Both of Them Knew Who He Was!
There can be no pass given to the thief on the cross who rejected Jesus, as if he did not know who Jesus was:
39 One of the criminals joined in the cruel talk.
Cynical Criminal: You’re supposed to be the Anointed One, right? Well—do it!Rescue Yourself and us!
40 But the other criminal told him to be quiet.
Believing Criminal: Don’t you have any fear of God at all? You’re getting the same death sentence He is! 41 We’re getting what we deserve since we’ve committed crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong at all! 42 (turning to Jesus) Jesus, when You come into Your kingdom, please remember me.
Jesus: 43 I promise you that this very day you will be with Me in paradise. Luke 23:39-43 (The Voice0
In this passage of scripture we see the cynical criminal challenging the power of Jesus, in fact it sounds a lot like when satan taunted Jesus in the wilderness, you hear the same voice:
5 Then the devil took Jesus to the holy city, Jerusalem, and he had Jesus stand at the very highest point in the holy temple.
Devil: 6 If You are the Son of God, jump! And then we will see if You fulfill the Scripture that says,
He will command His heavenly messengers concerning You,
and the messengers will buoy You in their hands
So that You will not crash, or fall, or even graze Your foot on a stone. Matthew 4:5-6 (The Voice)
In Matthew 4: we hear the same voice – the same challenge – "do something extraordinary and I will believe you". This gives thought today to each of us, what are we really waiting on Jesus to do before we honor Him as the Anointed One, before we worship Him as Savior, before we allow Him to be Lord of our life?
Maria