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Luke 23 · a question people ask

Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them" (23:34). Whom was he praying for?

In the text

Luke doesn't say, and these notes don't either. Here are the verses around his words. "When they came to the place that is called “The Skull”, they crucified him there with the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left." (23:33). "Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Dividing his garments among them, they cast lots." (23:34). Luke doesn't say who they are in these verses. The next verses name others who were there: "The people stood watching. The rulers with them also scoffed at him" (23:35), and "The soldiers also mocked him" (23:36). The prayer gives its own reason, in Jesus's words: "for they don’t know what they are doing" (23:34). These notes name no one it was for, and apply it to no people, group or nation today.

The verses

“When they came to the place that is called “The Skull”, they crucified him there with the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Dividing his garments among them, they cast lots. The people stood watching. The rulers with them also scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen one!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar,”
Luke 23:33-36 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Luke 23

Luke 23: Father, forgive them

In Luke, Jesus speaks three times from the cross, and the first and the last begin with Father: "Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing" (23:34), and "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" (23:46). Before that, Pilate says three times that he has found nothing in him (23:4, 23:14, 23:22).

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Last reviewed October 7, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions