Responding to Jesus

Overview

When Jesus says, “Father, forgive them; they don’t know what they’re doing,” what he’s saying is, “Father, they’re looking right at me, at the greatest thing that has ever happened in the history of the world, and they don’t get it.”

Everything you need to respond to Jesus in a life-transforming way is right here in the crucifixion account. We see all of the people rejecting him—both the leaders and the common people, both the Jews and the Gentiles, all rejecting him. But peppered through all this rejection are four parties who respond differently, and if we look at how they respond, we’ll learn how we should.

Let’s notice three things: 1) who gets Jesus, 2) how they get Jesus, and 3) why they—and, therefore, why we—can get Jesus.