Father, forgive them

Numbers 31:1-2 (KJV)
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, [2] Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.

Moses' last mission before his death was revenge. He was to take vengeance for what Moab and Midian did in seducing Israel to commit idolatry and whoredom. Lesson here, then, that God is a just God, and He will take vengeance on evildoers, especially those that seduce the people of God into sin. Unless they repent, God will not forget their sins. Read what Christ said:
Matthew 18:6-9 (KJV)
But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. [7] Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! [8] Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. [9] And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

Christ shall take vengeance on anyone who put stumblingblocks of sin before even one of His people. And the vengeance that He threatens with is the everlasting fire of Hell, for read verses 8-9. Jesus is saying, if ANYONE cause you to sin, even if it is your own self with its parts, God will take vengeance against him by casting him into hell fire. This is how much He cares and loves those who believe in Him, no matter how small and weak they may be. And this is how much God hates the hands of whom the offenses come. God shall indeed take vengeance on this whole world for the stumblingblocks which they have placed before each other, and especially before the Church of God. God hates sin, and hates it even more when His justified and beloved people sin.

When Eve sinned, Adam foolishly sinned with her, and the whole of mankind were damned. But it is not so with Christ and His Church. Church sins, but our Husband, Christ, does not sin. Yet what does He do? He will take vengeance for His bride. He will catch the serpent that deceived her, and will crush His head. Christ shall pour out vengeance upon Satan and his people who have made His bride to sin, and there shall be no escape for them. As it is written:
Romans 12:19 (KJV)
Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Romans 16:20 (KJV)
And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
We thus remember that it was Christ's mission as He died to take vengeance on Satan for what he had done in deceiving Adam and Eve. It was the serpent, through the guidance of the Devil, that seduced our first parents to sin against God. But God promised vengeance for them through Jesus Christ:
Genesis 3:15 (KJV)
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Satan was defeated on the cross, when Christ died instead for those elect among the children of Adam, taking their eternal condemnation upon Himself. Satan's plan was that he seduce the man to sin, so that man would be cursed with eternal death, as he was. This is exactly what Moab and Midian tried to do. But God frustrated Satan's plan, by saving a people forever for His own glory, by sending His own beloved eternal Son to suffer the condemnation that we should have suffered. Satan's head was crushed. There is nothing he could do. He had unwillingly become an instrument for God's glory. He meant it for evil, but God meant it for good by turning the cross as the powerful display of God's unconditional love toward man. And this Christ who took vengeance on the devil by His death, will also take vengeance by His life by banishing Him from the world forever into everlasting fire to which he was predestinated. So Christ took vengeance for mankind by His death.

But did Christ only take vengeance? No. Christ's last mission was to forgive sinners. This is the difference between Him and Moses. This is the difference between grace and law. Moses performed what was just by taking revenge on sinners before He died, but Christ performed grace by dying for sinners and forgiving sinners before He died. We know what Christ said on the cross:
Luke 23:34 (KJV)
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.
He prayed for our forgiveness. Instead of taking vengeance upon His killers by sending fire and brimstone from heaven, He instead showered sinners with grace and forgiveness. He instead asked God's will be done, that God instead shower HIM with the wrath that they deserve. And when it happened, no one for whom He died cared about what He did. But blessed be God, that He died for us, and from on high showered God's grace and forgiveness upon us all.
We were no better than these Midianites who caused Israel to sin. How many times have we put stumblingblocks of evil before others? We deserve the vengeance of God. We deserve the sword. But God has turned the sword upon His own Son, and instead has treated us like Jesus. This is salvation, and this is the Good news of God.

Let us then do as the Lord has done to us to others. Let us forgive their small transgressions. They don't compare to the great sins we have committed against our Lord. Let us remember how the Lord died just so that He may be able to forgive us and let us have eternal life. Let us also be glad to forgive, just as Jesus forgave our sins against Him. Let us die to vengeance, for God didn't take revenge against us. God instead suffered, that He may win us by His love. Let us never forget that He didn't treat us as we sins deserve. Let us not treat our enemies as their sins deserve, but show them love, and let us pray for them. Lord, give us the grace to be gracious like You are to us. Let us make it our mission of our lives to be forgiving. Amen.