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.” From their number, a very great many believed. As we can read, “There believed on that day,” as it says, “three thousand souls.” There you have thousands of souls, and here so many thousand souls. The Holy Spirit came on them, through whom loved is poured out in our hearts.

You are a Christian. You carry the cross of Christ on your forehead. The mark stamped on you teaches you what you should profess. He was hanging on the cross, which you carry on your forehead. Do not delight in the sign of the wood but in the sign of the one hanging on it. When he was hanging on the cross, he was looking around at the people raving against him, putting up with their insults and praying for his enemies. While they were killing him, the doctor was curing the sick with his blood. He said, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.” These words were not futile or without effect. Later, thousands of those people believed in the one they murdered, so that they learned how to suffer for him who had suffered for them and at their hands.Brothers and sisters, we should understand this from this sign, from this stamp that Christians receive even when they become catechumens. From this, we should understand why we are Christians.

(de Con. Ev. lib. iii. c. 12.) This matter indeed was briefly related by the three first Evangelists, but John more distinctly explains how it was done.

When thou seest the offender, with severity command him to be cast out; and as he is going out, let the deacons also treat him with severity, and then let them go and seek for him, and detain him out of the Church; and when they come in, let them entreat thee for him. For our Saviour Himself entreated His Father for those who had sinned, as it is written in the Gospel: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." Then order the offender to come in; and if upon examination thou findest that he is penitent, and fit to be received at all into the Church when thou hast afflicted him his days of fasting, according to the degree of his offence-as two, three, five, or seven weeks-so set him at liberty, and speak such things to him as are fit to be said in way of reproof, instruction, and exhortation to a sinner for his reformation, that so he may continue privately in his humility, and pray to God to be merciful to him...

...but the other rebuked the ignorance of his fellow, and turning to the Lord, as being enlightened by Him, and acknowledging who He was that suffered, he prayed that He would remember him in His kingdom hereafter. He then presently granted him the forgiveness of his former sins, and brought him into paradise to enjoy the mystical good things; who also cried out about the ninth hour, and said to His Father: "My God! my God! why hast Thou forsaken me?" And a little afterward, when He had cried with a loud voice, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," and had added, "Into Thy hands I commit my spirit," He gave up the ghost, and was buried before sunset in a new sepulchre.

The very appearance of the gallows showed the criterion that he would apply when he comes to judge everyone. The believing thief’s faith prefigured those who would be saved, while the blasphemer’s wickedness foreshadowed those who would be condemned. Christ’s passion, therefore, contains the mystery of our salvation.

In this matter, dearest brothers, we must carefully observe that the ancient enemy, when he draws our mind toward delight in temporal things, stirs up a weaker neighbor against us, one who strives to take away those very things we love. Nor does the ancient enemy, in doing this, care about removing earthly things, but about striking charity within us. For we suddenly blaze up in hatred; and while we desire to be unconquered outwardly, we are gravely wounded within; while we defend small things outwardly, we lose the greatest things within, because while we love temporal things, we lose true love. Indeed, everyone who takes what is ours is an enemy. But if we begin to hate our enemy, what we lose is within. Therefore, when we suffer something externally from a neighbor, let us be vigilant inwardly against the hidden thief, who is never better conquered than when the external robber is loved. For there is one supreme proof of charity: if even he who opposes us is loved. Hence it is that Truth itself both endures the gallows of the cross, and yet extends the affection of love to its very persecutors, saying: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." What wonder is it, then, if disciples love their enemies while they live, when the Master loves his enemies even while he is being killed?

But Jesus said: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do. Because Luke, through the type of the calf, intended to write of the priesthood of Christ, rightly with him the Lord both intercedes as a priest for his persecutors and opens the gate of paradise to the confessing thief by the same office. For it is not to be thought that he prayed to the Father in vain, but that in those who believed after his passion he obtained what he prayed for. It should be noted that he did not offer prayers for those who, driven by envy and pride, preferred to crucify Him whom they understood to be the Son of God rather than confess Him, but certainly for those who, having a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge (Rom. X), did not know what they did (Luke XXIII). But also, the Apostle John says: There is a sin unto death, I do not say that he should pray for it (I John V). Therefore, imitate your Lord, intercede for your enemies, and if you cannot yet do so, at least take care not to presume to pray against them. For thus, increased by daily progress, and at some time, with the Lord’s help, you will reach that point, where you can even intercede for them.

