Easter Story and the guilty criminal saved by faith
and mercy of God
Mat 27:1,2, 11,
18, 22-25, 40, 45, 50-52, 54, 62-66
1 Early in the morning,
all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have
Jesus executed.
2 So they bound him, led
him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor.
11 When Jesus stood
before the governor, the governor
asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “You have said so.”
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18 Pilate knew it was
out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.
22 “What shall I do,
then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify
him!”
23 “Why? What crime has
he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the
louder, “Crucify him!”
24 When Pilate saw that
he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water
and washed his hands in front of the crowd and said “I am innocent of this
man’s blood. It is your responsibility!”
25 All the people
answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!
Luke 23:32-43--32 Two 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."
36 The soldiers also came up
and mocked him
37 and said, “If you are the
king of the Jews, save yourself.”
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 said, “Truly I tell you, today you will be
with me in paradise.”
Mat 28: 45, 50-52, 54, 62-66
45 From noon until three in
the afternoon darkness came over all the land.
50 And when Jesus had cried
out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from
top to bottom. The earth shook, the
rocks split
52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy
people who had died were raised to life.
54 When the centurion and those with him who were
guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were
terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
62 The next day, the chief
priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate.
63 “Sir,” they said, “we
remember that while Jesus was still alive, that deceiver said, ‘After three
days I will rise again.’
64 So give the order for the
tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come
and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This
last deception will be worse than the first.”
65 “Take a guard,” Pilate
answered. “Go, make the tomb secure.”
66 So they went and made the
tomb secure ... and posted guards.
Mat 28:1-6 --
1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary
Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven
and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.
3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as
snow.
4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid,
for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.
10 Jesus said to them (women), “Do not be afraid.
Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee;
there they will see me.”
Mat 28: 12-20--
12 The chief priests had
met with the elders and devised a plan, and they gave the soldiers a large sum
of money, 13 telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the
night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of
trouble.” 15 So the soldiers
took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely
circulated among the Jews to this very day.
16 Then the eleven
disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain
where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When
they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
COMMENT:
One of the criminals being crucified rebuked the other criminal for not fearing God. He said that they were both guilty and
deserving of death. That criminal also
said that Jesus was innocent having done no wrong. So there the criminal was,
nailed to a cross, able to do absolutely nothing, but to ask Jesus to remember him when he comes into His kingdom. [So
that criminal knew Jesus came from God and that His life would not end with the
crucifixion, and that Jesus had a
spiritual kingdom.] So Jesus replied,
today you will be with me in paradise. So here we see that God showed mercy even
toward one of the criminals who admitted his guilt and was able to do absolutely
nothing to deserve paradise. He simply asked Jesus to remember [have mercy on]
him, a criminal worthy of death. And Jesus saved his soul that day -- at the
very end of his life. That's what Easter is about-- the good news that God
provided salvation for every soul that believes that Jesus came to die and pay
the price for their sins if they confess and ask to receive forgiveness. Eternal life in paradise comes through faith in
the atoning death of Jesus Christ, and nothing else. It cannot be earned by
doing good, only by faith and asking for forgiveness made available by the
death of Jesus -- the son of God -- the perfect sacrifice for sin forever.
Last revision: May 2, 2017
