Was The Prayer of Jesus On The Cross Answered Immediately Or Later?
This question comes from Luke 23:43: "Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." Was the prayer that Jesus stated to His Father immediately answered? Were the people who were crucifying Him forgiven right then and there? Or was the prayer answered in the future? How can a person receive forgiveness unless he repents of his sin (Luke 17:3)? The people who crucified Jesus were not willing at that present time to repent of their sin of murder.
The fact of the matter is that Jesus' prayer was answered in the near future. In the second volume that Luke was inspired to write, he gives the historical account of how the church of Christ began on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 (Acts 2:47). Peter had presented a powerful gospel sermon (Acts 2:14-36) on how they had murdered the Messiah and some responded to his message by asking in verse 37: "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" In verse 38, Peter gives the commands: "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." Some three thousand souls obeyed the gospel that day and obtained forgiveness of their lawless deeds against Jesus (Acts 2:23) because of their response of faith to the grace of God. The prayer of Jesus had been answered.
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