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But let us begin to start with in First Peter and chapter two. First Peter chapter two. And we begin there in verse nineteen. For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it if, when you be buffeted for your faults, you shall take it patiently? But if when you do well and suffer for it, you take it patiently. This is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were you called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow his steps, who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judges righteously. Who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes you were healed. These verses that we have read constitute a magnificent description of our Lord's non-retaliation, in spite of the stupendous suffering that was inflicted on him. And we pause to let our hearts admire him, and for our admiration to deepen into worship. When he was reviled, he reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not. To his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree. Unfortunately, in our modern world, this wonderful description of our Lord's non-retaliation in the face of suffering has been confused in people's minds with a quite distinct matter, and that is the matter of forgiveness. They are not the same thing, of course. But it has occurred that many folks imagine that this description of our Lord's non-retaliation implies that even while they were persecuting him, he forgave them, and forgave them while still they were not repentant. To this is added the exhortation, because he is our example, that we too should forgive those who have injured us in any way. We should forgive them even before they repent. And some add to that, that God himself has forgiven everybody and will not hold their trespasses against them. It is not only in religious circles that this idea has taken root in our modern world. It has taken root among the philosophers. There is a good descr- a a a large dis- discussion going on amongst philosophers about what is called, excuse the barbarity of the term, unapologetic forgiveness, which means that we have a duty to forgive people even before they have repented, and even if they never repent, it's our duty to forgive them. The BBC will often quote the example of that brave, good man whose daughter was killed by an IRA bomb, who lay on the ground beside his dying daughter and said, I forgive the terrorists for killing my daughter. So, says the BBC, we should all do. But of course, it is not true. There is a very big distinction between our Lord's non-retaliation and the question of forgiveness. Our Lord is on record in the Gospel of Luke, for instance, in chapter thirteen, saying, except you repent, you shall all likewise perish. And he's on record as telling us his disciples that if your brother sin against you seven times a day, you are to forgive him. Yes, but on what condition? To quote him in full, if your brother sin against you seven times a day and seven times return and say, I repent, you shall forgive him seven times. Forgiveness is dependent upon repentance. You will therefore notice in the passage we have already read about our Lord's sufferings at the hands of men. When he was reviled, he reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him who judges righteously. Our Lord did not take the view that it didn't matter how much they persecuted him. He already had forgiven them. No, no. As they were torturing him, he didn't retaliate, but he committed himself to him who judges righteously. And in his confidence that there was one who would be the perfectly just judge of this situation. Because he had implicit faith in his father to judge righteously, then he committed himself to the one who judges righteously. Oh, but you say, come now, Mr. Preacher, do. Isn't it on record that when eventually they put him on the cross, he prayed to his father, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. In other words, says the argument, our Lord himself prayed for all those that had crucified him, that there and then God would forgive them, for they know not what they do. Well, let's face that very scripture. And for that purpose, I ask you to turn with me to Luke's account of our Lord's suffering. And what happened when he was on his way to the cross, and then what happened when he was on the cross? And this, of course, is Luke chapter, uh, twenty three. And we begin the passage, and let's read the whole passage in honor of our Lord's sufferings, beginning in verse uh twenty six. And as they led him away, and the they refer to is, of course, the Roman soldiers. The high priests had prevailed upon Pilate, the governor, to crucify Christ. Christ was then handed over to the Roman soldiers, who led him away. As they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon a Cyrenae coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus. And there followed him a great company of people and of women which also bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming in the which they shall say, blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bear and the paps which never gave suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, fall on us, and to the hills, cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry? Let us pause to take in the significance of this particular happening. Our blessed Lord was being led out by the soldiers who had mocked him and scourged him, led out to the place of crucifixion. And there followed him a great company of people, and in particular of women which bewailed and lamented him. Of course, it struck in their hearts a feeling of sympathy and grief to see such a young man so horribly