The First "Last Word" - Forgive - Key to Moving On

It's "Palm/Passion Sunday." For Christians celebrating all over the world, that means reenacting Jesus' entry into Jerusalem as a heralded savior, while followers spread palm branches on the road. It's also the retelling of the story of Jesus' passion/suffering and death, including his "Last Words" from the cross:

"Father, forgive them; they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)

Text-critical studies of the Christian Scriptures/New Testament (NT), and specifically, the Gospel According to Luke, reveal that the famed "First" of Jesus' Seven "Last Words (phrases)" from the cross may have been the crafty insertion of a later scribe. The so-called "Seven Words" of Jesus from the cross are actually an amalgam of phrases cobbled together from four very distinct passion accounts in the NT: Matthew's, Mark's, Luke's, and John's. The "First" is from Luke's version, "Father, forgive them; they know not what they do." "They" likely refers to the ones responsible for Jesus' unjust torture and execution.

Codex Bezae (D) Excerpt from Luke's Gospel - "Kata Lukan" - image provided by Cambridge University Library -Creative Commons lic.

Luke's Gospel is the only canonical gospel to include the prayer for forgiveness from the cross. It is not found in Luke's source material, and the verse (23:34) is omitted from ancient manuscript evidence, including the all-important Codex Bezae (D), dated 2nd-4th c. C.E. If it was not part of an earlier version of Luke, and was added to manuscript traditions later than Bezae (D), it was likely added to harmonize Jesus' forgiveness as a literary parallel with the public forgiveness of the first Christian martyr (Stephen), in Acts 7:60.

Since Luke-Acts is one continuous narrative in the NT, many scholars are inclined to see the literary parallels between Jesus' unjust execution, e.g., his prayer for forgiveness, and the first Christian martyr's prayer for forgiveness as he was being stoned to death in the Acts of the Apostles (Luke's second volume) as a likely explanation. If the verse was part of an earlier unknown version of Luke that didn't make it to Codex Bezae and other important early mss., the later scribal omission may have been motivated by animosity toward early Christian persecutors. A later redactor's (editor's) possible removal of the prayer of forgiveness may have reflected a perennial 2nd-4th c. dissonance with those responsible for persecuting Christians, thus retro-fitting blame on Jesus' own detractors and perceived enemies.

While biblical scholars debate whether canonical Luke's ultimate inclusion of the "forgiveness" prayer of Jesus from the cross reflects the original redaction of Luke's author or was later added to harmonize with Acts, almost no scholar disputes that it is a redaction to fit Luke's editorial agenda. The Gospel features forgiveness as constitutive of the "Way" that Jesus lived and taught his followers. The famous parables of forgiveness and expansive compassion, like the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), and the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) are all stories unique to Luke's narrative.

The canonical gospel stories, told from different theological vantage points, tell their stories of the meaning of Jesus' life, ministry, suffering and death for particular audiences of various socio-cultural and religious demographics. Luke's version favored Gentile-Christians (uncircumcised, Hellenized/Greek Christians), women, and slaves, who expanded the nascent Jewish-Christian community after the ministry of Paul in the Mediterranean matrix of the 1st c.

Early Christianity could have easily disintegrated over the so-called "Judaizer Conflict" outlined in Acts (15; cf. Gal. 2). Basically, it was an argument over inclusion and exclusion. Who gets to be included in the community, and who decides? Christianity, like other mystery cults of the time, provided benefits for membership, like companionship, food and protection, and serious risks, even persecution and death. And at its center were its group secrets/mysteries, which were carefully guarded. Its membership was restricted by the "gatekeepers," in this case, descendants of the followers of Jesus, represented by Peter, and an upstart convert to the Christian cause, Paul of Tarsus.

The questions were practical and ideological. Who gets to eat at meals? Whose residence are we using as a safe house? How do we dispense communal resources? Table commensality among Jews and Gentiles, women and men, slaves and "masters," along with ritual inclusion - like baptismal praxis - was at issue, along with the care of the "least" - the poor, the outcast, widows, orphans - endemic to early Christian life. Strict hierarchies maintained societal structure, unjust as they may have been, so eroding them was a threat to the status quo, and all the power at the top.

With the eventual inclusion and acceptance of Gentiles, slaves, and even women, Luke's agenda for soteriology (theology of salvation) was clear: Salvation is for everyone - Gentiles outside the Mosaic Covenant, i.e., non-Jews, and those considered "less than human," i.e., slaves and women. The redacted "Father, forgive them; they know not what they do" must be seen in this context. It is directed at the ignorance underlying not only Jesus' unjust execution, but the causes of hatred, exclusion, and persecution of the "least."

A 19th c. French composer, Clement Francois Theodore Dubois' magnum opus, "The Seven Last Words of Christ," conceived of the "First Word" from Jesus' cross as forgiveness. Although the prayer only occurs in later versions of Luke - and is conspicuously part of the ongoing literary agenda of forgiveness and harmonization with Acts - the so-called "First" of the "Seven Last Words" is aimed at forgiveness of those who are ignorant, those who do not understand. Ironically, Dubois, staunch in his own anti-Modernist ideology, was not inclined to welcome new ideas in his administrative role in the late 1800s. He kept progressive artists like Wagner, Debussy, and Ravel out of the curriculum at the Paris Conservatory during his tenure as director. Dubois was ultimately forced to resign early to allow for a replacement who was charged with modernizing the institution. His "Seven Last Words of Christ" remain his major musical contribution, and many still acclaim it as reminiscent of Jesus' "actual words" from the cross.

Sadly, the central meaning of the "forgiveness verse" from Luke 23:34 is lost on many who take it to be the First "Last Word."

Today - as ever - ignorance, fear, and violence are keystones of the Temple of Total Domination, leading to unjust persecution and death of the innocent and the "least" that Jesus' "Way" hoped to end through compassion and forgiveness. After more than three decades teaching text-critical methodologies for biblical exegesis and theological/philosophical hermeneutics, I grew to understand that intransigent ignorance is a death knell for the Way of Love and forgiveness that followers of Jesus proclaim and strive to emulate in practice. The Christian Way is based on selfless giving, not dominance, fear, and ignorance. It's based on others-centered service, justice for the poor and disenfranchised, the "least." It's based on forgiveness of perceived enemies. It's based on compassion. It's an ideology lost on those who refuse to expand their horizons, listen, learn, and grow in knowledge, wisdom, and compassion.

If the First "Last Word" is important, it is because it is the most meaningful, as sacred as a final good-bye, a last testament. If that Last (First) Word is "forgive," what might that mean for us today?

Revenge is the "most useless of all causes." (King Arthur of Camelot) Punishing enemies is fraught with pain for perpetrator and victim. It is not "justice." Justice is transformative. An "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" leaves the world "blind and toothless," as Tevye the Milkman says. The Way forward, the Way to move on is restorative justice, forgiveness. It is like composting the soul, not ripping it apart through violence and murder, ala Lord Voldemort.

Misanthropes, Liars, Fascists, Frauds?

Forgive.

Biocidal maniacs?

Forgive.

Intransigent Ignoramuses, Haters, and Fear-Mongers?

Forgive.

"They know not what they do."

If you feel angry and discouraged about the macro- and micro-injustices perpetrated on the innocent due to intransigent ignorance, fear, and hatred, use your voice, your words, your vote, non-violent, peaceful resistance, your testimony on behalf of the "least," and your considerable networks and resources to effect change. Practice restorative justice. If you want to move on, exercise forgiveness - even, maybe especially, of the ignorant. Let it be your First "Last Word."