Why is Jesus praying?
Jesus is praying to the Supreme Being as he is being crucified. He is hanging from large nails that were hammered into his hands and feet. He is looking around at those who are persecuting him, and those who have stood by and encouraged the Romans to convict him and murder his body. He is praying for them to be forgiven.In other words, even though Jesus is being gruesomely tortured to death, he is only thinking about those around him. He is praying to God to forgive them.
He is not thinking of his own welfare during this time of extreme pain. He is thinking of the welfare of those around him. He is caring about those who are torturing him.
This is the ultimate act of love and mercy. Jesus didn't simply forgive these demons himself. He forgave them but also asked the Supreme Being to forgive them.
This is the ultimate definition of love.
To be caring about the welfare of one's executioners could only be done through love.
This is what Jesus came to teach us about. He came to show us love, and to teach us how to love.
This was his ultimate teaching, as he stated:
“ ‘Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is related: ‘Love others as yourself.’ Upon these two commandments hang all the commandments and the Prophets.” (Matt. 22:37-40)This means that loving the Supreme Being is the first and greatest instruction and loving others is related to it.
Why is loving others related to loving God?
One cannot truly love the Supreme Being without loving others. The two are inseparable because we are each a child of God. To love God would automatically lead a person to love God's children.And this is not only what Jesus taught. It is also what Jesus did. He loved all those around him.
This is why he traveled by foot around Judea in the hot sweltering sun. To teach people about love of God and loving others. To try to save people from self-centeredness.
He wanted everyone to redevelop our loving relationship with the Supreme Being.
So that we could go home to the spiritual realm, and resume our innate relationship with God.
This was Jesus' desire. That everyone return to their relationship with God. Why? Because Jesus loves us. He wants us to be happy. And loving God is the only way we can be happy.
Why would Jesus pray to God to forgive them?
Because Jesus is God's loving servant and representative. Jesus enjoyed a loving relationship with God. And that relationship is reciprocal.In other words, the Supreme Being was certainly displeased with those who tortured and murdered Jesus' physical body. He was certainly upset that these demons would subject Jesus to this.
So why didn't God do anything? Why didn't God save Jesus from his crucifixion?
This very thing was challenged by his executioners and those around him. They wondered why Jesus' God didn't save him in his time of need.
Did God want Jesus to be crucified?
Don't be ridiculous. What loving God would want that.Rather, the Supreme Being has set up a world where we each have the freedom to love Him or not. This freedom is critical. To have the freedom to love God also requires having the freedom to reject God - and reject God's representative.
This is why God doesn't interfere. If He interfered, then such interference would thus remove our freedom to reject God and God's representative. Removing this freedom would also by default remove the freedom for us to choose to love the Supreme Being.
This is also why we can't see the Supreme Being with these physical eyes. If God appeared to all of us in the physical world, no one could deny His existence. No one could reject God. So He created these temporary physical bodies to occupy and identify with so that we can virtually forget Him - giving us the ultimate freedom of choice: Whether we want to love Him or reject Him.
Yes, the Supreme Being set up this physical world to allow each of us the ultimate freedoms: We have the freedom to love Him and serve Him. But we also have the freedom to ignore Him. We also have the freedom to reject His very existence.
This is because love requires freedom. No one can be forced to love. The Supreme Being wants us to come to love Him out of our own volition. Without any pressure. Without any force.
Because the Supreme Being wants us to choose to love Him out of our own volition, He sent Jesus - His loving servant and representative. Jesus came to offer us the choice to achieve the ultimate happiness: Love for God - our Best Friend - our Protector - our Soulmate - the Most Beautiful and Lovable Person - the Supreme Being.
