Repent and Turn to Jesus for He Longs to Forgive You!

Luke 23:32-34 There have been times when we have wandered far and wide from the narrow way that leads to eternal life.  There have been times when we have not treasured God’s Word and the sacraments as we should.  There have been times when we got caught up in some besetting sin and rather than repenting of it, we made room for it in our lives.

            And when we find ourselves in these spiritually dangerous places, in these times when we are living in opposition to God’s will, we cannot help but wonder to ourselves:  has God given up on me because I have given up on him?  Will God take me back when I am so far gone?  Will God forgive this sin one more time when I have promised him again and again I am done with it, only to fall—again and again?

When we find ourselves in those kinds of places—when go through those kinds of times—when we ask those kinds of questions:  I want you to remember tonight’s sermon and turn to Jesus for he longs to forgive you. 

He shows that longing by identifying with sinners and by dying on the cross.  He shows that desire by establishing the means of Grace in the church and shows that concern by leaving no detail of salvation undone.

Your forgiveness—your restoration to God’s family-- is why Jesus took on flesh and if there had been only you and your sins in a whole world full of perfectly holy people, Jesus would have still come into this world to bear your sin and suffer and die and rise again for your forgiveness.

In the few short verses that we have before us today for our Lenten meditation we see how true it is that we can always repent and turn to Jesus for he longs to forgive us.  The Bible says that:  Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.

Our Lord began his public ministry by identifying himself with sin and sinners in the waters of the Jordan River as he was baptized by John. 

John knew that there was absolutely no need for Jesus to be baptized for himself for he was the sinless Son of God and he drew back from even the thought of Jesus being identified with those who were repenting of their sins and being baptized-- to say nothing of the brood vipers that was standing there looking on.

But Jesus insisted.  He said that his baptism was necessary to full all righteousness and so a holy, sinless Son of God walked down into those sin-filled water and came out bearing them all as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

We see that same picture of our Lord again and again throughout his earthly ministry, identifying himself with sin and sinners.  He talked with a sinful woman at Jacob’s well.  He ate with Matthew and Zacheaus and other public sinners.  And he let a sinful woman anoint his feet and wipe them with her hair.

The religious leaders of the day constantly criticized him, saying that he was a friend of sinners.  And that is true, he was. 

Jesus never kept himself aloof from sinners—not from the repentant ones like Matthew and Zacheaus.  Not from the self-righteous ones like the Pharisees and Scribes whose homes he ate in as well. 

And not even from two criminals, convicted of capital crimes who carried their crosses alongside of him to Golgotha.

As we turn our eyes of faith to Jesus carrying his cross down the way of suffering along with two other condemned men headed to death for their crimes, we see just exactly the love that Jesus has for sinners and we know that when we repent and turn to him in faith we will be forgiven because that is what he longs to do.  The Bible says that: 

When they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.

            When have wandered from the Lord, when we have committed some grave sin or when we have committed the same pet sin over and over—we may wonder and worry to ourselves:  can I really count on being forgiven one more time and can I count on being forgiven one more time after that?

The answer to those questions-- and the cure for those doubts—is found right here before our eyes. 

To forgive our sins Jesus was called every hateful name in the book.  He was ridiculed and mocked.  He was spit upon and struck in the face.  He was whipped so severely that many criminals did not survive it.  His hands and feet were nailed to a cross and a crown of thorns was placed upon his head.  The Bible says that those who knew him could not recognize him, so horrific were his injuries.  He gasped for every breath.  He suffered the pains of hell as he was abandoned by his Father and he died a slow, agonizing death.

All of this to forgive you.

And so then, the question for us when we get caught up in some sin is not:  will Jesus forgive me?  The question is:  what hasn’t he done to forgive me?  The question is not:  are my sins too great to be forgiven?  The question is:  why do I think that all my sins that I have ever committed or will ever commit are greater than a single drop of the blood of the son of man or more powerful than a single moment of his suffering. 

Will Jesus forgive my sins?  Can I turn to him no matter how often I fall?  These questions are answered once and for all in the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

And that we might believe it, the Lord speaks words of forgiveness to us again and again.  The Bible says that:  Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

            There around the cross that day were all kinds of people who deserved no forgiveness from Jesus and would have received no forgiveness from us. 

There would be no clemency from the Roman government for two thieves, their crimes were worthy of death.  Jesus’ closest friends denied him, betrayed him and abandoned him.  The religious leaders loved their place and position more than the truth of the Bible they knew so well.  And the Roman soldiers crucified the Lord of life.

Betrayal.  Cruelty.  Cowardice.  These and many, many more were the sins piled up around the cross that dark Friday afternoon and the sinless Son of God had one thing to say about the whole sad, sorry mess:  Father, forgive them.  Forgiveness for all those sins.  Forgiveness for all those people.

And that we might hear those same words in our own day, with our own ears—and that we might know that those words are spoken to the sinners gathered here today and the whole sad, sorry mess that we have brought into this place--our Lord Jesus Christ continues to say:  Father, forgive them.

When the pastor stands before us in the stead and by the command of our Lord Jesus Christ and pronounces absolution, we hear the voice of Jesus:  Father, forgive them.  When the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ crucified for sinners is preached from this pulpit the voice of Jesus is heard in our midst:  Father, forgive them.  When we come to this altar and receive the body and blood of Jesus, we hear the voice of Jesus:  Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins.

Because our Lord Jesus Christ longs to forgive us—no matter how great our sin and no matter how often we have come to him-- he continues to speak the words he spoke at a cross to an entire world of people who need his forgiveness:  Father, forgive them. 

And that is what he did, leaving nothing unfulfilled in his mission to win our forgiveness.  The Bible says that:  They cast lots to divide his garments.  Bible scholars tell us that over the course of his life Jesus fulfilled over 350 specific Old Testament prophecies and he continued to do that right up until the moment the breathed his last. 

Just think of it!  Jesus was so concerned for your salvation—he so longed for you forgiveness—that even in his last moments on the cross he was making sure that there was not even the smallest detail left unfulfilled of what was promised of the Messiah’s work.

That the soldiers would divide his garments is prophesied by David in Psalm 22.  It really is a minor detail but even as our Lord suffered and died he wanted to make sure that everything was accomplished for our forgiveness and salvation. 

So he continues to do every moment and circumstance of our lives, in every detail promising to work all things for our eternal good.  Why shouldn’t we turn to this One who made sure that everything was done for our forgiveness.

 No matter we have done, no matter how far we have wandered, no many times we have come to the Lord we can be confident that he longs to forgive us because he has become one of us and died our death—because he continues to speak words of forgiveness and life-- and because he has left no detail unfinished when it comes to our forgiveness and salvation.  Turn to the Lord for he longs to forgive you.  Amen.