Reflective Bible Study

In our last episode, we focused in on Mark’s gospel, and what we can learn from it about Jesus’ time on the cross. Mark’s gospel is very similar to Matthew’s gospel. However, Luke’s gospel, which is the one we will be looking at in this episode, shares a unique event that the other gospels don’t include, and this detail may shed light on why Jesus decided to be crucified on that weekend.

While prophecy pointed to the time Jesus would die, remember that the Godhead could have written prophecy to say whatever they wanted it to say, so Jesus wasn’t acting outside of the Godhead’s plan, nor was He trapped by it. The whole Godhead wrote this particular weekend into prophecy and creation for a specific reason and I believe Luke’s gospel shares what this reason might be.

Our last episode focused on and ended with Jesus receiving insults from everyone around Him, but I hinted at not everyone being so hostile. Let’s read what Luke shares with us, and about one condemned man’s request for a favor from Jesus. Our passage is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 23, and we will be reading from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 32, Luke tells us:

³² Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. ³³ When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. ³⁴ Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

³⁵ The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

³⁶ The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar ³⁷ and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

³⁸ There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.

Pausing briefly here, what we have just read echoes what we see written in Matthew and Mark’s gospel. However, from this point forward in Luke’s gospel, he draws our attention onto the two criminals, and how each one interacted with Jesus. Continuing in verse 39, Luke tells us:

³⁹ One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

⁴⁰ But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹ We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

⁴² Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

⁴³ Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

When we read these last four verses, it is very tempting to shift our entire focus onto Jesus’ promise in the last verse, how immediate this promise sounds, and on how this criminal gets saved at the last possible moment. It is tempting to focus on the “deathbed confessional” and use it as a model or plan for our lives.

However, focusing on these verses in this way is both risky, and it cheapens the gift God is offering to us. We don’t know anything about these two criminals, about what they did, about when they were arrested, about how long they had been in prison, or if they had any previous interaction with Jesus.

It is very probable to conclude that with how famous Jesus was among the people, that these two criminals definitely knew about Jesus, about His ability to perform miracles, and about His love for the least in society, but we don’t have any idea if either had met Jesus before.

Regardless of their past, what we see displayed on the cross from these two criminals is amazing. The first criminal hurled insults at Jesus and he challenged Jesus to save Himself and them. This criminal had a selfish focus and a focus that was only looking at the present world. In an odd sort of way, this first criminal, who may have been thrown in prison for following a messiah who wanted to overthrow Rome now turns to Jesus and challenges Him with the notion regarding Jesus being the Messiah, even though Jesus has never shown any military interests, and He avoided being sucked into political discussion.

However, the second criminal has a different focus. The second criminal focuses not on the present life and present circumstances, but on the future one. I believe that the Godhead chose that weekend for Jesus to die because they wanted this criminal with them in heaven!

But while turning to God at the end of one’s life might seem appealing, it is a very dangerous plan. At the very least, since we don’t know when we will die, or if we will die suddenly or gradually, following a deathbed confessional plan is dangerous because a sudden death means we won’t have chosen God. This plan only works if our life follows a predictable plan, and while some aspects of life are predictable, there are plenty of cases where lives are cut short quickly because of sin.

However, where this criminal is when He comes to Jesus is different than each of us. We have no evidence for this criminal accepting Jesus, then rejecting Him, then coming back to Him here on the cross. It’s possible this is what happened, because God is ready and willing to forgive, but it is also very possible that this criminal had never met Jesus and sharing a cross next to Jesus was the first chance he got to be with Him.

But this conversation while these men were on the cross reveals three amazing things about conversion that we might not realize at first.

First, this conversion demonstrates a fear and respect of God. The criminal opens his mouth by first defending God against the criticism of the other criminal. Verse 40 tells us the second criminal rebukes the first one saying, “Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence?” The second criminal defends God and acknowledges God’s right to judge.

Second, the second criminal acknowledges that he deserves the punishment he is being given. Another way to say this is that this second criminal acknowledges that he is a sinner who deserves to die. At the most basic level, everyone who has ever sinned, and this is everyone who has ever lived except Jesus, deserves death. The second criminal acknowledges that his life and his choices deserve death, by saying in the first part of verse 41, “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve.”

But thirdly, the second criminal acknowledges that Jesus is innocent and that He is being punished while not deserving this punishment. Verse 41 finishes with the criminal acknowledging, “But this man [referring to Jesus] has done nothing wrong.” This criminal defends Jesus publicly against the ridicule of everyone else present, and he publicly allies himself with Jesus even though they both are facing death.

All three of these themes in these two verses of defense ally this second criminal with God, and the only way this criminal could acknowledge this is if the Holy Spirit had been working on his heart leading up to this moment. Even before asking Jesus for the favor, the criminal displays a relationship with God that shows God has been working on his heart and in his life.

This criminal isn’t doing a 180 turn spiritually while on the cross, but in however long he had been locked up in prison, the Holy Spirit had been working on his heart leading him to realize his sin and his need for a Savior.

The declaration on the cross concludes with a request of Jesus. The criminal asks Jesus in verse 42 to “remember me when you come into your kingdom.” The criminal acknowledges that Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world, and that it is of a heavenly nature. The criminal acknowledges the divinity of Jesus in his request.

We could spend an entire other episode talking about the ideas surrounding Jesus’ answer to this criminal’s request and the debates that exist over how immediate Jesus’ promise sounds, but these debates are less relevant than the simple truth that Jesus accepted this criminal and his request. Jesus accepted this criminal’s request because in this request, we see evidence of a changed heart and a changed life, and this sort of change can only come from a heart that has let the Holy Spirit work on it behind the scenes.

