"His Grave with the Wicked"

“And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth” (Isaiah 53:9 ESV)


A while back a friend of mine asked me a few questions regarding the two thieves crucified beside Jesus. The first question related to the identity of the "thieves" - were they common thieves or insurrectionists (zealots or sicharii)?  The next question related to the purpose of the "thieves" in the redemptive plan - were the mere bystanders or major pieces of the mediatorial puzzle? 

The identity of the "robbers" on the cross

There is woefully insufficient data to make any definitive conclusions regarding the crimes of those being crucified beside the King. Based primarily on the writings of Josephus and other Roman writings we know a vast amount of information about Roman crucifixion.  For instance - we know that in 70 A.D. the Romans crucified tens of thousands of Jews in the besiegement of Jerusalem.

We also know that crucifixion had a dual purpose: First - punitive action against an offender. Second -  and just as vital - a glowing example of brutal justice to the populace. The second purpose is of utmost importance - particularly in the context of 1st century Judea. Judea, much like the 19th century Wild West of America, was on the absolute eastern frontier of the Roman Empire.  Rome's border was the Decapolis cities (Beth Shean or Scytholplis was one of these cities) - its last vestige of Romanism before the world dropped off into the dismal abyss of the Arabian desert. Beyond it were the Parthians, the Nabateans and the unknown. 

Fixed within this eastern border was a group of people that had become increasingly more patriotic and disgruntled (remember 1st century Judaism was a hotbed for Messiahs - Jesus was not the only Messiah proclaimed in the first century - read Gamaliel in Acts 5) towards their overlords, the Romans.  Especially since they still cherished the independent Hasmonean kingdom, then only a mere 100 years extinct.  It is within this context that the practice of crucifixion on Jewish subjects must be placed.  Rome was primarily concerned with keeping the peace and for many years had chosen the lenient route over the punitive one - but that was all changing during the life of Christ  (in fact - Pilate himself was exiled to Gaul in 36 AD due to his inability to control the Jews - you can read about my discussion of Pontius Pilate Paul Maier's awesome "documentary novel" here).   With Messianic fervor on the rise Rome chose to begin to pound the Jews into submission by using publicly grotesque executions. On a related note - one of the absolutes about crucifixion was its finality. Every person crucified - died - period.  If for whatever reason the prisoner did not die - then the soldiers in charge of the crucifixion would take their place on the cross - that was Roman law.

So - is it possible that the "robbers" were insurrections, zealots or Sicharii (one of the parties of rebels)? Absolutely.  Can we say with certainty? Absolutely not.  Because it's just as likely that these men were common robbers or thieves who were being executed for their mundane crimes. In either case - the point from Rome is the same - common thievery or insurrection resulted in a harsh punishment that was primarily pointed at squelching the wick of rebellion in 1st century Judea. What a time and place our Lord chose to put his son, eh?

God's plan for the robbers

The second part of your question is more difficult to answer - because it probably has a ton of correct answers. Here are a few that I can think of off the top of my head.

1. God chose the "weak things of this world shame the wise" (1 Cor. 1:26-31) - the perfect King of Creation died a humiliating death beside two guilty, deserving criminals - this continues the idea that the true king is very different than everyone's expectations.

2. It shows just how abandoned Christ was on the cross - Jesus was forsaken by his disciples and followers, betrayed by his own people, murdered by the "righteous" establishment, and executed by the political establishment - add to that "mocked by criminals who had every reason to empathize with a fellow dying Jew" and you get the picture that Christ went through the most hellacious experience that God the Father has ever designed.

3. The criminal's repentance and Christ's forgiveness shows the measureless love and limitless mercy of God as made evident in the selfless, benevolent actions of the dying Messiah. Instead of arguing back with the criminals and showing them their sin - Christ forgave.

4. I don't think it's primary purpose is to show that no one is "too far gone" - although that also is true - I think first and foremost this amazing encounter is about what one does when they behold the Son of Man in all of his innocent, glory reflecting, Yahweh obeying perfection. There are many options one can choose - run for cover (disciples), betray and fight against him (the Saduccess/Pharisees, Judas and the Jews that demanded his death), mock him because his absolute holiness is the great antitype to our unabashed wickedness, or if God is gracious and so chooses - one may look upon the Son of God - behold his perfection and innocence, mourn their sin against him and put their self at his marvelous mercy with hopes that the King might find favor upon a murderous rebel (like me).  Thank God - Christ always fulfills this hope - he did for the thief and he did for me.