treated, already mangled with the scourge of the Roman soldiers. And the soldiers, observing his weakness, then transferred the cross to a certain Simon, a Cyrenian. And the women be- uh, uh, followed and bewailed and lamented him. Wonderful feminine sympathy for the blessed Lord Jesus in his moment of suffering. And he turning round said to them, perhaps what he said is surprising. He said, you daughters of Jerusalem, don't wail for me. Wail for yourself. It's not I that's got the wrong end of this stick. It's you. For I must tell you now, says Christ to these women, the days are coming when people shall say, blessed those that never became mothers. They shall in fact call to the mountains to fall upon them and to the hills to cover them. Does that sound to you as if he had already forgiven them? The very words he used remind us of those similar words used in the book of the Revelation and at the end of chapter six, where the sixth seal is opened by the Lamb, and the judgments descend upon this world. And the men, the great ones, to the slaves, as they see the heaven opened like a scroll. They're given to see the throne of God and the Lamb. And in terror they call upon the hills to cover them, and to the mountains to fall on them. This was our Lord's words to the women. You might have supposed he would refer such strong language to the evil men that he decided upon crucifying him. But he warns the mothers of the inedible consequence of what the nation was doing. If they do these things in a green tree, for even in those days, there was a, a, a, a, a, a well-established government politically under the Romans, tyrants though they were, yet it was established government. And there was a priesthood in the temple that called upon the name of God and offered him sacrifices and preached the law of God. If in a society like that, people are pref- are prepared to subvert justice and condemn an innocent man to death in this vile fashion. If they do that in a society well governed and religiously represented, what shall be done when those both foundations of moral behavior are destroyed and the world becomes a moral desolation. What shall be done in the dry, dry tree? We remember, surely, the words of First Peter chapter two. When he was reviled, he reviled not again. When he suffered, he didn't threaten, but he committed himself to him that judges righteously on his very way to the cross and warned those dear ladies of the judgment that must descend upon their nation and their society for this terrible deed that it was in process of committing. He committed himself to him that judges righteously. But you say he did, he did pray to God to forgive them. Well, forgive whom? Let's read on and make sure we understand his prayer in the context in which he made it. Verse thirty two: There were also two other malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Or shall we read the, uh, uh, uh, led, let, sorry, there were two other benefactors led with him to be put to death. When they were come to the place which is called Cal- Calvary, there they crucified him. And the benefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left. But who's the they? Who actually crucified him? They, of course, that had let him out. They who had made the cross and compelled Simon the Cyrenian to carry it. When they, that is the Roman soldiers, got our blessed Lord to Calvary, laid the cross down and forced him down and nailed the nails through his wrists and through his feet or his ankles, and then took the cross up and jolted it into its position. It was the Roman soldiers that actually crucified him, as you see from the context. It was then that our Lord said, Father, forgive them. For, notice the for, they know not what they do. They were but Roman soldiers. They had to ob- to obey the governor and the, uh, their, uh, uh, captains and the centurion. They had no choice. Who Jesus was, they hadn't the faintest idea. They didn't understand Jewish religion, nor even what the term the Christ meant. They were just doing their duty, had they done it a thousand times, for the Romans constantly crucified people they didn't like. They didn't know what they were doing, nor who he was that they were crucifying. And because that they didn't know what they were doing, Christ prayed his father to forgive them. Strictly speaking, this is what Luke is telling us, as we notice the order of events. First, as they led him away, the soldiers took the cross and put it on Simon. Then came the women bewailing him, and our Lord responded to them by his solemn word of judgment that would fall on the nation for doing what they were now doing. And then the soldiers arrived with him to Calvary, and they crucified him, not beginning to understand what they were doing. It was for them that our Lord prayed, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Perhaps you are inclined to say, but wait a moment, Mr. Preacher. That phrase, they know not what they do, is used in the Acts of the Apostles, not of the Roman soldiery, but of the nation itself. So shall we just look at it, because, you know, we need to be very careful now as we discuss these sacred, uh, chapters and these sacred detail. In the Acts of the Apostles, if you will, and chapter three. This is Paul, uh, Peter talking to the Jerusalem crowd, and he says in verse seventeen, now, brethren, I realize that through ignorance you did it, as indeed also your rulers. There is Peter telling the crowd and referring also to their rulers that they did what they did, not knowing, in ignorance. That meant there was a possibility of forgiveness for them, but pray notice what Peter said in verse nineteen. Repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, and