Luke 23:39Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

In the narrative regarding the Cross and the Thief, the other outlaw challenges Jesus, declaring, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us." His words mirrored those of the Jews, who similarly taunted, "If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross...and we will believe in You" (Matthew 27:40, 42). One can discern how those aligned with wickedness unite in their blasphemous teachings. They demanded, "Save Yourself and us!" Reflecting on the themes of the prodigal son, repentance, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the plight of the thief, we recognize a profound interplay of grace and transformation in the midst of suffering.

The uncircumcised criminal acknowledged Christ as the King of the Jews, not recognizing Him as their own sovereign, while the Jews, rejecting Him, acknowledged Caesar as their ruler. The followers of a fleeting kingdom vanished with it, yet those who professed the True King, according to the promise of His realm, gained entrance into a comforting paradise. Through Caesar, whom they accepted as king, their city faced destruction; in contrast, the Gentiles who proclaimed the Lord’s kingdom received the resurrection and the rejuvenation of their bodies. “If you are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” The Lord chose not to comply with the request to descend from the Cross because He intended to uplift the one at His right who had faith in the Crucified; for through signs and wonders, one can easily recruit disciples. Yet something even greater occurred: it was the very truth of the Lord that led the mocker to reverence Him. Thus, the apostle articulated, “The weakness of God is stronger than men” (cf. 1 Cor. 1:25). Through the apparent weakness of the Cross, the Lord conquered all nations. Extend your strength towards the Cross, that the strength of the Crucified may be extended to you. Anyone who does not reach out to His Cross will not partake in His feast; those who come satiated after being invited by the hungry will be denied a place at His table. Do not allow yourself to become satisfied, neither approach the banquet of the Son in such a state, lest He instruct you to leave the table hungry. “Remember me, O Lord, in Thy kingdom.” With the eyes of faith, he perceived the Lord's honor amidst shame, recognizing glory rather than humiliation, and thus implored, “Remember me,” for in the visible nails and the Cross, he had not forgotten Thy kingdom and glory, which will be revealed in the end and is not yet made manifest.

Christ extends His quick forgiveness to the thief because of the rapidity of his conversion. This may shed light on a complex question. Matthew and Mark mention two blaspheming thieves, whereas Luke refers to one who spoke evil and another who pleaded for mercy. It is possible that initially both were speaking against Him, but one was transformed in a brief moment. There is nothing astonishing about the fact that the One who showed compassion to those who ridiculed Him also forgave the guilty one immediately.

We might also consider that the Gospel writers chose to use the plural form instead of singular. For instance, we find in Scripture: The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers gather together (Ps. 2:2), yet in Peter's account in the Acts of the Apostles, he specifies one king, Herod, and one governor, Pilate, who conspired against Christ (see Acts 4:27). A similar usage appears in the Epistle to the Hebrews: They wandered about in sheepskins, were sawn in two, and faced the mouths of lions (Hebrews 11:37, 33). However, we know that only Elijah wore hairy garments, only Isaiah was sawed in two, and only Daniel emerged unscathed from the lions (see 2 Kings 1:8; Dan. 6:16-23).

The atrocity of the Jews in crucifying the Savior of all as if He were a common criminal is truly abominable! In a profound sense, Christ is the Wise Thief, who caught the devil by surprise to strip him of his power. The two thieves may symbolically represent the two sinful nations that were to be baptized into His death alongside Christ. Their differing fates reflect the variety among believers: one was on the right hand and the other on the left. The blasphemies signal the future temptation concerning the Cross (see Galatians 5:11) that could arise even among the faithful.

Are we not, you and I, dear listener, among them? May God keep us from rejecting our own sinfulness.

Listen closely, my sinful soul, to whom Christ Jesus grants this promise and what it entails. One of the condemned mocked Him, saying, “If you are the Christ, save yourself and us.” The sun shines on all Creation: yet wax melts in its warmth while clay hardens into stone. This wicked man’s heart remained unsoftened even in the presence of the true Sun of righteousness; everything he observed in Jesus had no redemptive impact on him. His call of Jesus as the Christ reveals he was a Jew, much like Caiaphas. Moreover, it is clear that the influence of the leaders around him had stirred up rebellion in his heart. Nevertheless, it is evident that he embodies a hardened spirit of wickedness. At the threshold of eternity, with hell awaiting him, he thinks not of his own soul nor seeks salvation from the suffering Savior. Alongside the groans of the wounds and agonies from the cross, he hurls blasphemies at the suffering Jesus. What a tragic depiction of evil this is! Sadly, he represents just one of many.

Consider the countless individuals who mirror this unfortunate example! Here is a man who has climbed to a prominent position by treacherous means, and through the whims of fate, finds himself a miserable wreck. Is it not time for him to contemplate his eternal destiny? Should he not strive to cast off the burden of his sins through heartfelt repentance? Should he not prepare himself a less turbulent resting place beyond this life? But what does he do? He remains preoccupied with his earthly aspirations and, in frustration over his failures, maligns others and even questions the Providence of God with a complaining spirit.

This speaks to the revelation of Divine glory manifested in the very death of the Lord, as well as the spiritual maturity of the penitent thief: his faith emerged before that of the apostles, as he cast aside the biases of the Jewish leaders and acknowledged the suffering One as the Messiah. “Remember me,” this righteous thief pleaded, “when Thou comest in Thy kingdom.” With love, the One who arrives in glory through suffering responded, “Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.”

They presented Him with vinegar, tauntingly saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.” Regarding the inscription on the cross, he specifies that it was inscribed in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. Concerning the derision from the two criminals crucified alongside Him, only Luke notes that one of them ridiculed Christ while the other rebuked his fellow criminal. This second criminal turned to Jesus, expressing a remarkable faith in Him as the Messiah and Lord who would return to establish His reign, prompting Jesus to respond, “Today you will be with Me in paradise.”

The crucifixion did not lead him to abandon this faith; he still believed that Christ, even in His dying moments, was the King of Israel who would eventually restore His reign. Influenced by this faith, the repentant criminal openly acknowledged that he deserved the crucifixion. Rather than complain about his condemnation or plead for mercy from Jesus, he focused solely on the future and humbly prayed for the Lord to remember him upon entering His kingdom. "Remember me, Lord, when You come into Your kingdom." When the centurion from Capernaum expressed his belief that Jesus only needed to speak a word for his servant to be healed, Jesus remarked to the people, "I have not found such great faith even in Israel" (Luke 7:9). The unwavering faith of the robber could have prompted Jesus to reflect, "I have not found any faith like this in My disciples." Jesus assured the robber, "Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise." The term paradise derives from a Persian origin and signifies a garden. In hot climates, a shaded garden offered a place for rest and relief, paralleling the concept of a garden or paradise for the righteous in the afterlife. Jewish tradition referred to the abode of the dead as Sheol, which was divided into two sections: one called paradise or Abraham's bosom, reserved for the righteous, while the other was designated for the wicked and labeled hell. When Christ pardoned the repentant robber, He informed him that on that very day, his soul—cleansed by faith—would join the souls of the righteous; fittingly, Christ called this place paradise, as comprehensible to the robber's understanding. The evangelist Luke tells us of the one thief who spoke ill of Jesus and the other who silenced him. However, Matthew and Mark mention that "the robbers who were crucified with Him also heaped insults on Him" (Mark 15:32). This apparent discrepancy is easily reconciled. It is evident that a repentant criminal could not simultaneously mock and confess faith in Christ; thus, we acknowledge that one criminal did indeed deride Him. Luke uniquely provides the account of one robber calming the other, turning to Christ, and the response he received. While Matthew and Mark do not detail this exchange, they list the individuals who mocked Jesus, including the criminals, without emphasizing whether one or both were involved. They recount the jeers from onlookers (Matthew 27:39), the chief priests, scribes, and elders (Matthew 27:41), as well as the soldiers (Luke 23:36), and included the mockery of one of the robbers without making a distinction, thus employing the plural form when mentioning the robbers who were crucified with Him.

Upon witnessing the infinitely gentle and forgiving countenance of the Crucified, the best within him stirred, and he turned to Jesus, exclaiming with heartfelt sincerity: “Remember me, O Lord, when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.” In response to this humble plea from the repentant sinner, the previously silent Christ spoke without delay: “Truly I say unto thee, now shalt thou be with Me in Paradise.”