Luke

23:32-49

The culmination of Messiah's mission, 19:45-24:53

3. The Glorification of the Messiah, 23:26-24:53

ii] The crucifixion

This passage, detailing the crucifixion of Jesus, is the second episode of a series of six dealing with the glorification of the messiah.

For Luke, the theological center of the crucifixion lies in Jesus' words to the repentant kakourgoV, "criminal / wrongdoer". The religious elite, the soldiers and possibly the crowd, reject any possibility that this suffering fool could be the "Chosen One" (the Messiah). Out of this mass of humanity there is but one person, a criminal, who recognizes that Jesus could be the long-awaited saviour of God's people. So, he asks Jesus to "remember" him when he gains his crown in paradise. Jesus agrees, but changes the "not yet" of the coming kingdom to "now". Jesus' glorification and rule are associated with the immediacy of his resurrection. In his resurrection, the "body" of Christ (the new Israel, the messianic community, the church, believers) will also rise to glory - exalted to rule. So, in Jesus' death we see the end of the old age, and in his resurrection, the beginning of the new. Those who trust Jesus, although outcasts, sinners, share in the glory of the age to come, and "in Christ", they do so immediately.

Kranion "skull" - The hill was named after it's skull like shape. In Aramaic the Greek rendering is "Golgotha", but Luke drops this name. Archeologists are unsure of the site.

estaurwsan (staurow) aor. "they crucified" - None of the gospel writers describe Jesus actual crucifixion.

touV kakourgouV (oV) "the criminals" - Mark has "bandits", the sense possibly being "terrorists", or if you were a Jew, "freedom-fighters" (or "insurgents" if you want to sit on the fence!). Luke may not have used Mark's word because of its political flavour.

afeV (afihmi) aor. imp. "forgive" - This prayer is not found in all manuscripts.

autoiV "them" - Who, the priests, Romans, people, or all?

oidasin (oida) perf. "they [do not] know" - understand. The phrase, "for they do not know what they are doing", is not found in some manuscripts.

ebalon (ballw) aor. "casting" - they cast, threw. Matthew and Mark use the participle, "casting lots". Having separated his clothing, the soldiers cast lots to determine their share.

qewrwn (qewrew) pres. part. "watching" - staring. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "stood", so "stood and watched."

de kai "and ..... even" - Indicating the rulers as another group, rather than including the people with the rulers' abuse.

exemukthrizon (ekmukthrizw) imperf. "sneered at" - were mocking, scoffed. Durative action, "continued sneering." Luke does seem to separate the officials from the people when it comes to abusing Jesus. The picture is of the people looking on quietly while the "rulers" get into a prolonged abuse of Jesus.

swsatw (swzw) imp. "let him save" - Let him rescue himself from death.

oJ eklektoV "the chosen one" - Messianic title, the one God has chosen.

enepaixan (empaizw) aor. "mocked" - ridiculed, made fun of. Some argue that the offering of the sour wine was how they mocked him - a king would not be offered poor wine, cf. Ps.69:21.

oxoV "wine vinegar" - A rough low cost dry wine,

ei + ind. "if" - Introducing a first-class condition, hypothetical, where the stated condition is assumed to be true for the sake of argument. "OK, assuming you are the King of the Jews, let's see you save yourself." The soldiers recognize that a genuine kingship is being claimed here, they just don't think Jesus is the genuine article.

epigrafh (h) "notice" - placard. A formal notice detailing the criminal's name and the charge for which he was being executed.

ep autw/ "above him" - Over his head, at the top of the cross.

ouJtoV "this" - this one. Not used in Mark. Slightly derogatory. It is interesting that the charge doesn't have "claimed". Although the exact wording of the inscription varies in the gospels, "king of the Jews" is common.

twn kremasqentwn (kremannumi) pas. part. "who hung there" - the one having been hung there. The participle is adjectival. "Who was being crucified there with Jesus."

eblasfhmei (blasfhmew) imperf. "hurled insults" - reviled, insulted. Again expressing durative action, the insults flowed, "spoke with sarcastic disrespect."

ouci - "[Are]n't [you the Christ]" - [are you] not [the Christ]. The negative here indicates that the question expects a positive answer, although it is clear that he doesn't believe Jesus is the Christ. "You think you're the Christ, don't you? So, how about saving yourself and us as well."

