What did Jesus mean when he said, Forgive them "for they know not what they do"?

Question

Luke 23:34 (DRA) (emphasis added)

³⁴ And Jesus said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. But they, dividing his garments, cast lots.

Addressing the Father, Jesus acknowledges God's ability to forgive their sin (of crucifying him), and presumably, it's safe to assume the Father will forgive whatever Jesus asks. The focus of this question, however, is on the latter part: "for they know not what they do."

It's clear they were beyond the age of accountability. Given this, how are we to understand Jesus' interceding for their forgiveness for 'not knowing' what they were doing—their seeming inculpability?

Is it that they did not know they were in fact sinning; that they did not know Jesus was innocent and were following orders from someone else; or for some other reason that Jesus says "they know not what they do"?

Answer 1

There is a great passage in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians which may, I believe, shed light on the passage you quoted. In Chapter 2 of 1 Corinthians, the apostle Paul recalled how he presented himself to the Corinthians when he first came to them.

He did not come on strong, as would some eloquent orators, but he came on weak, so that the fruit of his preaching would be attributable only to God and not to him. Furthermore, his message of the cross was not framed in a polished style and accompanied by a dynamic delivery, with tightly-knit and persuasive arguments and infallible reasoning to buttress his message. No.

Worldly wisdom, of which Paul had spoken earlier in his letter (see Chapter 1:18 ff.) was not the vehicle of his preaching; rather, it was "in demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (2:4).

Then Paul goes on to say (and the bold print is mine),

Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God (vss.7-10 KJV).

In looking back on the circumstances surrounding the crucifixion of his Lord, Paul realized, as did his Lord while hanging on the cross, that the Roman and Jewish authorities involved in the crucifixion (or as Paul called them, "the princes of this world") would not have crucified Jesus had they recognized who Jesus really was and had believed in him.

Unbelief takes many forms, is manifested in many ways, and afflicts all people--even Christ followers. The commonality in disbelief is distorted thinking about the truth, even when, as in Jesus' day, Incarnate Truth and "the powers that be" (both Jews and Romans) were face to face.

Call it what you will: spiritual blindness, unbelief fueled by hatred, lack of understanding, or even willful ignorance (i.e., not knowing either what one is doing or what is being done); Jesus realized that his captors either could not or would not understand the gravity of what they were doing to him.

That is why, I suggest, Jesus asked his Father to forgive his torturers, for although they knew at least intellectually what they were doing--namely, killing a political gadfly and a Jewish blasphemer, in their heart of hearts they did not really know, for had they known, they would not have crucified their Lord and Savior.

Answer 2

It was that they didn't fully understand His identity as the Lord of Glory, their own Redeemer (1 John 2:2), and in fact that they were killing the very Author of Life (Acts 3:15):

1 Corinthians 2:7-8 (DRB) But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, a wisdom which is hidden, which God ordained before the world, unto our glory: 8 Which none of the princes of this world knew;¹ for if they had known it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory.

^{1 That the Christ had to suffer and be killed—the 'scandal' of the Cross. cf. 1 Cor 1:18.}

Notice that their relative ignorance hinges on His fundamental identity (for they knew what He was about [Mt 27:43; Wis 2:18], but not His fundamental identity as the Son of God [Mk 1:1])—if they had known not so much who but what He is (His identity as the only Son of God), they would not have dared approach Him with a spear, let alone thrust Him through with one.

Answer 3

Good question. My main question is, "Who is 'them'?"

It seems unlikely that Jesus was giving 'blanket forgiveness' to persecutors/onlookers.

The only other possibility I can see, thus far, is that Jesus was speaking of the Principalities/Powers over this world.

1Cor. 2:8 - Which none of the Princes of this world ((eon)) knew: for had they known [it], they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Eph. 6:12 (KJV) - For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Answer 4

Perhaps this verse does not belong in the NT? Or attributed to Jesus?

https://www.massbible.org/exploring-the-bible/ask-a-prof/answers/father-forgive-them

It's complicated...and then there's James

"It is true that some important copies of the Gospel of Luke do not include this verse. Missing from two of the very early manuscripts favored by contemporary text critics--P75, a third-century papyrus copy of Luke and John, and Codex Vaticanus (B), a fourth-century pandect Bible known for its pristine text--it was also excluded by the scribes of Codex Bezae (D), an early fifth-century Greek-Latin diglot, the fifth-century Freer Gospels (W), Codex Koridethi (Q), and various Old Latin and Syriac copies. Though initially present in the highly regarded Codex Siniaticus (Aleph), it was placed in brackets by an early corrector, only to be re-established in the fifth century by yet another editor.

"Yet Jesus’ prayer on the cross can be found in other important manuscripts, including Codex Alexandrinus (A) and Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (C), as well as manuscripts belonging to the textual groups Family 1 and Family 13. Such a divided record is puzzling, suggesting that some ancient Christians accepted the passage as an authentic, Gospel saying of the Lord, while others ignored it, or were unaware of its existence, or, perhaps, went so far as to delete it from their copies of Luke.

(Snip)

"Interestingly, the prayer was attributed not only to Jesus but also to James, the brother of the Lord. According to Eusebius of Caesarea, a second-century Christian writer named Hegesippus recorded the last words of James as, “I beseech you, Lord God Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing,” an obvious parallel to Jesus’ prayer in Luke (Ecclesiastical History 2.23.16). Perhaps, then, a statement once associated with Jesus’ brother was later applied to Jesus himself, and added to the Gospel at an appropriate location. Alternatively, perhaps a prayer already known as Jesus’ own was applied to the martyrdom of his brother as well, lending further significance to James’ death by means of repetition and comparison.

"Clearly there is no easy solution to the question of this passage’s place within the Gospel of Luke. Nevertheless, Jesus’ statement was familiar and appreciated, at least in some quarters, and many early Christians did believe that the verse belonged in Luke."

Author: Jennifer Wright Knust

Answer 5

I conclude Christ was speaking to the state of unregenerate man. They had truth before them as Pilot did, yet asked "what is truth?" They were dead in their trespasses and sins, blinded by the Prince of this world, and had chosen to believe a lie. They were natural men not able to receive spiritual things. This was the first preview of those who God had chosen before the foundation of the world, and their inability to make moral choices without first being brought to life. Regeneration precedes faith. This would come in full disclosure at Pentecost.

Answer 6

Randall and others. Appreciate that view and I've settled on aspects of your answer but, at the same time, more is needed to connect what you call out as the "state of unregenerate man"kind and their forgiveness ("forgive them"). To be most helpful, I think the key is where the forgiveness originates. Is it based on the faith of the unregenerate? The only answer has to be "no" - they are unregenerate as an identity. It seems the forgiveness must originate from Jesus. It's possible that is as far as we can take this. That being said, Jesus includes "for they know not what they do" which seems to offer some view of why the forgiveness originating with Him is being bestowed on these unregenerate. Unfortunately, that path of explanation brings us full circle... is "not knowing" the cause for the sins of some unregenerate to be forgiven not by their faith but by the choice of Jesus?

Answer 7

Forgiveness is about lifting the unnecessary burdens of anger,frustration, and guilt (guilt coming after unforgiving) from one’s mind. It has nothing to do with those who are being forgiven. They often no not what they did!