भाष्य सध्या फक्त इंग्रजीत उपलब्ध आहे. मराठी भाषांतर प्रगतीपथावर आहे.
Luke 23 — Father, Forgive Them; For They Know Not What They Do
Before Pilate. Pilate finds no fault; sends Him to Herod. Herod mocks Him with a robe. Pilate again — I find no fault in this man. The crowd cries for Barabbas. Simon of Cyrene compelled to bear the cross. Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves. Crucified between two thieves. Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. The one thief — Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. Darkness from the sixth to the ninth hour. The veil rent. Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. The centurion — Certainly this was a righteous man. Joseph of Arimathaea lays Him in a new tomb.
“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.”
— Luke 23:34
- v.1-12 Before Pilate and Herod
- v.13-25 Barabbas released
- v.26-31 On the way to Golgotha
- v.32-43 The crucifixion; the penitent thief
- v.44-49 Darkness; the veil; the centurion
- v.50-56 The burial
A dying thief asking a dying Saviour for remembrance. He grasped what the religious establishment had missed — Christ was a King with a kingdom.
Remember me. Five words for justification. No baptism, no sacraments, no work of righteousness. Faith on a cross was enough.
To day. Not after purgatory, not after a wait. Immediate presence with Christ after death for the believer.
With me. The substance of paradise is the company of Christ. The Saviour's side is the location of bliss.
Christ's last word from the cross in Luke. A quotation from Psalm 31:5 — a sleep-prayer Jewish children prayed at night, used now to die.
Commend my spirit. He places His spirit into the Father's hands. The model for every Christian death.
Verse 43 is a verse to bring to a dying loved one. The thief had nothing but a confession — and that was enough. If the dying have placed their faith in Christ, they go to day into paradise with Him. The chapter shrinks the requirements of salvation to faith and the location of bliss to His presence.
Luke 23 is the cross from Luke's pen — the trial before Pilate and Herod, the way to Golgotha, the three crosses, the words from the middle one, the darkness, the rent veil, the commended spirit, the new tomb. Every detail is the Saviour completing what He came to do. The Christ who said seek and save the lost in chapter 19 is the Christ who saves a thief at the gate of paradise in chapter 23.
Christ's first word from the cross in Luke's account. Forgiveness for His killers — at the moment of the killing.
They know not what they do. He offers the mitigating context. He does not excuse them but pleads what He can on their behalf. The Saviour's defense of His murderers is the gospel's tenderest scene.