Luke 23:39-43: One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Matthew 27:37-44: And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.
Now here is the dilemma: Either there is a contradiction here or there isn’t. Did both insult him? Yes. Then why does Luke not say this, but instead talks about only one insulting and the other being saved?
Herein lays the beautiful work of God in regeneration! Jesus’ crucifixion lasted up to 6 hours. During those six hours something incredible happened. As both of the robbers to the left and right of Jesus mocked Him, eventually one of those robbers began to have the Holy Spirit move upon his heart. And the longer he was on the cross himself, the more God began to show him who Jesus Christ was. Why wasn’t the other robber following suit? Because God purposefully called the one robber to repentance, and the other He did not.
Let’s take this all in and meditate upon it. As the one robber was insulting Jesus, he eventually began to see his sin and realized his just punishment for the crimes he committed. Before God began convicting his heart, he was joining the mockers who were delighting in Jesus’ crucifixion. But the amazing part that we must consider is how did he go from mocking to repentance in the span of a few hours? It has to be a work of God alone. This man at this moment was equal with Jesus. How could the robber view Jesus as a King when He was being hung right next to him? God brought conviction on this man, and then repentance and belief. This robber went from mocking Jesus, to boldly rebuking the other robber saying, “Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” (Luke 23:40-41). This was his repentance of his own sin--his conviction of his own crimes and the necessary punishment for his actions. This is a work of the Holy Spirit’s conviction in the life of a true believer. Then we see him say, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42). This is his belief. He sees Jesus as the King. It is an absolute miracle that this man can believe Jesus to be the actual Messiahwho everyone is mocking him to be (including himself prior to the Holy Spirit’s conviction).
Ponder this today: If you are a believe… If you have repented of your sins and trusted in Christ for salvation… If you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God… Why do you believe that? How are you able to believe that? Why aren’t you like those who mock Him? What makes you different?
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