Bible Study series: Luke 23:26-43. A criminal is promised paradise. Why? How?
Friendly greetings and a warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn, so let’s learn together.
I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click here:
In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Luke 23:26-43
26 Then as they led him away, they seized Simon of Cyrene coming from the field and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus. 27 A great crowd of people were following him, and women were beating their breasts and mourning him. 28 Jesus turned towards them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for me. But you will weep for yourselves and for your children 29 because, watch! The days are coming when you will say, ‘Blessed are the women who are barren and the wombs that have not birthed or whose breasts have not nursed.’ 30 Then they will begin
“to say to the mountains,
‘Fall upon us!’ and the hills ‘cover us!’”
31 Because if they do this to green wood, what would happen to dry wood?”
32 Now two other criminals were being brought to be executed with him. 33 And when they came to the place called “the Skull,” there they crucified him and the criminals, one on the right, the other on the left. 34 Jesus proceeded to say, “Father, forgive them because they don’t know what they are doing.” After they divided up the garments, they cast lots for them. [Ps. 22:19]
35 The people were standing and observing. The rulers were sneering, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Messiah of God, the Chosen One!” 36 Even the soldiers were ridiculing him and approaching and offering him sour wine, 37 saying, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was in fact a sign above him,
‘This man was the king of the Jews.’
39 One of the criminals who had been hung there was slandering him, saying, “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 The other one responded, rebuking him, and said, “Don’t you fear God, because you are under the same condemnation? 41 We are getting paid back justly, getting what we deserve for the things we’ve done. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he began to say, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And Jesus said to him, “I tell you the truth: Today you will be with me in paradise!”
Comments:
26:
Simon the Cyrenian is a better translation. He was coming from the agricultural field where he was working. Cyrene is in N. Africa, where Tripoli is. Mark 15:21 identifies him as the father of Alexander and Rufus. Paul wrote: “Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well” (Rom. 16:13, ESV). How did Mark know who Rufus was? No doubt he met him in the Christian community in Rome. Recall that Peter arrived there, and Mark assisted Peter in putting together Peter’s preaching. I can easily imagine that Rufus liked to say, “My dad carried the beam for Jesus! That’s right!” However, all this is no more than a possibility, because Rufus was a popular name among Jews who wanted to Latinize their Hebrew name Reuben.
The soldiers made him carry the cross beam. The upright or vertical beam was already there at the place of crucifixion.
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Jewish and Roman Writers on the Death of Jesus |
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| 1 | Mara bar Serapion (c. AD 73): “For what advantage did … the Jews [gain] by the death of their wise king, because from that time their kingdom was taken away?” |
| 2 | Josephus, Antiquities 18.3.3: “Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing among us, had condemned him to be crucified.” |
| 3 | Agapius Book of Titles (summarizing Josephus): “Pilate condemned him to be crucified.” |
| 4 | Tacitus, Annals 15.44 (c. AD 110-20): This name [i.e. Christian] originates from ‘Christus’ who was sentenced to death by the procurator Pontius Pilate during the reign of Tiberius.” |
| 5 | Babylonian Talmud, tractate Sanhedrin 43a: “On the eve of the Passover they hanged Jesus the Nazarene. And a herald went out in front of him, for forty days, saying: ‘He is going to be stoned, because he practiced sorcery and enticed and led Israel astray. Anyone who knows anything in his favor, let him come and plead on his behalf.’ But not having found anything in his favor, they hanged him on the eve of Passover.” |
| Darrell L. Bock, Luke 9:51-24:53. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Vol. 2. (Baker 1996), p. 1843. Bock wrote these summaries before the web was up and running and well known, but now you can find them all over the web, on reputable videos and websites. | |
Most scholars I have read about the reference in Josephus (no. 2) conclude that the core of his record is right, though later Christians embellished it. Bock preserves the core. It is obvious that all of these writers differ greatly in the details, which is natural enough since they wrote at different times and in different places, but they all agree that Jesus lived and died.
