expense. The word “railing” has as its basis our term “blaspheme.” What vile contempt our Saviour suf fered. The Lord was attacked on two accounts: “Are you not the Christ?” — the question of His person; and “Save yourself and us” — the ques tion of the actions of a just and merciful God. The crowd today scorn fully says the same. “If God were really powerful and loving,” they erroneously argue, “He would do away with punishment for crime.” Such a view comes from ignorance. God has given authority to men to execute. There was no good reason why these two should have been spared the penalty of the law. To save himself, Jesus would have de nied the reason for His entrance into the world. To save them, He would have denied God’s view of sin. Then, for some reason, the Bible doesn’t tell us specifically, one of the two robbers was silent. He came to Christ’s defense. Here we see the beautiful Reception of the Saviour. This change may have been prompt ed by the gentle words of forgive ness uttered by Jesus as the first nail was driven into His flesh. This one condemned dying thief somehow came to a new sense about God. He rebuked his comrade, “Do you not even fear God?” He had come to re alize that this wasn’t just some piti ful figure on the central cross. It was truly the Saviour. It’s interest ing to note that this spiritual awak ening caused him to be aware of the justice involved, “We are in the same condemnation but we deserve it,” he realized. He wasn’t excusing himself or even blaming society. It was there. He placed the responsi bility for his actions directly upon himself. And third, he testified to the perfection of the Son of God. He noted, “This man has done nothing wrong.” As Alfred Edersheim has pointed out, “Christ was crucified be cause he professed to embody the
great hope of Israel, and was reject ed by its leaders.” In Luke 23:42 we find The Re quest of the Saviour. The converted thief wanted to be rem em bered “when You come in your Kingdom.” Here was an avowed response to the Lamb of God who was God’s only acceptable sacrifice for sin. This man needed to be saved and he knew it. I t is most significant that the condemned man recognized that this Person beside him was none other than the Hope of Israel. He wit nesses a faith in the fact of the Kingdom, and in the belief that Je sus is indeed its King. Perhaps the man had received some training in the Old Testament scriptures, when he was young. He had at least a rudi mentary knowledge of the Old Tes tament Messianic hope. The most important and wonder ful truths of this entire account pre served for us by the Holy Spirit is the Response of the Saviour (vs. 43). Verily is a transliteration of a He brew word which means Truly, and incidentally is the word which we use at the end of our requests to God — Amen. When spoken by God as it is here, it is a guarantee that the thing said will come to pass. W. E. Vine notes that the Lord Jesus “of ten used ‘Amen,’ translated ‘Verily,’ to introduce new relevation of the mind of God. The Saviour is about to introduce a new concept to him. It has been called “The deepest, wis est, most gracious spiritual teach ing.” One of the most comforting things which the Lord said to him is that the two would share that very day ahead of them together, whereas this poor fellow thought that time heaped upon time would lie ahead, and then perhaps he might be accorded a place in the kingdom, Jesus instead assures him of the immediate. One cannot help but see the world in its disinterested attitudes toward the purposes and methods of God. 5
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