I'm sure I did, but let me go back and check..................................................................................... Yup, I did, and to quote you.
"It's not a question of whether or not those who were crucifying Jesus Christ (God the Son made man) deserve forgiveness."
And in one respect your right; it wasn't the question I asked. I asked:
So just what is it that those responsible for his crucifixion don't know that deserves forgiveness?
Want to try again?.
Well, first allow me to reiterate my first reply in reference that your OP.
It's not a question of whether or not those who were crucifying Jesus Christ (God the Son made man) deserve forgiveness. His prayer in
Luke 23:34 is an example of
His perfect love. It's also an example that His desires men should imitate towards his fellow man, or, as St. Augustine says, "Love your enemies in such a way that you would desire to make them your brothers."
So exactly what was it that Our Lord meant when He said: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do"? Jesus Christ was interceding for those who were in the very act crucifying Him because they did not know - in their sheer fury, blasphemies and madness - that they were crucifying their Savior, their very LIFE!
St. Augustine sheds the brilliant light of truth in a sermon he gave:
"After so many things the godless Jews committed against Him, repaying Him evil for good, didn't He say, as He hung on the Cross,
Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34)? He prayed as man, as God with the Father, He heard the prayer. Even now, you see, He prays in us, prays for us, is prayed to by us. He prays in us as our High Priest, prays for us as our Head, is prayed to by us as our God. So when He was praying as He hung on the Cross, He could see, and He could foresee;
He could see all His enemies, He could foresee that many of them would become His friends. That's why He was interceding for them all. They were raging, He was praying. They were saying to Pilate Crucify! (Luke 23:22); He was crying out, Father, forgive. He was hanging from the cruel nails, but He didn't lose His gentleness. He was asking for pardon for those from whom He was receiving such hideous treatment.
They were raging, barking furiously all around Him, shaking their heads at him -
their far from sane heads - and as one man, like so many raving lunatics,
raging on all sides against the Supreme Physician set there in their midst. He was hanging there and healing them. He was suspended there, and yet dispensing goodness. He wouldn't come down from the Cross, because out of His Blood He was preparing a medicine for their frenzy. Finally, after His Resurrection He cured those whose utter insanity He had tolerated as He hung on the Cross. There you have why Christ came; not to destroy what He had found, but
to seek and save what had been lost (Luke 19:10), so that
by loving His raging enemies, He might make them into believers and His friend."
So you see, Jesus Christ's prayer was an example of His perfect love - a love that He calls all to imitate and especially to reciprocate because He is our LIFE.
Do you now understand the answer to your question?