Page 7 - August 2022 - Truth & Tidings

“ nd there were also two other, The criminals also shared in the same

malefactors, led with him to be
Aput to death. And when they were mockery. Matthew (27:44) and Mark (15:32)
both tell us that they participated with the
come to the place, which is called Calvary, crowd in their insults of the Lord Jesus.
there they crucified him, and the malefac- But as we will see, one of the convicts
tors, one on the right hand, and the other persisted in his taunts while the other had
on the left” (Luk 23:32-33). a change of mind.
1
A study of the two criminals crucified Quite obviously, they also shared in the
with the Lord Jesus reveals that they had same condemnation. The penitent felon
much in common. For one, they shared the made it clear that their condemnation
same privilege. It is probable that they were was just: “We are getting what we deserve
both Jews, for Roman citizens were rarely for what we did” (Luk 23:41 NET), a rare
crucified. Also, the language of the repen- admission of honesty from someone sen-
tant felon (v42) indicated his awareness tenced to die.
of the Jews’ messianic hope. Their Jewish But these two men also shared the same
background would mean a familiarity opportunity. It seemed providential for the
with the Old Testament Scriptures. Un- Savior to be upon the middle cross, for His
like the pagan world around them, they placement there gave both of them equal
had Moses and the prophets and could access to the One who was able to save
respond in faith to God’s Word (see 16:29). them. And they were in desperate need
¹ All Scripture quotations in this article are from of saving, with only hours left before they
the KJV unless otherwise noted. breathed their last.
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