Why could Jesus rightfully pray 'Father forgive them' for the people who crucified Him?
Jesus could ask forgiveness because His crucifiers acted in ignorance, not knowing He was the Lord of glory. The cities-of-refuge principle excused unintentional killing, and Scripture says had the rulers known who He was, they would not have crucified Him. Their ignorance made forgiveness rightful.
Les explains that the cities of refuge were the backdrop for Israel's response to their Messiah. Under that provision, a person who killed someone in total ignorance, not by premeditated murder, was not held guilty and could be set free. Likewise, Israel escaped the guilt of common murder because they did not know what they did. Les points to 1 Corinthians 2:7-8: the hidden wisdom of God was ordained before the world, and none of the princes of this world knew it; had they known who He was, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Because they were ignorant and did not know what they were doing, the Lord could rightfully say, 'Father forgive them.'