At a “Seven Last Words” service for Good Friday, Reverend Dr. Eugene L. Gibson’s sermon came from Luke 23:34, which records the first words of Christ during the crucifixion: “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” It’s one of the best-known lines in the New Testament, an eloquent expression of grace in extreme circumstances. But Gibson added his own rejoinder: “Yes, they do!” And, in case anyone missed the heresy, he spelled it out: “I. Dis-a-GREE. With Jesus.”
The momentum was building. Gibson talked about tormentors who knew exactly what they were doing. Only near the end did he draw back, admitting that – as usual – Jesus was right and he was wrong. “It’s not what they were doing,” he said. “It’s who they were doing the what to.” They knew exactly what a crucifixion was; they just didn’t know who Jesus was. Even so, his caustic reproach hung in the air all afternoon: “Yes, they do!”