Luke 23:32-42

(Luke 23:32-42)

And there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death.  And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.  Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.  And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God.  And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar,  And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself.  And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.  And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.  But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?  And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.  And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

Officials and soldiers harassed Jesus, and officials, or Jewish religious leaders (high priests, scribes, elders) laughed at Jesus, saying, “And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God', said insultingly. The soldiers give Jesus the sour wine they drink,
『And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. I laughed. In Psalm 69:21, “They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. 』 And the soldiers divided by lot each of the clothes of Jesus. In Psalm 22:18, They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. 』

The people stood and watched, and according to the record of Matthew and Mark, some of them shook their heads in front of Jesus as they passed by and said: 『And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. 』(Matthew 27:40; Mark 15:29~30). Jewish religious leaders, soldiers, and people all laughed and insulted Jesus without exception. What they criticized is that Jesus saves many people, but he cannot save himself.

Jesus wasn't on the cross because he couldn't save himself. Rather, as the critics say, Jesus gave his life to save many. It is not that Jesus did not come down from the cross, but by not coming down, he is saving his people who cannot save themselves. In John 10:14-15, I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 』

The pain that the Lord received was the pain we had to suffer. He is stabbed because of our transgressions, and he is hurt because of our sins. We have peace because he is disciplined, and we are healed because the Lord is whipped. “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:5-6).

『And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. 』. At first, they both slandered Jesus. However, a thief who was hanging on the cross changed his mind. The moment he saw Jesus on the cross, he had a heart to fear God. Repentance begins with the fear of God. Salvation is not about time. When we come to God with all our heart, strength, and whole heart, repentance and faith occur at the same time. The moment you realize that you have come to death, the fearful God of judgment comes.

The moment Philippi's jailer decided to die by self-determination, repentance and faith occurred at the same time. The apostle Paul said, "Do not harm your body." The guard ran and brought the apostle Paul out. And he immediately said, "How can I be saved?" For this guard, the problem of this world was not important, but the problem of salvation became everything. Then Paul said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you and your household will be saved." The attitude of fearing God came before the Apostle Paul.

Those who repent are returning justification to the Lord. It is repentance to say to Jesus that you are righteous. Romans 3:10-12 says, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 』
These words can seem too extreme. How many people are looking for God today. Why do they say this? People do not accept the word repentance well. This is because they think they are good because they remember doing good things on their own. This is a trick. Jesus said it was a whitewashed tomb. .

In Romans 3:13-14, “Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 』
When you can realize these things, you can know when you can't stand anger. When we are angry, our inner person is revealed. Even those who seem to be good are the same. However, humans concealed their appearance with a false veil invisible. When you are offended, the true figure of the people who have to go to hell is revealed.

In Romans 3:15, the phrase "Their feet are swift to shed blood:" is even more unbelievable. So, murders happen every day and wars happen. We can't stop it, and we're actually joining it. Romans 3:16-18 says, ``Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes. 』
It is like this to all who do not fear God and do not repent. The scariest lie in the world is the one who confesses to give Jesus to the unrepentant. In such a person, Jesus is never the Lord. I am the owner.
But they may confess, "I have repented." Anyone who fears God in the face of death should doubt the authenticity of repentance. Maybe you are just using Jesus. I may be trying to use the power of heaven for my problems on earth. All these people do not know the meaning of repentance.

The beginning of repentance is not by washing away the dirt, but by trying to get out of the darkness. Those who sin are servants of the devil. The words spoken at that time were quoted by the apostle Paul. 『Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 』
Repentance is not to be justified by faith. This is greed. It is a very wrong way of evangelism. Today, evangelism tries to bring peace to sinners and gather them in the church. The church tells sinners, "If you believe in Jesus, you will be justified through peace." This is not God's Word, it is just the human religion that humans speak of. It is evil. Dare to give peace to sinners first.