he shall send Jesus Christ, which was before preached to you, whom the heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. You will notice the call on that nation to repent, that their sins might be blotted out. Peter does not say, look, when our Lord was on the cross and you crucified him, he prayed the Father to forgive you, and so you are forgiven. No, no. He tells them quite distinctly, if you wish forgiveness, you must repent. And this is the gospel message. Paul, in describing to the elders of the church at Ephesus what had been his message, he sums it up in these words: repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus. So let's come back then now to Luke chapter twenty three and verse thirty two. There were also two other, they were malefactors, not he, of course, led with him to be put to death. And when they were come to the place which is called Galilee, there they crucified him. So now let's go down to verse, uh, thirty nine. And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, if thou be the Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man has done nothing amiss. And he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said to him, verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise. Magnificent story of how the dying thief, as he came to be known, was converted, subject of in uncountable gospel messages that have been preached since to the salvation of many people. Now we are to hear of Christ's mercy. How, we may ask, did that dying thief actually get converted? What passed through his heart that led him to repentance. So, first of all, he joined the other thief, so they are called in our lovely authorized version translation. They weren't just common thieves, they weren't just burglars, they were at the least bandits. They perhaps were terrorists, like Barabbas was, who for sedition and in the cause of sedition had committed murder. These at least were bandits, careless of human life. Now the authorities had captured them and crucified them. But presently, he ceased railing on Christ like the other man, and started to rebuke his fellow terrorist. Verse forty: Rebuked him, saying, dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? What does he mean? He's talking to his fellow terrorist. And urging upon his fellow terrorists that here was a situation that caused or should cause them to fear God. And what was that situation? Dost thou not fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? The same condemnation as who? He can't mean that you and I are in the same condemnation. How would that be a cause for fearing God? What he means is simply this: stop railing, you fool. Don't you see what is happening? We, two of us, are in the same condemnation of this man on the central cross. How is that a cause for fearing God? Well, says he, we indeed justly deserve it. We receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man has done nothing amiss. The The innocent innocent. being punished along with the guilty. A cause for get fearing God? Indeed, yes. It raises the question, is there a God in heaven who cares about justice, then this situation on earth, where the innocent suffer along with the unjust, will demand one day God intervene and deal with the perpetrators of this ju- of this injustice. In countries that have long been given over to Marxist communism... and are now free from that restraint. There are many, of course, who take the view that there is no God out there. That means, of course, that in the end, justice is a mere rope of sand. It means that if there's no God out there that cares for justice, and there's no final judgment, then multitudes in the past who have suffered injustice, then multitudes in the past who injustice, have suffered will never get justice anyway. And multitudes who live at this present moment, unjustly treated by their fellow man, they too will never get justice. Where does this sense of fairness come from? In the human heart. The Bible tells us straightly. God, our Creator, has put it there. Is morality all that important? It is indeed. Because there is a God in heaven, and there will be a final judgment. And he cares for justice. Imagine listening to a sermon like that from a terrorist on a cross. But this is where the fear of God began in his heart. That the innocent should be suffer along with the unjust. Well, if there's a God in heaven who cares for justice, there will come a day of judgment. Do you know what? For years, this so-called dying thief had not cared too much about justice. He had perhaps murdered many people and defied the government of the day and prided himself on his accomplishments. But now he began to care. That was most unusual. He wanted to see justice done. Admitting to the other fellow, we ourselves deserve what we're getting. He wanted to see justice done. This is a God who cares for justice. Whatever would happen to him. Maybe he had heard what our Lord had said to the women. He surely had heard the Lord praying for those that actually drove the nails through his hands and feet. And in that moment, God's Holy Spirit convicted him that this wasn't the end of Jesus. Jesus would come again in his kingdom. It was that very solemn thought that moved him to say what he said next. From a hardened terrorist, who rejoiced in the fact that he didn't obey any government whatsoever. He said to Christ, Lord, when you come in your kingdom, remember me. Marvelous, isn't it? Asking to be allowed to come under the government of Jesus, God's son and Messiah. That is conversion. Coming in repentance before a God of justice, repentance towards God, and faith in the Lord Jesus. Nailed to a cross as he was, but in heart bowing his