Forgive Them They Know Not What They Do?

Another misunderstanding about the words of Christ on the cross!  Too many are misunderstanding what forgiveness is and what Christ actually did on the cross when He said "forgive them Father, they know not what they do."

Paul E. Bollinger, explains that passage very well. 

"You may have heard about Jesus forgiving people while he was dying on the cross. This misconception comes from Luke 23:34 where Jesus says, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” At first glance this looks like Jesus is forgiving the people who are crucifying him, but there’s one important difference. Jesus isn’t talking to those responsible for his death. Jesus is talking to God. Jesus is praying.

When Jesus forgives someone, he normally doesn’t pray. He simply tells them, “You are forgiven.” For example, Matthew 9:2 says, “Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, ‘Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.’” Jesus never prayed. He simply told the paralyzed man that he was forgiven. Likewise in Luke 7, Jesus goes to eat at a Pharisees’ house, and a sinful woman follows him. She starts to cry, and anoints Jesus’ feet with perfume. Then in Luke 7:48, Jesus tells her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Again Jesus does not pray. He simply says, “Your sins are forgiven.”
So why would Jesus pray for his executioners to be forgiven instead of simply telling them? I believe Jesus prayed because he couldn’t forgive them until they had repented of their sin. God does not forgive anyone before they repent. God only forgives after we repent (Acts 2:38 & 1 John 1:9). And Jesus is God. So for Jesus to forgive those responsible for his death before they repented would be a violation of God’s Character.

In other words, Jesus’ prayer for his executioners includes an implied prayer for their repentance. Jesus can’t forgive them until they repent, but Jesus wants to forgive them."