Dividing his garments, they cast lots. And the people stood watching. This Evangelist John expounds more fully, because, namely, the soldiers divided the rest of the clothes into four parts, according to their number, but for the tunic which was seamless, woven from the top throughout, they cast lots. The divided garment of the Lord, however, symbolized his Church divided into four parts, spreading over the entire earth, which consists of four parts, and equally, that is, harmoniously distributed in all these parts. However, that tunic which was cast lots for signifies the unity of all parts, which is held together by the bond of charity. For if charity, according to the Apostle, both has a more excellent way, surpasses knowledge, and is above all commands (Ephes. III), rightfully the garment by which it is signified is indicated to be woven from above. But what is commended in the lot if not the grace of God? Thus, indeed, it came to all in unity through one, since the lot pleased all, and the grace of God reaches all in unity, and when a lot is cast, it is attributed not to any person's merit, but to the hidden judgment of God.

Nor must we imagine here that He prayed in vain, but that in those who believed after His passion He obtained the fruit of His prayers? It must be remarked, however, that He prayed not for those who chose rather to crucify, rather than to confess Him whom they knew to be the Son of God, but for such as were ignorant what they did, having a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge, as He adds, For they know not what they do.

But in the lot the grace of God seems to be commended; for when the lot is cast, we yield not to the merits of any person, but to the secret judgment of God.

Jesus, displaying extraordinary meekness, prays for them, saying: "Father! forgive them, for they know not what they do." And indeed, this sin would have been forgiven them, had they not after this remained in unbelief. Why do they divide His garments? Perhaps many were in need of them, or perhaps (which is more likely) they did this out of insolence and with the intention of mocking Him. For in their view, what was precious about these garments? Thus, they did this as a form of mockery and insult.

For perhaps many of them were in want. Or perhaps rather they did this as a reproach, and from a kind of wantonness. For what treasure did they find in His garments?

But for those who after the crucifixion remain in unbelief, no one can suppose that they are excused by ignorance, because of the notable miracles that with a loud voice proclaimed Him to be the Son of God.

Christ is led to Pilate, and accused by the Jews, Luk 23:1, Luk 23:2. Pilate examines, and pronounces him innocent, Luk 23:3, Luk 23:4. The Jews virulently accuse him, Luk 23:5. Pilate, understanding that he was of Galilee, sends him to Herod, by whom he is examined, Luk 23:6-9. The chief priests and scribes vehemently accuse him, and Herod and his soldiers mock him, Luk 23:10, Luk 23:11. Pilate and Herod become friends, Luk 23:12. Pilate, before the chief priests, rulers, and people, pronounces Christ to be innocent, and offers to release him, Luk 23:13-20. The Jews clamor for his condemnation, and Pilate gives him up to their will, Luk 23:21-25. Simon bears his cross, Luk 23:26. The people bewail him, and he foretells the destruction of the Jewish state, Luk 23:27-31. He and two malefactors are brought to Calvary, and are crucified, Luk 23:32, Luk 23:33. He prays for his crucifiers, Luk 23:34. He is derided, mocked, and insulted by the rulers, and by the soldiers, Luk 23:35-37. The superscription on the cross, Luk 23:38. The conduct of the two malefactors, to one of whom he promises paradise, Luk 23:39-43. The great darkness, Luk 23:44, Luk 23:45. He gives up the ghost, Luk 23:46. The centurion and many others are greatly affected at his death, Luk 23:47-49. Joseph of Arimathea begs the body, and puts it in his own new tomb, Luk 23:50-53. The women prepare spices and ointments to embalm him, Luk 23:54-56.

They know not what they do - If ignorance do not excuse a crime, it at least diminishes the atrocity of it. However, these persons well knew that they were crucifying an innocent man; but they did not know that, by this act of theirs, they were bringing down on themselves and on their country the heaviest judgments of God. In the prayer, Father, forgive them! that word of prophecy was fulfilled, He made intercession for the transgressors, Isa 53:12.

JESUS BEFORE HEROD. (Luk 23:6-12) sent him to Herod--hoping thus to escape the dilemma of an unjust condemnation or an unpopular release. at Jerusalem . . . at that time--to keep the passover.