39And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads 41Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders … 39Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us." 40But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 42Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." 43And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."
Truth to Learn
Jesus was submitted to His Father’s will regardless of what He might have wanted for Himself.
Behind the Words
The word translated “mocking” in Matthew 27:40 is the Greek word empaidzō, which is a compound of en, meaning “in” and paidzō, meaning “to play.” It means “to make sport of, to deride, to mock, or to scoff at.”
“Criminals” is translated from the Greek word kakourgos, which is composed of kakos, meaning “bad” or “evil” and a form of ergō, meaning “to work.” Hence, this word means “one who does evil works or evil deeds.”
Meaning Explained
Jesus was mocked and jeered at by nearly everyone present at his crucifixion. Those who passed by the site abused Him verbally and shook their heads. The chief priests, the scribes, and the elders (all the religious leaders of the people) ridiculed Him and challenged Him to come down off the cross to prove that He was the Messiah. He could have done that, but He was more committed to doing what the Father called Him to do than to prove to those around who He really was. Even one of the criminals crucified with Him insulted Him. It seemed that everyone was against Him
None of these people believed He could actually come down off the cross because they didn’t believe that He was the Son of God. But one of the criminals believed He was who He claimed to be, and he rebuked the other criminal for speaking evil against Jesus. If it were you or me hanging on that cross and someone finally spoke up in support of us, we would most likely respond with a “Thank you!” But that would only have highlighted our focus on self. Jesus was not focused on Himself. He was focused on doing the Father’s will. As a result, He assured the believing criminal that although he was going to die, he would find himself in Paradise with his Savior after he died.
Jesus’ purpose in life was clear, it was to do whatever the Father wanted Him to do. As we saw from His intense agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, he didn’t want to suffer. But He was more interested in doing His Father’s will than His own. His purpose on the cross was to give His life to pay for your sins and mine. If He had been thinking of Himself, He would have come down from the cross and we would be going to Hell
Application
Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died for your sins? Have you submitted your will to Him as your Lord and Master? If your response to all of these is yes, then you too will be with Him in Paradise!
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2012 Will Krause. All rights reserved