and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying, He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to; for he said, ‘I am God’s Son.’” The bandits who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way"(Matthew 27:40-44).
One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?" (Luke 23:39-40)
There is no inconsistency at all. Both robbers originally "reproached Him" as well. Luke 23:32 calls them "malefactors" (kakourgoi, criminals). Kakourgoi not only openly steal property, but they may kill to do so. In modern Greek, a kakourgema is a felony (one of the worst crimes).
Yet, Jesus asked the Father to forgive those who crucified Him
and scoffed at Him. One of them saw Jesus was different from other
people. He had a change of heart, and eventually believed Jesus
was the Messiah.
If Jesus comes down from the cross to save himself, he will not save his people from their sins.
No comments:
Post a Comment