Jesus is ready and willing to accept us when we come to Him with a heart that the Holy Spirit has been working on as well. This passage points us to the powerful truth that: Where you finish your life is more important than where you start it – and the only place that is worth ending your life is being allied with Jesus, with the Holy Spirit living in your heart!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

Always seek God first and choose today to let the Holy Spirit live in your heart and in your life, and publicly ally with Jesus. While it might be easier to hide your faith, a hidden faith is not valuable to others or to God in the big picture. This criminal displays a faith that is public through his defense of Jesus before making his request. God has called us to defend Jesus and to publicly acknowledge Him before others.

Also, as I regularly challenge you to do, always pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with Jesus. Prayer and Bible study are ways of bringing the Holy Spirit into your heart and into your life and God is happy to give you the Holy Spirit when you are earnestly seeking to grow towards Him. Intentionally move and grow towards God today through prayer and studying your Bible.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, chicken out of, or fall away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Leading up to the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested, Matthew includes an event that every other gospel writer also includes, but with the exception of Mark, each gospel writer includes this event in a unique place. Matthew and Mark’s gospel place this event right before the night Jesus is arrested while Luke places a similar event much earlier in Jesus’ ministry, and John includes this event happening shortly before Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey. When looking at the chronology of what happened, I lean towards John’s gospel’s timing, which places this a day or two before Jesus enters Jerusalem on the donkey.

However, since Matthew places it here in his gospel, we have included it here. This event was a special meal that Jesus was invited to attend, and what happened at this meal is extravagant and it leads directly into Jesus’ betrayal.

Our passage and event is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 26, and we will read from the New International Version. Starting in verse 6, Matthew tells us that:

⁶ While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, ⁷ a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

⁸ When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. ⁹ “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”

¹⁰ Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ¹¹ The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. ¹² When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. ¹³ Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

¹⁴ Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶ From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

This event is the last event leading up to the night Jesus was betrayed in Matthew’s gospel. While Matthew tells us the disciples were indignant, or annoyed and angry, about the woman’s gift, John’s gospel frames this reaction specifically towards Judas Iscariot. With the timing of this event being several days before the festival, this would give Judas Iscariot enough time to plot revenge on Jesus for honoring a sinful woman ahead of him, especially with a gift that should have simply been sold and donated to them in his mind.

This leads us to one key idea that is becoming less common in culture today. This idea says that gifts that are given instead of money (or gift cards), always show more thought involved than gifts that are simply money donated. While our culture often times prefers money or gift cards so we can “get exactly what we want”, gifts of most anything else display a greater level of caring and connection between the gift giver and the gift receiver.

Gifts like the one this woman gave Jesus are even more special because if I understand the details and traditional thought of this event correctly, this was a very expensive, one-time gift. What this woman gave Jesus was not something that could then be sold or re-gifted later – especially with the way this gift was given to Jesus.

Giving Jesus the perfume by pouring it on Him was likely what angered Judas Iscariot the most, because it gave it to Jesus in a way that could not be converted back into money. This was such an extravagant gift that it was hard for Judas Iscariot not to see the potential dollars that could have been given to him as the keeper of the disciples’ money. Because of this event, and Jesus’ response, Judas emotionally agrees to sell Jesus to the religious leaders for significantly less.

However, in Jesus’ response, we see another amazing prediction. While the woman likely believed her gift to be anointing Jesus leading up to Him stepping into the role of Messiah and King, specifically the messiah that would overthrow the Romans and give the Jews back their homeland, Jesus shifts the meaning of this gift to be foreshadowing His burial.

Being anointed was something that was done for both people stepping into greater roles in society and for people who had just died. Those stepping into more significant roles were anointed for spiritual significance, while those who were anointed for burial were anointed to keep their bodies from stinking too badly while decomposing.

All four gospels include an event where a woman anoints Jesus on the head with perfume. Jesus’ prediction that this woman’s gift would be remembered and shared alongside His death has been fulfilled.

Within this gift and event is another subtle foreshadowing, and this idea is one that the disciples might not have wanted to understand or admit. This foreshadowing was Jesus telling them that they will always have the poor among them, but they would not always have Him. While Jesus was crucified, buried, and then resurrected, He knew that not long afterwards, He would return to heaven, leaving the disciples to carry on what He had started.

Jesus accepted the gifts that people wanted to give Him knowing that they would not be able to give them to Him later. Jesus places spiritual significance on the gifts we give to Him as well. While Judas Iscariot, and perhaps another one or two of the disciples, believed this gift to be a waste of money or resources, Jesus amplified this gift, giving it amazing spiritual significance, and He tells us that this woman’s gift will be remembered forever.

When we give gifts to Jesus, I believe He is just as willing to take our gifts and use them for His glory, and I believe that while Jesus can use gifts of money to help where money is needed, Jesus really values the gifts that are more specific than money. The gifts we give Jesus that are non-monetary are ones where He can use and multiply what we gave Him for His glory. Also, giving God non-monetary gifts helps us grow and stay connected to Him in our lives.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to give Him gifts that cannot easily be repaid with money. Gifts such as time, talents, or specific items that are needed are much more valuable in God’s eyes than government issued rectangle pieces of special paper or a string of numbers on a computer somewhere. While God can use any gift we give Him, what God really wants with our gifts is our heart. Our heart is the most valuable gift we can give God in His eyes.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. Through prayer and Bible study, discover what God wants for us and what He wants from us. Don’t assume the Bible teaches anything. Instead, open the pages of this collection of books and discover what it teaches for yourself!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or walk away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!