27-31:
A large crowd of onlookers followed behind. It is probable that his mother Mary was there, and so were the women from Galilee (Luke 8:2-3; 23:49). In v. 27, many felt sympathy for Jesus. Morris: “We should bear in mind that those who clamored for Jesus’ execution were not necessarily a great number; they could crowd around the judgment hall. There were still many in Jerusalem who admired Jesus and we now learn of some of these” (p. 343). Also, many pilgrims came from Galilee, where he ministered the most. They particularly felt sympathy for him.
Jesus is re-prophesying the judgment on Jerusalem that he had predicted in Luke 21:21-24:
“Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains and those inside it must get out and those in the countryside must not enter it, 22 because these are the days of judgment, fulfilling everything that has been written. 23 Woe to those who are pregnant and are nursing in those days! For there shall be great distress upon the country and wrath upon this people. 24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword and be taken captive into all nations, and Jerusalem shall be trampled on by the nations until the times of the nations shall be completed” (Luke 21:21-24)
The women in the crowd must actually weep for themselves, because judgment is coming on Jerusalem and the temple, and if they are within a short radius of them, then they will suffer bad things mentioned in those verses.
In v. 31 Jesus offers an enigmatic statement, but basically it means the following. If they (Judaism and the Jerusalem establishment) have judged him (the green or damp wood) like this, then how much more will the old dry wood (Judaism and Jerusalem) be judged? It speaks of worse things to come. Jesus was just; Judaism and the Jerusalem establishment were unjust.
It vaguely and obliquely hearkens back to the old wineskin contrasted with the new wineskin. Jesus was the new, and it can handle the new things of God, while a hardened old skin will burst if new wine, which ferments and expands, is stored in it (Luke 5:36-39). Here in a completely different context and purpose, Jesus is the green wood, and Judaism is the dry wood. But here the outcomes are as follows. The green wood was bent without breaking; Judaism and the temple are about to bend and break.
Garland says that the proverb means: “something far worse can be expected to happen to those deserving of punishment (see Prov. 11:31).” “These things” refers to what was being done to Christ, as the true green tree or moist wood. The “what” is done to dry wood is in the passive, so one could see it as the divine passive. Then Garland lays out the options for interpreting it:
(1).. If they treated Jesus in this way, then how can the Jerusalemites expect to be treated?
(2).. If God has not spared his innocent Son of such treatment, then would he spare a sinful nation when God “unleashes his righteous wrath upon it [by permitting the Romans to destroy Jerusalem]?” This happened in AD 70, when the Romans conquered Jerusalem and destroyed its temple.
(3).. If it refers to Romans mistreating Jesus, whom the governor declared to be innocent (Luke 23:4, 14, 22), then the latter clause means: “What will they do to those who rebel against them and are guilty?” (p. 920). Presumably this means the people of Jerusalem when they come under judgment in AD 70. Or it could refer to those really are guilty, like the criminals on the cross (23:41). But the problem is that the criminals are also crucified, so the punishment is the same. But I’m not clear about the third option because it looks like the second one. Come to think of it, the first and second options look alike too! So it looks like my initial commentary is on target.
Bock has more options (pp. 1847-48).
Liefeld and Pao: “Fire spreads much more rapidly through a dry forest than through a wet one; so Jesus’s words in v. 31 warn of a situation in the future even worse than the events surrounding his crucifixion” (comment on 27-31).
Stein: “In light of the use of the third person plural [they] as a circumlocution for God in 6:38; 12:20, 48; 16:9, the most likely interpretation is If God has not spared his innocent Son from such tribulation [by permitting his crucifixion], how much worse will it be for a sinful nation when God unleashes his righteous wrath upon it [by permitting the Romans to destroy Jerusalem]” (comment on v. 31, emphasis original).
