Luke 23:34

[Pete2]

When I saw Mel Gibson’s The Passion, this line hit me in the gut harder than any other-- when the Roman soldiers are nailing Jesus to the cross, he cries out:

“Father, forgive them, they know not what they do!”

The source is Luke 23:24, and the footnote from NAB says:

“this portion of Luke 23:34 does not occur in the oldest papyrus manuscript of Luke and in other early Greek manuscripts and ancient versions of wide geographical distribution.”

In the NAB online at USCCB, the verse is actually in brackets, as though it’s truth is questionable.

I would be interested in what some of the biblical scholars here at CA think about this verse and where it fits into the picture for Catholics.

I don’t know if it was just a combination of the dramatic visual, plus the accumulated effects of the movie up to that point, but when Jesus says this in the film, I felt overwhelmed with a combination of shame, and gratitude, that Jesus loves us so much even though we are horrible sinners and sometimes work against Him more than help Him.

Pete

 

[awalt]

The Oxford Commentary (Catholic) says this:

Jesus’ plea for the forgiveness of his persecutors (v. 34) is textually doubtful and, on the textual evidence alone, would most likely have to be regarded as an addition to what Luke himself wrote. It would then be seen as either included because of the availability of a tradition unknown to Luke, or added as appropriate in the light of Stephen’s response to his persecutors as this is found at Acts 7:60. It is just that response, however, that makes it most likely that Luke himself included Jesus’ prayer. He describes Stephen’s martyrdom in terms of Jesus’ own, and it is wholly unlikely that he would have had him outstrip Jesus in that merciful outlook that he has earlier declared to be of the essence of God himself (6:36). Acts 3:17 also suggests ignorance as a mitigating factor for the Jews and, since Jesus’ prayer is in Luke made primarily on their behalf, Peter is there again drawing on Jesus’ example. The plea is virtually demanded by Luke’s overall presentation of Jesus.

 

[Todd_Easton]

Although this saying of Jesus may be missing from some early copies of Luke, it was known to St. Irenæus who wrote of it in Against Heresies about A.D. 189:
And from this fact, that He exclaimed upon the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,” the long-suffering, patience, compassion, and goodness of Christ are exhibited, since He both suffered, and did Himself exculpate those who had maltreated Him. (book III, chap. 18, para. 5)
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