Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 5
Pablo questioned whether Jesus’ prayer “Father, forgive them…” could mean forgiveness “because they don’t know what they’re doing,” and he pictured Jesus saying it repeatedly; how does that idea challenge the way you categorize people as “culpable enemies” versus “ignorant sinners,” and what would it change in how you pray for those who harm you?
Another way to ask: How does “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing” challenge how you label people as “guilty enemies” versus “ignorant sinners”? How might it change the way you pray for people who hurt you?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on the speaker’s teaching, Jesus’ prayer pushes us to see even violent enemies as spiritually blind (“they know not what they do”), which softens the category of “pure villain” and moves us toward intercession rather than hatred. It would change prayer from “deal with them” to sincere pleading for forgiveness and salvation, even while the harm is happening.
- Pablo cites Jesus: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do,” and says the Spanish text suggests Jesus said it “repeatedly.”
- He asks directly: “would it be possible that God would have forgiven them that specific sin because they don’t know what they’re doing?”
- He insists this wasn’t pretend mercy: Jesus was “sincerely and honestly praying that prayer because he loved them.”
- He ties enemy love to transformation: the thief who first “was slandering him” later switches and asks, “Lord, remember me,” leading to salvation.
- He applies it to his context: “It’s such a blessing to pray for robbers… in their presence,” and he speaks of “witnessing to them.”