32-33:
These verses move us along to the new scene. They have reached the place outside of Jerusalem called ‘the Skull.’ Now we learn of two more (unnamed) criminals. Luke calls them by the generic name “wrong-doers” or “evil doers” However, Matt. 27:38 and Mark 15:27 call them “robber, highwayman, bandit … revolutionary insurrectionist.” Barabbas was called this (John 18:40). Verse 18 says that Barabbas participated in an insurrection. For all we know, Barabbas knew these two men, and they knew him.
This scene goes back to another prophecy of Jesus: “For I tell you that it is necessary that what was written be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the lawless’” (Luke 22:37, referring to Is. 53:12).
34:
This is one of the most enlightening and marvelous verses in all of the Bible. Right after the horizontal beam was attached to the vertical one, and right after the cross thudded into the hole, and after Jesus surveyed the whole scene, with soldiers standing around, he asked Father God to forgive them: his unjust judges and his executioners. It challenges us to forgive those who have hurt us the most, particularly those in our family and friends.
In the Lord’s Model Prayer:
“And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who sins against us” (Luke 11:4).
“Pardon, and you shall be pardoned” (Luke 6:37).
“And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors” (Matt. 6:12).
“But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt. 6:15).
It is simply a requirement–a commandment–that you forgive people.
Let’s explore the deep and liberating truth of forgiveness. God lets go, dismisses, releases, sends away, cancels, pardons, and forgives our sins. His work is full and final. Don’t go backwards or dwell on it. Clearly the most significant definition in this context is the second one and the Shorter Lexicon’s. It means to forgive.
Please read these verses for how forgiving God is:
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us. (Ps. 103:10-12)
And these great verses are from Micah:
18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression
for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in steadfast love.
19 He will again have compassion on us;
he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea. (Mic. 7:18-19, ESV)
Dividing up his clothes by lot refers to Ps. 22:18:
18 They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment. (Ps. 22:18, NIV)
At that link, there is a long table of quoted verses in the OT and NT. But Jesus fulfills more than just quoted verses. He also fulfills themes and patterns and types and shadows, like the entire sacrificial system.
35-38:
These verses are about sneering from the onlookers. They are ignorant, but they think they know. That’s what irony means.
Comic irony: In the 1960s sitcom Hogan’s Heroes, Col. Klink brags that there has never been a successful escape from Stalag Thirteen. The truth: there are all kinds of escapes and they successfully accomplish their missions. Stalag Thirteen is like “Mole City” under his feet.
Tragic irony: King Oedipus believes he is wise, and he will investigate why a plague is attacking Thebes. But he is ignorant of the fact that he is the cause, until later on in the play. He learns the truth too late. It is tragic.
A biblical example is Job and his friends. They were trying to figure out why Job met with disasters, and though they had a small level of understanding—and the poetry is beautiful—they really did not know as much as their confidence allowed. God showed up on the scene and told them so.
Divine irony of the wise and powerful: In the same way, these religious rulers don’t understand Scripture, like Is. 53 and the Suffering Servant. They don’t know that he is about to be resurrected, which is his vindication. They are ignorant, and sneeringly ignorant. This is worse than comedic boasts and ignorance!
In v. 35, the verb literally means “turning up (their) noses.” But it is best to translate it as “sneering.” The rulers sneer because they expected the Messiah would storm Jerusalem and blow every enemy away. But here he is on the cross. “What a loser!” they thought. But they could not put two-and-two together. Is. 53 talks about the suffering Messiah.
The soldiers offered him sour wine or vinegar, which evidently lessened the pain. It refers to Ps. 69:21: “And for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink” (ESV).
Further verses in this Psalm perfectly summarize the blindness of the religious leaders:
Let their own table before them become a snare;
and when they are at peace, let it become a trap.
23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, (Ps. 69:22-23, ESV)
And,
For they persecute him whom you have struck down,
and they recount the pain of those you have wounded. (Ps. 69:26, ESV)
This section of Ps. 69 speaks of God punishing those who persecute the righteous. It may make the soft-hearted squeamish but look at this idea more theologically. God is the God of justice (not irrational vengeance), and he cannot deny who he is. Yes, he will forgive those who repent, but there is no evidence that these men repented, except one soldier and those with him (Matt. 27:54). God was going to visit on Jerusalem and the temple judgment, which happened in A.D. 70. See Luke 21:5-33 for a thorough discussion of this judgment.
