Brie Brown
November 17, 2016
Discover the original intent of Scripture. Make good application to our everyday lives.
Become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
1) How did the rulers, the soldiers, and the first criminal respond to Jesus’ crucifixion?
The religious rulers scoffed at Jesus when He was crucified. The soldiers mocked him and cast lots to divide his garments. The first criminal joined in their mockery.
All these people treated Jesus with contempt because they did not believe that He was the Son of God.
1) How did the rulers, the soldiers, and the first criminal respond to Jesus’ crucifixion?
The religious leaders knew all about the prophecies that promised a Messiah would come. But they had a certain idea of what that Messiah would look like, and Jesus didn’t match up.
Instead of letting go of their expectations and accepting Christ, they dug into their own ideas about the Messiah and rejected Him. The soldiers likely didn’t understand the Scriptures, and likely didn’t know who Jesus was or really claimed to be. They saw Him as an insurrectionist, someone who was out to usurp the authority of Roman rule. Their rejection of Him was more ignorant than the Jewish religious leaders, but they rejected Him just the same.
All these people, if they died still rejecting Christ, ended up with the same eternal destiny, apart from Christ. There is no excuse for rejecting Christ!
2) How did Jesus respond to the rulers and the soldiers?
Jesus’ response to this mocking, and to the crime of killing an innocent man, was to ask His Father to forgive them.
Jesus understood they did not understand who He really was, and that they were really fulfilling God’s ultimate purpose of providing an ultimate payment for sin through Jesus’ death.
2) How did Jesus respond to the rulers and the soldiers?
Jesus asked His Father to forgive those who wronged Him. He is the ultimate example of meekness and forgiveness.
No matter what wrong has been done to you, even if the offender was never sorry, Jesus’s example of forgiveness can give us the strength to forgive others!
3) How did the second criminal respond to Jesus’ crucifixion?
The second criminal understood who he was before God—a guilty man who was getting what he deserved. But he also understood who Jesus was—an innocent man who did not deserve to die. When he asked Jesus to remember him in His kingdom, the criminal evidenced saving faith that Jesus was the Son of God. His response was one of true belief.
3) How did the second criminal respond to Jesus’ crucifixion?
The second criminal gives us an example of the right way to respond to Jesus. This man saw himself for the sinner that He was, and asked Jesus to save him.
Have you realized the depths of your sin against God? Have you seen yourself for who you really are—a person who desperately needs Jesus’s forgiveness? And have you called on Jesus to save you? Do not delay!
4) How did Jesus respond to the second criminal?
Jesus responded to the second criminal by accepting him into His kingdom. Because of his faith, Jesus forgave the criminal’s sins, and because of Christ’s death, those sins were paid for.
4) How did Jesus respond to the second criminal?
Jesus offers us forgiveness and acceptance. Although our sin is greater than we want to believe, the love God has for us is greater than we dare to hope!
Praise You, Father, for your great love, for providing a way for us to be reconciled to You! And Praise You that we are never too far gone to call on Your name!
Prayer is central to our ministry as believers in Jesus as we carry eachother’s burdens and intercede for one another. Our team is honored to share the work of praying alongside you!
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