Monthly Archives: April 2019

2 Samuel, Faith, Kingdom of God, Sovereignty of God

2 Samuel 2-3:5

A New King

Discussion Question

Is it possible to talk about right and wrong in this world anymore? In our democratic society, is the majority always right?

Background (Context)

The first 5 books of the bible (AKA the Pentateuch) cover the origins of life and the origins of the nation of Israel – a priviledged nation because God Almighty chose them to be his people, in a promised land, with directions (commands) to obey and live in rest and peace. The book of Joshua described a great time of the nation entering the promised land and driving out all foreign nations lest they tempt them to stray from God’s plans. Then, in Judges, we read of a nation declining as they returned again and again to sin, rejected God as their king. While the nation should have strived by loving the Lord with all their heart and neighbour as themselves, the problem of sin continues to blossom in the bible narratives.

Then we get to the books of 1 and 2 Samuel. Israel demands of Samuel that they have a king just like the other nations. By the word of the LORD Samuel consents to the people’s wicked request. While having a king was not a sin, the real error is that they were rejecting God once again. The first king of Israel, God’s anointed one, was Saul with his son Jonathan as the prince of Israel. The book of 1 Samuel describes how this came to be and how king Saul disobeyed God and so God found another man, a man after His own heart, to be the next king. David, the son of Jesse, the great grandson of Ruth and Obed, was anointed by Samuel as the king of Israel. David was pursued by the jealous king Saul but befriended by Saul’s son, Jonothan.

Finally, in the first chapter of 2 Samuel, David receives word from a foreigner that king Saul has been killed. The messenger reports that he killed a dying Saul. Rather than rejoicing, David demands the life of this man for killing the LORD’s anointed. The fact that Saul gave David a really hard time in his life does not change the fact that Saul was anointed by God to be king. David demonstrates his love for God and His kingdom more than the kingdom of David. The lament that he teaches all the people to recite shadows the lament of those who would look on the ultimate King of the Jews slain. Good Friday is a day to reflect on our sins as we humans slay The Anointed One.

Read 2 Samuel 2-3:5

In the course of time, David inquired of the Lord. “Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” he asked.

The Lord said, “Go up.”
David asked, “Where shall I go?”
“To Hebron,” the Lord answered.

2 So David went up there with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 3 David also took the men who were with him, each with his family, and they settled in Hebron and its towns. 4 Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king over the tribe of Judah.

When David was told that it was the men from Jabesh Gilead who had buried Saul, 5 he sent messengers to them to say to them, “The Lord bless you for showing this kindness to Saul your master by burying him. 6 May the Lord now show you kindness and faithfulness, and I too will show you the same favor because you have done this. 7 Now then, be strong and brave, for Saul your master is dead, and the people of Judah have anointed me king over them.”

8 Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-Bosheth son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim. 9 He made him king over Gilead, Ashuri and Jezreel, and also over Ephraim, Benjamin and all Israel.

10 Ish-Bosheth son of Saul was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned two years. The tribe of Judah, however, remained loyal to David. 11 The length of time David was king in Hebron over Judah was seven years and six months.

12 Abner son of Ner, together with the men of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon. 13 Joab son of Zeruiah and David’s men went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat down on one side of the pool and one group on the other side.

14 Then Abner said to Joab, “Let’s have some of the young men get up and fight hand to hand in front of us.”

“All right, let them do it,” Joab said.

15 So they stood up and were counted off—twelve men for Benjamin and Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve for David. 16 Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his dagger into his opponent’s side, and they fell down together. So that place in Gibeon was called Helkath Hazzurim.

17 The battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the Israelites were defeated by David’s men.

18 The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai and Asahel. Now Asahel was as fleet-footed as a wild gazelle. 19 He chased Abner, turning neither to the right nor to the left as he pursued him. 20 Abner looked behind him and asked, “Is that you, Asahel?”

“It is,” he answered.

21 Then Abner said to him, “Turn aside to the right or to the left; take on one of the young men and strip him of his weapons.” But Asahel would not stop chasing him.

22 Again Abner warned Asahel, “Stop chasing me! Why should I strike you down? How could I look your brother Joab in the face?”

23 But Asahel refused to give up the pursuit; so Abner thrust the butt of his spear into Asahel’s stomach, and the spear came out through his back. He fell there and died on the spot. And every man stopped when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died.

24 But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner, and as the sun was setting, they came to the hill of Ammah, near Giah on the way to the wasteland of Gibeon. 25 Then the men of Benjamin rallied behind Abner. They formed themselves into a group and took their stand on top of a hill.