epitimwn (epitimaw) pres. part. "rebuked" - rebuking. The participle is adverbial of manner, modifying the participle "answering", which is best treated as a finite verb, so describing how he answered him, "rebuckingly"; "the other [criminal] answered him sternly / strongly / forcefully", so "checked him, pulled him up." This is purely a Luken account and is so startling that it has caused great debate as to its authenticity. It is often suggested that this criminal initially derided Jesus, but then responded positively, but such is conjecture.

oude fobh/ (fobew) pres. pas. "don't you fear" - do you not respect. The second criminal recognizes Jesus' messianic credentials and expresses the danger of affronting God by abusing his messiah, especially when, unlike both of the criminals, Jesus has done no wrong.

men .... de "...... But ....." - The construction gives the sense, "on the one hand ....., but on the other ......"

kai hJmeiV men dikaiwV "we were punished justly" - and we justly. "We were justly condemned/punished."

apolambanomen (apolambanw) pres. "we are getting" - we receive what is due. "We are getting what we deserve for what we did", TEV.

atopon adj. "wrong" - improper, wicked. Jesus has done nothing deserving of crucifixion. Luke is underlining the innocence of Jesus, although he is not suggesting that this criminal is applying a knowledge of the law, rather that he senses the innocence of the man crucified next to him.

mnhsqhti (mimnhskomai) aor. pas. imp. "remember" - remind, recall. "Remember me kindly / show me your kindness." Found on gravestone inscriptions of the time, obviously seeking divine recall of the person after death. A request that God place the deceased with the righteous on the day of judgment.

o{tan + subj. "when [you come]" - The syntax forms a future indefinite temporal clause. When you come into your kingdom = "become king / begin to reign." For Luke, the sense is of Jesus' future exaltation at the right hand of God.

eiV "into" - Textual support is divided for either, the preposition "into" followed by the accusative of "kingdom", or the preposition en, "in", followed by the dative of "kingdom". If "into", the meaning is that Jesus is being asked to remember the criminal when he comes into the presence of the Father to be glorified. If "in", the meaning is that Jesus is being asked to remember the criminal when he gathers the righteous and comes in glory to reign. The sense of both is very similar, all the criminal is asking for is to be with Jesus in eternity.

shmeron adv. "today" - coming day. "Today" is a common technical phrase used of the messianic kingdom, and does not mean "this day", but rather "the coming day." Some manuscripts place the "today" with v42 - "remember me ...... today." There are those who argue that the soul of the criminal left him "today", but this is against the teaching of the New Testament where we read of the dead rising on the coming day of resurrection. The "coming day" (today) is most likely Jesus' resurrection in which the "body of Christ" (believers) rise, ascend, and sit in glory with Christ. This blessing is inaugurated in Christ, but realized on the day of his return. The blessing itself is "paradise". Paradise means "garden" and of course, the imagery is that of the garden of Eden where God was in complete fellowship with his creation. Nolland suggests that the "today" refers to the continuing effectiveness of Christ's offer of salvation, even at this last hour. "This criminal has no need to wait for Jesus to come into his kingdom; though not yet come to his kingdom, Jesus is already granting royal clemency." Bock suggests that Jesus is responding to the criminal's understanding of paradise as a holding place for the righteous prior to the final establishment of the kingdom. This does not mean that Jesus actually believes in such a place. The position of Ellis and others, who see it as a genuine promise referring to the immediate present, is to be preferred. We should also note that the immediate present can be, in our time terms, aeons away. The kingdom is "now" and "not yet". The criminal was actually with Christ in the gathering of the saints before the throne in glory at the end of that day, but in time terms, he, like all the saints, still awaits the resurrection of the dead. God, and his heavenly domain, is not constricted by earthly time, for time is part of the created order and is not confined by his creation.

tw paradeisw/ (oV) "paradise" - Originally the word was used of an enclosed garden, later of a holding place after death where the righteous wait for the coming of the kingdom. This distinction is probably too fine and so it is more likely that Jesus simply means "heaven", in the sense of the new garden of Eden.

Luke Introduction

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