Jesus’ love is exemplified by His willingness to forgive (cf. 1 Cor. 13:5).
Perhaps the most striking verse that demonstrates Jesus’ forgiving attitude is Luke 23:34. In this verse, the Son of God and Savior of the world was being crucified because of others’ hatred and envy. Remarkably, He reacted by saying, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
Jesus’ statement was not excusing evildoing. It did, though, show that Jesus had no resentment or bitterness toward those who treated Him despicably. He was desirous of their repentance, rather than wanting the worst for those who mistreated Him.
When the inspired apostle Paul wrote “to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae” (Col. 1:2), he commanded, “bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do” (Col. 3:13). No one has ever mistreated us as much as we have mistreated Christ. If He is willing to forgive us upon submission to His terms, how much more should we eagerly forgive others?
– Michael Hickox