26 Abner called out to Joab, “Must the sword devour forever? Don’t you realize that this will end in bitterness? How long before you order your men to stop pursuing their fellow Israelites?”

27 Joab answered, “As surely as God lives, if you had not spoken, the men would have continued pursuing them until morning.”

28 So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the troops came to a halt; they no longer pursued Israel, nor did they fight anymore.

29 All that night Abner and his men marched through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, continued through the morning hours and came to Mahanaim.

30 Then Joab stopped pursuing Abner and assembled the whole army. Besides Asahel, nineteen of David’s men were found missing. 31 But David’s men had killed three hundred and sixty Benjamites who were with Abner. 32 They took Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb at Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night and arrived at Hebron by daybreak.

3 The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time. David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.

2 Sons were born to David in Hebron: His firstborn was Amnon the son of Ahinoam of Jezreel; 3 his second, Kileab the son of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; the third, Absalom the son of Maakah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; 4 the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; 5 and the sixth, Ithream the son of David’s wife Eglah. These were born to David in Hebron.

What did you see? (Observation)

Structure

Beginning: David’s move to be king over Israel (1-7)

Problem: Abner makes Ish-Bosheth son of Saul king over most of Israel (8-11)

Quest: Abner (Israel/Ish-Bosheth) vs Joab (Judah/David) (12-25)

  • 12 against 12 – all die (12-16)
  • The battle that followed was fierce – David’s men win (17)
  • Asahel of David’s house pursues Abner – Asahel dies (18-25)

Resolution: Abner calls a truce (26-32)

End: David’s kingdom grows (3:1-5)

The structure of a narrative can be broken down into the 5 basic elements of any story: Beginning, Problem, Quest, Resolution, End. See this post from the book of Jonah to see how this works. We’ll step through the five stages of this narrative to discover what we are supposed to notice.

Beginning: David’s move to be king over Israel (1-7)

“…David inquired of the LORD…” The story begins with David having waited a respectable time since the death of Saul. He is not eager or ambishish to take the kingdom of Israel before it is time. After a time, he asks of Yahweh if he should go up to the region of Judah. David appears as the good guy in this story, acting nobly as a propper king of Israel. This inquiry is not a small mention at the beginning of this story. Just as God went before Moses and Joshua and the judges of Israel, David is shown to be a man of God. Notice the slow pace of Verse 1 and then the deliberate and complete obedience of Verse 2 as David goes all in.

“…the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king over the tribe of Judah.” I have placed a table below on all of the people and place names for a quick reference. The LORD sent David to Hebron. He is welcomed there and enthroned as king over Judah – one of the 12 regions of Israel. Judah is the region David came from (in Bethlehem) and it is prophesied as the kingly line of Israel (Genesis 49:8-10). David is to be God’s anointed king of Israel.

“…I too will show you the same favour…” David approaches Jabesh Gilead, a region of Saul followers, and proposes a peace. We are not told what the people of Jabesh Gilead say in reply – presumably it is a positive one – but the absence of an answer leads us to ask the question of this passage: will everyone submit to king David as God has ordained it?

Problem: Abner makes Ish-Bosheth son of Saul king over most of Israel (8-11)

“Meanwhile, Abner…made [Ish-Bosheth son of Saul] king over … all Israel.” So, there’s the problem. While David and Judah and the LORD are on the same page, the rest of Israel are not. From this point on, the story is driven by the men of Ish-Bosheth and the men of David and not by David or Ish-Bosheth (IB) themselves. This is a question of who the people will follow. IB is silent in this whole process and the rebellion is driven by Abner, the son of Ner who was Saul’s uncle (1 Samuel 14:50). Benjamin was Saul’s native people.

“The tribe of Judah, however, remained loyal to David.” The problem is laid out for us. It is another David v Goliath battle. David and his relatives in Judah against IB and his relative in Benjamin and the rest of Israel.

Quest: Abner (Israel/Ish-Bosheth) vs Joab (Judah/David) (12-25)

12 against 12 – all die (12-16)

“…men of IB…and…David’s men went out and met…at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat down on one side of the pool and one group on the other side.” There is a face-off sounding similar to the confrontations between Israel and the Philistine enemy. This, though, is civil war.

“Let’s have some of the young men get up and fight hand to hand in front of us.” Abner asks this of Joab and his response is, “All right, let them do it.” Again, I’m reminded of the battle between Israel and the Philistines where Goliath came down to represent Philistine against a representative of Israel. The united Israel won that day as David stepped up to represent the people of God. This time we have the brothers of Israel facing each other.

“Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his dagger into his opponent’s side, and they fell down together.” Twelve men of IB faced up against twelve men of David. Though the country is divided, they all fall down this day together. Twenty four men died. Do we make much of the number 12? We ought to pause and reflect that Israel contains 12 tribes who are later represented by the 12 disciples. We won’t go too crazy over numbers in the bible but 12 appears to be a complete number.

The battle that followed was fierce – David’s men win (17)

“The battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the Israelites were defeated by David’s men.” After the twenty four men fell by the dagger, the rest of the men present that day fought each other. David’s men, against the rest of Israel, were victorious.

Asahel of David’s house pursues Abner – Asahel dies (18-25)

“Now Asahel was as fleet-footed as a wild gazelle.” What a cool verse! Abner survived the battle and we now learn of Asahel and his brothers. Asahel goes in hot pursuit of Abner.

“…turning neither to the right nor to the left as he pursued him.” Asahel was determined and concentrated on the man, Abner. He might have stopped and slain people this way or that but he ran past them and fixed his eyes on Abner. This man, above all others, has instigated a rival to the anointed king of Israel.

“Stop chasing me! Why should I strike you down? How could I look your brother Joab in the face?” We are reminded that this is civil war. Much death has occured on this day but Abner does not want to kill the brother of Joab.

“Asahel…fell there and died on the spot. And every man stopped when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died.” Asahel had been miles ahead of his comrades since he was ‘as fleet-footed as a wild gazelle.’ When they had caught up to him they found him killed.

“But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner…” Two men continued the pursuit. They had not been as fast as Asahel but they were as determined to end this.

“Then the men of Benjamin rallied behind Abner. They formed themselves into a group and took their stand on top of a hill.” We get ready for another round of fighting. Only Joab and Abishai are there to face up against the men of Benjamin. It could easily turn into a slaughter of the leaders of David’s men.

 

Resolution: Abner calls a truce (26-32)

“How long before you order your men to stop pursuing their fellow Israelites?” It’s odd to find Abner as the one to call a truce. But Abner, who is leading most of Israel (on a defeated day) sees that the men of David are driven. They will not stop until this is over. Abner has shown remorse in killing Asahel. He seems to not want to see any further bloodshed today. We are reminded again that this is a civil war.

“As surely as God lives, if you had not spoken, the men would have continued pursuing them until morning.”  Joab agrees that David’s men would not have stopped. The issue in this story has taken a strange twist. It was initially about who the people in Israel would submit to. Now the issue has become about how far will the people of God go in destroying each other. Will the kingdom of David be overcome by bloodshed? Will his kingdom be defined by being the stronger army?

“So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the troops came to a halt…” And as the sun was setting (Verse 24) the battle stops suddenly. The pursuit is over. The challenge is paused. Everyone is ready to go back to their homes.

“…marched through the Arabah….came to Mahanaim.” Abner and the men of IB travelled back home to where IB reigned. The Arabah is south of the Salt Sea which is the Dead Sea and which was known as the Arabah Sea.

“Then Joab and his men marched all night and arrived at Hebron by daybreak.” David’s men made their way back to David by the next day. The comment in Verse 32 about Asahel’s burial need not have been fulfilled that night.

End: David’s kingdom grows (3:1-5)

“The way between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time.” These 5 verses do not drive the story further at this point and so we come to the end of this account. David’s house grows increasingly stronger and Saul’s house grows increasingly weaker. David’s house is described during his reign in Hebron. Later in this book we will hear of how David came to live in Jerusalem.

What did we learn? (Meaning)

The narrative begins and ends with David, the anointed king of Israel. He is God’s king, walking in obedience to God and God blesses and establishes his kingdom. The enemy of David’s house, Abner, puts a false king on the throne and instigates a civil war among the people of God. He does not succeed but the people of God were struck with a death toll. While God is sovereign and his promised king is clear, the way of the kingdom contains battles and resistance. The King of the Kingdom has His enemies who will try to shake it.

Now what? (Application)

Topic A: The true King verses the world. The world we live in has the choice of submitting to the Anointed King Jesus or establishing a kingdom of their own. Even as the people of God, Christians are confronted every day with temptations to bow to other rulers: money, self-gain, popularity etc. King Jesus reigns in truth over a world that denies his rule.