knee to the sovereign king, whether he knew little or much about what was happening, dying the innocent, the just, for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. And when so the dying thief repented and asked to be allowed to come into being able to obey Christ, then our Lord replied, today shalt thou be with me in paradise. If ever there was a clear case of a man repenting, and thus being forgiven, this hitherto bandit terrorist is an indisputable example. Luke goes on to tell of how the centurion responded, and how Joseph of Arimathea responded, and how the Christian women responded. But time forbids that we should follow Luke's account any further. For we must come back to our blessed Lord, as he is described in one Peter, chapter two. For in his non-retaliation, Christ, says Peter, has set us an example that we should follow his steps. And the verse that immediately gives rise to this exhortation is his exhortation to the household servants, one Peter two eighteen, to be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it if, when you be buffered to do your faults, you shall take it patiently? But if, when you do well and suffer for it, you take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even on hereunto were we called. And I can imagine a, a, a, a household servant, which was not much better than a slave, hearing this for the first time and saying to himself or herself, it's all right for you, Peter. You've never known what it is to be a slave and a servant, have you? And incidentally, Peter, aren't you the apostle who, when you saw what was going to happen to Christ, denied him and ran off to avoid suffering? It's all right for you to stand there and exhort us. You don't know what it is when you've done the best you can to have some arbitrary slave owner lash you across the back with his whip. And so Peter stands aside, wise man, and quotes not himself. In the end of his epistle, he will describe himself thus, who was a witness of the sufferings of Christ and a partaker of the glory that shall be. Oh, tremendous man, Peter. He doesn't say I was a partaker of the sufferings of Christ. Oh. He never forgot what he did. He ran off. And the Lord forgave him, reinstated him through his intercessions. I am a witness of the sufferings of Christ, a partaker of the glory, says he. But now he stands aside, and you see, he says, Christ himself has left us an example that we should follow his steps. He did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he reviled not again, and when he suffered, he threatened not. And then notice what he says. He committed himself to him that judges righteously, trusting in the righteousness of God. That one day God would see justice done. That set our Lord free. Or listen to it again. Who? His own self. Bear our sins. Marvelous words. He did it himself. Not some of a, some angel amongst the millions of them. No archangel. Uh, ordered to take our place. He did it. His own self. And not only did it his own self, but you see, he bear our sins in his own body on the tree, they made a wreck of that body, didn't they? It wasn't simply the impertinence of the men who blindfolded him and then struck him and mockingly said, prophesy who it is that smoked the egg. Such sheer ignorance. Is beyond pity. It wasn't the pain of the lash that gashed his back. Merely. It was the envy of the high priests that smarted most. It wasn't just the sins of the unconverted that he bore. It was the sins of the cowards amongst his own disciples. That hurt. To his own self, bear our sins in his own body on the tree. Why did he not retaliate? Because, you see, this gave us an opportunity to reflect on what we have done, and for God's spirit to bring us to repentance. They tell me that if you fire a bullet from a pistol, it might go through a brick, but if you fire it at a flannel curtain, the curtain will yield, you see, and stop the force of the bullet. Humble analogy, that. But Christ acted like it deliberately. When he was threatened, he didn't threaten. Why not? That we might pass away from unrighteousness, reflecting on what our sins have done to Christ, and live unto God. And he found the strength to do it, to get for us a possibility of repenting and new life. He got his strength from the conviction that there is a God who cares for justice. And in those moments, he committed himself to him that judges righteously. We are told that we must forgive others as God through Christ has forgiven us. Tell me. For I ask the question that when you have pondered it and answered it, you will see the answer to what I mainly contend. On what terms did God through Christ forgive you? Did he say that, look, you are already forgiven, you needn't trouble too much, you're already, I've already forgiven you. No, I think not, didn't he? Did he? When you came to Christ, you had to repent, didn't you? Repentance toward God, and then faith in the Lord Jesus. We must never retaliate, says Scripture, not reward evil for evil. We must pray for those that despitefully use us. We must not avenge ourselves. We must behave like Christ behaved. He did not retaliate, left it to God to judge, which gave us an opportunity of repentance before the coming of the final judgment. We are asked to do the same. Not to forgive those that refuse to repent, but not to retaliate and to treat them kindly, and pray God's mercy on them. And so may God sanctify our thoughts, our hearts and our minds, as we have thought together about the sufferings of our dear Lord. May he help us to hear the exhortation and to fulfill it deliberately, that we are not to avenge ourselves and not to retaliate and to be willing to forgive when people repent. So may God bless his word.