Luke 23: 32 ¶ And there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death. 33 And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. 34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. 35 And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God. 36 And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, 37 And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. 38 And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. 40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. 42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. 43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Two condemned men are
crucified next to Jesus, one on the one side and one on the other. Matthew
27:58 and Mark 15:27 refer to them as thieves. There were many more crimes for
which you could receive capital punishment under Roman rule than we would allow
for today. Rome was essentially a military society almost constantly at war
with someone and justice was harsh. Jails were places to keep a person awaiting
execution. Executions were public and the suffering imposed on the condemned
was particularly brutal. They were also public spectacles, entertainment in a
world without television or movies.
The penalty for any
crime depended mainly on your citizenship status and social class. Non-Roman
citizens (Paul was a Roman citizen as revealed in Acts), lower class Romans, and
non-citizens had the most brutal and painful forms of execution reserved for
them. In criminal cases the governor, Pilate, had sole authority. And while
Roman citizen Paul could appeal to Caesar non-citizens like Jesus and the
Apostles had no right of appeal. This is one clear reason for God’s plan of
allowing this to happen in His plan for redeeming mankind to Himself in this
culture and at this time. Pilate was forced into his decision by political
necessity and his own lack of moral courage and once the command was given
there would be no appeal.
For verse 34 please
note this cross-reference;
Psalm 22:18 They part my
garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
God’s plan was
unfolding and His executioners had no idea what their part in that plan was.
Think of Joseph talking to his brothers in Genesis acknowledging that when they
sold him into slavery there was a higher will than their wicked intentions
toward him.
Genesis 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good,
to bring to pass, as it is this day,
to save much people alive.
Men and women make a
choice to do evil or good yet have no control over how far their choice will
take them or what greater purpose they will serve or be used for.
Matthew 18:7 Woe unto the
world because of offences! for
it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!
Jesus, God in the
flesh, hanging on a cross, is mocked by the Jewish rulers and the Roman
soldiers. For verse 36 note this cross-reference;
Psalm 69:21 They gave me
also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
Pilate himself mocked
the Jewish rulers in the placement of a placard calling Jesus king of the Jews
in three languages; Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. Hebrew was for the Jews. Greek
was the dominant language of the culture of the Roman world which is why Paul
refers to Gentiles as Greeks. Latin was the official language of Rome. Our
Bibles are mainly rooted in these three languages from the Old Testament
Hebrew, the New Testament Greek, and the first complete Bible containing Old
and New Testaments in the middle of the second century, the Old Latin Bible. Of
course, this does not make these sacred languages as Bible writing can be found
in Aramaic and scholars tell us that Christian and Jewish writings were made in
every language of the age and area and were translated from one into the other
and then back again. See H.C. Hoskier’s Concerning
the Genesis of the Versions of the New Testament.
Now a curious thing
happens. Here is a man, a bad guy, a condemned prisoner who has never been to
church, never prayed a 1-2-3 repeat-after-me prayer in front of a preacher and
a congregation or been baptized, appealing to Christ, who promises that this
very day the man will be with Him in paradise. Where is Paradise?
The same word is used
by Paul and John to describe something that is in Heaven above.
2Corinthians 12:4 How that
he was caught up into paradise,
and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
Revelation 2:7 He that hath
an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that
overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the
paradise of God.
There is a great gulf
between Heaven and Hell that no man can cross and yet in the world of the
spirit those suffering in one can understand the joy of the other. See;
Luke 16:19 ¶ There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: 28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
Now on a side note and
bear with me a moment here, the Greeks received a great deal of second-hand
knowledge of Hebrew belief over the previous thousand years from the mouths of
slaves they had taken of the Hebrews in war. The Greeks, as merchants and
mercenaries, were everywhere in the Ancient Near East. Greek words and roots
are found in the main languages from that influence as well as Alexander the
Great’s empire later in the dominant Hellenistic culture that his conquests
spread. But, the Greeks were always there. They even fought on both sides of
battles such as Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and Necho of Egypt’s Battle of
Carchemish, historical writers tell us.
The Greeks were Javan, a word used seven times as Javan and also used for Greece and Grecia. Javan was a son of Japheth from Genesis 10.
Zechariah 9:12 ¶ Turn you
to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee; 13 When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow
with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and
made thee as the sword of a mighty man.
Jeremiah 46:2 Against
Egypt, against the army of Pharaohnecho king of Egypt, which was by the river
Euphrates in Carchemish, which
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of
Josiah king of Judah.
Joel 3:6 The children also
of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye
might remove them far from their border.
Later, Christian Greek
writers insisted that while Plato was uncertain of where Greek myth came from
that it grew partly as a mixture of Hebrew belief with, for instance, based on
his story, Hercules being a combination of Samson and Jonah. In the same
respect the Greeks’ version of Hell, which they called Hades, consisted of a
place of the damned and one of the blessed not far from each other.
Christian writers used
this reference to Hades as the root
word from which our Hell is
translated as the Bible uses words and concepts already understood from Greek
culture to explain concepts that have a definite difference in meaning. A study
can be made of different Greek words translated for wine or love that, in the
context, have basically the same meaning in the Bible. But, the Greek mythology
of the detail and story of Hades is a cultural creation and while perhaps based
on Hebrew understandings went, like Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodoxy way
beyond any clear statements of the Bible. In other words, Greek mythology was
created for cultural and political reasons using, in part, the Bible stories
told by Hebrew captives and from Greek interaction with Hebrew culture as a
foundation.
This brings me to my
point that perhaps Paradise was taken to Heaven by Christ. Many evangelicals
claim this, that Paradise and Hell were side by side in the heart of the earth,
as the Greeks would perhaps admit, but that after Christ preached He took
Paradise to Heaven. The text does not explicitly say this, though. It is
assumption based on assumption and presumption. It may be true but you would
have a hard time arguing it from the revelation of the text itself just like
you have a hard time arguing Calvinism and Arminianism, that people are created
to go to Hell or Heaven and have no choice or that people can gain and lose
their salvation repeatedly. The text doesn’t say so and can even seem
contradictory if you stick to an “ism” when interpreting it so be careful
coming up with a structure of thought about what the Bible is saying between
the lines and then forcing the Bible to back up what you are saying.
The text says that by
this thief’s acknowledgement that Jesus is Lord He is promised that he will be
in Paradise that day with Jesus. This reminds me of Jesus’ activity in healing.
As healing was an immediate response to faith so here in Luke 23 so is
salvation.
Luke 8:48 And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good
comfort: thy faith hath made
thee whole; go in peace.
Luke 17:19 And he said unto
him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith
hath made thee whole.
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