Topic B: Turning neither to the right nor to the left. The episode of Asahel pursuing Abner with his gazelle-like legs leads us to consider our determination to run straight and true in the Kingdom of God. While this application appears allegorical at first (which is a reading method that comes with great caution) it appears amidst a greater story establishing David as king and yet people have looked elsewhere for an alternative. The enemies of the Kingdom of God are our enemy. We don’t consider people as the enemy, rather we consider the lies of the devil and of this world as the enemy. The New Testament teaches Christians to put to death the misdeeds of the body.

Topic C: An unfinished war. While the men of David won the battle that day, the war was not over. Jesus is the established king of the kingdom and his subjects continue to grow over time and across the world. We live in this time of an unfinished war. We don’t fight with swords or spears or daggers, but we speak the truth that Jesus is Lord of all. We won’t win this battle by strength or wit but by faith – simply knowing that the King we serve IS the King. Plain and simple.

Table of people and places

 

The House of David The House of Saul
The King David Ish-Bosheth son of Saul
People David’s wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel; Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.

Zeruiah, of Bethlehem (deceased), father of Joab, Abishai and Asahel.

 Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army.
Places Hebron in Judah.

Jabesh Gilead(?)

 Jabesh Gilead – Saul had fought for them in 1 Samuel 11 and they took care of Saul’s body in 1 Samuel 31.

Mahanaim – where Ish-Bosheth reigned.

Gilead, Ashuri, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin.

Gibeon – in the Benjamin region. Renamed Helkath Hazzurim meaning field of daggers.

 

Cross of Christ, Forgiveness, Judgment, Luke, Repentance, Suffering

Luke 23:26-43

The King’s future

Discussion Question

Have you ever observed an injustice and not done anything about it?

Background

Jesus has been betrayed, arrested, mocked and sentenced to death unjustly. The teachers of the law and leaders of Israel hated Jesus for preaching the kingdom of God in a way that did not paint them in a wonderful light. While they continued to accuse him with lies they persuaded the Roman government to execute Jesus on the basis of their hatred. They would rather a known murderer go free than to let this man continue to teach the people things that they did not agree with.

Read Luke 23:26-43

26 As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27 A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. 28 Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 Then

“ ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”

and to the hills, “Cover us!”’

31 For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

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.”t 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.

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.”

What did you see?

Structure

  • Carrying the cross (26-31)
    • Simon of Cyrene (26)
    • Daughters of Jerusalem (27-31)
  • At the cross (32-43)
    • Two criminals with Jesus (32-33)
    • They don’t know what they are doing (34-38
    • One criminal with Jesus (39-43)

Carrying the cross (26-31)

Simon of Cyrene (26)

“…[the soldiers] seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country…” Mark 15:21 tells us also that Simon is known as the father of Alexander and Rufus – the same Rufus, perhaps, whom Paul knew and regarded his family so highly (Romans 16:13). Cyrene is a port city in North Africa. The city encouraged Jews to settle there. A synagogue in Jerusalem, called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, was used by people of Cyrene and Alexandria (Acts 6:9). It is likely that Simon was a practicing Jew who had come from Cyrene for the Passover festival.

“…and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.” The synoptic gospels (Matt-Mark-Luke) all mention this fact of Simon being part of the suffering of Jesus. John does not include this detail in his story. It is easy to stretch the purpose of Simon’s story too far but I feel comfortable noting the involvement, in God’s sovereignty, of a man beyond the boundaries of Jerusalem and Judah taking part in the suffering of Christ. I will not make too much of this but to say that the kingdom of God is and always has been for the whole world to take part in. Perhaps the gospel writers, apart from stating what actually happened, like to include this piece of information because they know that the kingdom of God is about to go global. Luke includes, in the next section, a reminder that Jerusalem is not going to stand for much longer – it’s time will end but the gospel is bigger than Jerusalem.

Daughters of Jerusalem (27-31)

“A large number of people followed him…” This ‘him’ would refer to Jesus as the rest of the sentence makes clear. The order of procession is Jesus, followed by Simon of Cyrene, followed by the crowd, but it is Jesus as the one they are all following.

“…including women who mourned and wailed for him.” Luke 8:52 describes a similar tradition of wailers and mourners over the death of someone. Jesus is a dead man walking. But Jesus will turn the mirror back onto them.

“Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children…” These women of the city where Jesus is being condemned were weeping over the unfortunate death of Jesus. They may be sincere followers, or simply women who know that this is a sad end to a good man. Not everyone in that day hated Jesus. This passage reveals the women here who mourn and later a criminal who concludes that Jesus is the King. But the representative leaders of Jerusalem hated him. Jesus tenderly warns them that it is themselves and their children that they ought to mourn for. Jesus is going to the cross as is predestined. And the city of Jerusalem will be judged for killing him. Jesus has spoken about this on a number of occasions in this gospel (Luke 11:49-50; 131:34-35; 19:41-44; 21:20-24). Jesus himself had wept for Jerusalem (19:41). The historic events of the siege on Jerusalem in 70 AD were gruesome on the people in the city. Zechariah 12:10-14 may be alluded to.

“For the time will come when you will say, “Blessed are the childless women…” Jerusalem will receive judgement from God for all of the prophets who have been killed in the past and for the killing of the Son of God. Luke 20:9-18. The Romans lay siege to the city in April 70 AD and starved the Jews. By August, the Romans took the city, destroying the Temple. It is these few months of siege leading to the destruction that Jesus directs these women to mourn. His death in imminent, but theirs is also.

“They will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”” Again, a time is coming when death will seem better than life. This is a specific event fulfilled in 70 AD and yet is a forerunner to judgement day for all humanity. See Hosea 10:8 and Rev 6:16. At this point we’ll just remember that Jesus was the Great Prophet and continues to prophecy even as he goes to the cross.

“For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” This is a lesser to greater kind of argument: if this happens when the tree is alive, what will happen when it is dead? The Son of God is physically present with the people of God in the city of God and they choose to put Him to death. Imagine what evils people will do when God is not so present and merciful. In the instance of the siege on Jerusalem, the people were driven to madness with famine. When the Romans eventually took the city, they barely needed to execute anyone because the city had been starved to death. For anyone interested, here are the records of Josephus on the seige (sections 10, 12 and 13 focus on the difficulties in the city)…

 http://www.ccel.org/ccel/josephus/works/files/war-5.htm .

At the cross (32-43)

Two criminals with Jesus (32-33)

“Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed.” The scene changes with new characters introduced but they remain unnamed. They represent two types of people who will interact with Jesus and stand for two ways to live. Neither will represent godly living since they are about to die as criminals.

“…the Skull…” The location was well known in the day of Luke’s writing. With the passing of time and thousands of years of wars and construction, this landmark is up for debate. When Luke wrote the gospel, as with Matthew 27:33, Mark 15:22 and John 19:17, this was a knowable landmark. The point is that the location of Jesus’ death was known. Nobody mistook what took place that day, where or when. Neither did they mistakenly crucify Judas and everyone think that was Jesus or whatever crazy conspiracy can be imagined and believed. Perhaps the place looked like a skull or perhaps, with the crucifixions occurring there, it had the name of the Skull (Golgotha in Aramaic).

“…one on his right and one on his left.” Jesus is slain as a lawbreaker, with criminals at his side. See Isaiah 53:12 and Luke 22:37.

They don’t know what they are doing (34-38

“Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”” I love the words of JC Ryle, “as soon as the blood of the Great Sacrifice began to flow the Great High Priest began to intercede.” Who is he praying for exactly? It would be wise to keep the forgiveness here to the extent that these people are still able to repent and receive forgiveness – as about 3000 do on the day of Pentecost! They do know what they are doing, in that they are nailing a man to a cross, but they do not understand fully that they are nailing the true Messiah to the cross! See Acts 3:17 and 1 Cor 2:8.

“And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him.” A direct fulfillment of Psalm 22:7,18. The people are so ignorant of the events and yet they are all events predicted in the scriptures. The mocking of this man paints the picture of how low our sin takes us. At the lowest point in human history, we stood before the Son of God, we bowed down low and gambled for his clothing in mockery. We would rather worship material things that the One who created us. Psalm 22:8 is mimicked as they call on him to save himself.

“…God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” A tautology? The Messiah is the Chosen One. Isaiah 42:1.

“The soldiers…offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king…” The wine was cheap wine used by the poor. The soldiers were getting in on the mocking too – showing that Jew and Gentile were all against the Son of God. Their action paired with their words seem that they are bringing him wine as a servant would bring it to a king – but they mock.

“…a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” His death and his birth are both marked with mockery of this fact (Matthew 2:2). Mark 15:26 describes the sign as the written notice of the charge against him. John 19:19 informs us that Pilate had the notice placed there and John’s gospel expands on the objection that the Jews had to this sign (John 19:19-22). Jesus is being put to death for this claim. Pilate is making the Jews aware that this is the treason that he is condemned for. The Jews do not like this sign because they reject everything about it. As a reader of this event, we see the man on the cross clearly labelled and bleeding out for his people. The king of the Jews is the suffering servant. Mark 10:45.

