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Thoughts on Luke 21-24
As I was reading Luke’s account of Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, I was struck by the contrast of the two criminals that were crucified with Jesus. This is what Luke writes of these two men:
39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Luke 23:39-43
What struck me was that both criminals are asking for a kind of salvation from Jesus in their comments, but not the same kind of salvation. The first man says, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us” (v. 39). The ESV describes his statement as ‘railing’, and the tone is obviously dripping with scorn. But it is interesting to note that he is asking to be saved and he does make a weird confession of Jesus’ nature, the Christ. But the salvation he’s asking of Jesus is temporal salvation; he wants off the cross and out of the judgement of his crimes. So, while there is an acknowledgement of Jesus’ nature, the first criminal wants to be rescued from the burden of his sin rather than the burden of what his sin will cost him in the afterlife. This is a completely arrogant request. …And truth be told, this is often the kind of temporal requests I find myself bringing to Jesus!
The other criminal, on the other hand, rebukes the first criminal and declares that their crucifixion is absolutely just, but Jesus’ is not. He seems to recognize Jesus’ purity and innocence, that Jesus does not deserve this punishment. In fact, he scolds the first man for his irreverence: “do you not fear God…?” (v. 40). And then he says to Jesus, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (42). He throws every last hope he has on Jesus, asking that Jesus remember him when Jesus has entered His kingdom. Notice he doesn’t actually ask Jesus to rescue him, just to “remember” him. It’s almost as if he knows how wretched a man he is and knows he has absolutely no way of being righteous enough to be with Jesus in His Kingdom.
But catch Jesus’ response! He says, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (v. 43). Jesus doesn’t just promise to remember him, but He says that the man will be with Him in the Kingdom! The man had just a little faith to ask something he didn’t deserve, and Jesus gives him far more than that. Reminds me of the Canaanite woman who asks Jesus to heal her daughter, even though she knows she has no right to ask because she’s not a Jew, and yet because of Jesus nature, she asks anyway, and Jesus commends her for her faith (Matthew 15:21-28).
This particular kind of asking is bold, isn’t it? And yet, so humble. And I think this is the kind of prayer that Jesus delights to answer; prayers that are based in the knowledge that we have absolutely no right within ourselves to ask God of anything because of our wretchedness, but we ask anyway because of who we know God to be: generous, gracious, mighty, delighting in the prayers of His children!
So friends, if you find yourself in need of Jesus’ intervening, ask! But ask with humility, knowing that your freedom to ask these things comes as a result of His costly purchase on that cross. And then be bold because you know His deep love for you!
Pray boldly, in humility.
What you’ll find here is a collection of musings, thoughts, writings, and ramblings about things I’m reading, watching, and thinking about. It’s my goal to inspire, encourage, and instruct my fellow sisters in their walk with Jesus and their understanding of the Word.
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