Luke 21:5-33 Predicts Destruction of Jerusalem and Temple
Also see:
Matt 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 and 17 in Parallel Columns Are Finally Clear
39-43:
Now we have a study in contrasts. The one criminal is hardened and selfish. Expanded “translation”: “Come on, come on! Aren’t you the Messiah? We’re with you, man! We understand your cause. Save yourself by working some sort of miracle! And save us and join our cause! Or we’ll join your cause!” Once again, popular opinion expected the Messiah to blow away every enemy of Israel.
Matt. 27:44 // Mark 15:32 are silent about whether either of the two criminals repent, but in my opinion, one of them changed his mind, when he saw Jesus and was impressed with him. So at first he mocked Jesus, but changed.
In contrast, the repentant criminal looked at this life and wondered how he got here. It is said that the gallows focus the mind. The cross focused his mind. He realized what was coming—death. He asked for forgiveness, when he asked Jesus to remember him when he got into paradise. He repented. He did not need water baptism. Jesus said that he would be with him in paradise. This statement contradicts the doctrine that soul sleep happens after we die. Sleeping in all NT passages that speak of death is simply a metaphor for death. It’s a great image, because when we die, we appear to sleep as our body lies in the coffin, but our spirit or soul is very much alive and not sleeping. We are awake, even though our body is dead.
The word paradise: Here’s the bottom line, based on 2 Cor. 12:4 and Rev. 2:7, 22:2: paradise = heaven.
In v. 42 Luke introduces the readers to the kingdom of God. The repentant insurrectionist did not know what the kingdom of God was, but here he seems to believe that it was a heavenly existence.
So let’s recall what the kingdom is in a generic way.
As noted in other verses that mention the kingdom in this commentary, the kingdom is God’s realm or dominion over which he exerts his power, authority, rule, reign and sovereignty. He exerts all those things over all the universe but more specifically over the lives of people. It is his invisible realm, and throughout the Gospels Jesus is explaining and demonstrating what it looks like before their very eyes and ears. It is gradually being manifested from the realm of faith to the visible realm, but it is not political in the human sense. It is a secret kingdom because it does not enter humanity with trumpets blaring and full power and glory. This grand display will happen when Jesus comes back. In his first coming, it woos people to surrender to it. We can enter God’s kingdom by being born again (John 3:3, 5), by repenting (Matt. 4:17; Mark 1:5), by having the faith of children (Matt. 18:4; Mark 10:14-15), by being transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the Son whom God loves (Col. 1:13), and by seeing their own poverty and need for the kingdom (Matt. 5:3; Luke 6:20; Jas. 2:5).
Bible Basics about the Kingdom of God
Questions and Answers about Kingdom of God
Basic Definition of Kingdom of God
1 Introducing the Kingdom of God (begin a ten-part series)
“I tell you the truth”: In this case, the clause “I tell you the truth” appears often in Luke and it introduces the pronouncement. The word “today” comes after the introduction to the solemn pronouncement: “I tell you the truth: today you will be with me in paradise.” It would be a mistranslation to write: “I tell you the truth today: you will be with me in paradise.” Nowhere else does Jesus ever say something like that in his use of the clause “I tell you the truth.”
Grow App for Luke 23:26-43
1. Verse 34 shows Jesus forgiving his executioners and the authorities. Read Matt. 6:15. Are you willing to forgive others who have mistreated you? How do you become willing?
2. The second insurrectionist was promised paradise. How did he secure Jesus’s promise? Are you ready to go to heaven? How did you get yourself ready?
RELATED
11. Eyewitness Testimony in Luke’s Gospel
3. Church Fathers and Luke’s Gospel
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND MORE
To see the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the bottom. You will also find a “Summary and Conclusion” for discipleship.