One criminal with Jesus (39-43)

“One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him…” We are back to the criminals and even ‘they’ get in on the mocking. It is the same cry: save yourself! But the reason he hangs on the cross is not because he can’t save himself but because WE can’t save ourselves! He hangs there in order to save us – criminals of God’s kingdom.

“But the other criminal rebuked him…then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Let’s reflect. Simon of Cyrene carried the cross for Jesus but he was ordered to do that and he said nothing to allow us to know where he was at (but we think kindly of him). The women mourn for Jesus and yet we aren’t sure completely of why they mourn. Do they love Jesus or are they merely weeping over the occasion? We empathise with them too but we don’t know for sure where their hearts are at. Everybody else in the story have clearly mocked Jesus and so we know where they are at. And now we come to the second criminal. He is guilty and deserves death. He confesses this clearly to his fellow criminals. But looking at Jesus he remarks that Jesus has a kingdom that he owns and that it is up to Jesus whether this man is able to enter it or not. But he asks Jesus directly for entrance. Totally underserved. Totally unworthy. But he asks. And Jesus says…

“…today you will be with me in paradise.” This means one thing for sure and opens up further questions. The thing we know is that Jesus confesses to being able to give access to his kingdom. Either he went to his death truly believing nonsense in which case Jesus is a lunatic. Or He really is the King of the Kingdom and can grant access to whoever he pleases. And now that the sacrifice has begun, access is granted. It is granted on the basis of two things. The confession of sin or the admission of guilt and the confession of Jesus as LORD. The latter is the most clear in this case. The man does not say, ‘Jesus please forgive me for my sins.’ But, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ In other words, ‘Jesus, you are the king, will you know me in your kingdom?’

The question that it opens up is that of when. When will the man be in paradise? The straight forward answer is today, but what about the concept of the dead sleeping and that they will be raised on the last day? The questions of what happens after death fall into the category of wait and see. Just as the Old Testament promised the coming king but how he comes and what he does wait and see. And those putting Jesus to the cross did not know what they were doing. When we enter the kingdom ourselves, all will be clear. It may well be that we die and enter the timeless future of eternity when the second coming has already occurred. That is one theory. See Revelation 2:7.

What did we learn?

In the midst of prophecy concerning the judgment of God coming on Israel, the people proceed to put the beloved Son of God to death. His execution was humiliating and full of mockery and yet irony also. He was dying in order to save those who would mock him. His sacrifice opens up the way for forgiveness. It will not be the self-righteous who are saved but sinners who come to the King to call Him their Lord.

Now what?

Topic A: Prophet, Priest and King. The Old Testament described and prescribed three distinct offices of prophet (one who received the word of God and spoke it in the people’s hearing for a purpose), priest (the mediator role of Aaron and the Levites to offer sacrifices to God for the people) and King (obviously the ruler of Israel). These three offices come together in Christ and we have observed them all in this very passage. His prophecy of dark times ahead for the daughters of Jerusalem, his offering to forgive through the sacrifice he gives of himself and his Kingship in granting the criminal access to Paradise at his welcome. Now, there are other facets to Jesus than this (such as wise-man) and we don’t need to force Jesus into a tick box of theology but the book of Hebrews takes this approach to highlight how amazing our Saviour is. He is better than Moses, better than the Levitical priests and he is the very Word of God who has made atonement for sins and sat down on the throne in heaven.

Topic B: What it takes to be saved. It took the compassion, patience, humility, mercy, kindness, graciousness and love of God to send his willing Son to the cross. If there were another way, the Father would have granted it by Jesus’ prayer in Luke 22:42. For us, it takes ownership of our transgressions and the confession of Jesus as LORD – as our LORD. This is Romans 5:8 and 10:9 combined.

Topic C: God is not all about love and forgiveness. While the cross of Christ shows us the love and mercy of God on us sinners, there stands the need to be forgiven lest the wrath and judgement of God fall on us. Jesus’ warning to the daughters of Israel was about the historic fall of Jerusalem, by the arm of the Romans but as the consequence of repeated rejection of God. He will not forgive everybody just because. Merciful and loving as he is, the death of Christ shows us that there is wrath to be avoided. If we do not reconcile with the Son then we have no other mediator to stand between us and God’s righteous anger. John 3:36.