Charles Ellicott Commentary Luke 23:34

"And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And parting his garments among them, they cast lots." — Luke 23:34 (ASV)

Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. Again, the silence is broken, not by the cry of anguish or sigh of passionate complaint, but by words of tenderest pity and intercession. It is well, however, that we should remember who were the primary direct objects of that prayer. Not Pilate, for he knew that he had condemned the innocent; not the chief priests and scribes, for their sin, too, was against light and knowledge.

Those for whom our Lord then prayed were clearly the soldiers who nailed Him to the cross, to whom the work was simply what they, as they saw it, were bound to do as part of their duty. It is, however, legitimate to think of His intercession as including, in its ultimate extension, all who in any measure sin against God as not knowing what they do, who speak or act against the Son of Man without being guilty of the sin against the Holy Ghost. (See Note on Acts 3:17.)