Pontius Pilate

I have really enjoyed reading "Pontius Pilate" by Paul Maier - (I am about 2/3s of the way through it.) I have read one other book by Maier - the "Flames of Rome" and both of them are fantastic pieces of historical fiction. In fact it's a bit of an understatement to call them "historical fiction" as they are thoroughly researched and come complete with chapter notes, citations of original source material, and rules of methodology for using literary license. It is written with the same quality and methodology as "O, Jerusalem"- it's not quite history, but you don't want to call it fiction either. 

The biggest advantage to these works are of course the intellect of the author - he is a scholar and a good fiction writer - oil and water can mix! Another advantage to these works is that they are cheap - you could get both books (used copies) for under $10 including shipping!

Allow the following paragraph to introduce you to his work:

"It was not until evening that Pilate received a full briefing on the palm-waving phenomenon from the tribune at the Antonia. But the explanation hardly satisfied him, since it was so full of contradictions. Yes, the demonstration was in honor of a man, the prophet Jesus, who had evidently come out of hiding. Yes, the event might have serious political overtones.  Many Jews though their Messiah would be declared as king on that very Mount of Olives. The crowds had also shouted praises to 'the son of David,' a loaded name if Jesus should claim to be heir of King David in a restored Judean monarchy.  Even the waving of palm branches could be symbolic, for the palm was the national emblem of Palestine (my comment one criticism I have is the use of this term - it's anachronistic - the land had a name - Judea).  These were Jewish flags... And of the extra quarter million people jamming Jerusalem, how many were members of the Zealot party from Galilee? 

Yet others told him that Jesus was a nonpolitical person, the commandant continued, and that he was misunderstood by the swarms of pilgrims.  Still others insisted that the people knew this and were only cheering on their favorite prophet.  His vehicle was not a golden chariot but a jogging ass, certainly a poor prop for any kingmakers.

And when he reached Jerusalem, Jesus made no incediary speeches to the masses or flaunted pretentions of any kind.  He simply walked over to the temple, enjoyed the view across the Kidron Valley then returned with his disciples to Bethany, for it was getting toward suppertime.

Pilate was baffled by the significance of it all.  The episode was harmless or it was meaningful in the extreme.  But the fate of the puzzling prophet would clearly depend on what he did or did not do from now on in the face of such enthusiastic support.  If Jesus veered into politics, Rome would intrude, much as Pilate hated the thought of getting involved." (Maier 1990:195-196)

One of the disadvantages of knowing the Gospel story is that we know "the end" too well - we allow it to color how we view the plot. We forget that Pilate, Caiaphas, Judas, Peter, and Jesus were real people who had real expectations of how their fates would come out and how extraordinarily surprised all of them (save the Wisdom of God) must have been with the events of Passover 33 AD. Likewise, one of the benefits of reading historical fiction is that we can recapture the sense of anticipation and feeling of "calm before the storm" that we lose in our devotional readings and expositional sermons of the Passion of the God-man.

Jesus in the Garden vs. Disciples in the Ship

As I have mentioned before - I really enjoy Russ Moore's blog Moore to the Point.  It's one of those few blogs that constantly passes along meat and not just pieces of meat (i.e. other people's writing - like I am doing right now :))  So without further ado - I highly encourage you to read his thoughts on Christ in the garden vs. the disciples in the ship. Here is an excerpt - hint it should produce gooseflesh... (HT: Justin Taylor)

When the disciples screamed in the face of a storm, Jesus slept (Mk. 4:37-38). When Jesus screamed in the face of a cross, the disciples slept (Mk. 14:37,41).

Why could Jesus sleep so peacefully through a life-threatening sea-storm, and yet is awake all night in the olive garden before his arrest, crying out in anguish? Why are the disciples pulsing with adrenaline as the ship is tossed about on the Galilee Lake, but drifting off to slumber as the most awful conspiracy in human history gets underway?

Why Curse a Fig Tree?

The Cursing of the Fig Tree (Mark 11:12-14; Matt. 21:18-22) – (Monday Morning)

Chronological problem – Mark clearly indicates that the cursing of the fig tree occurred on Monday morning the day after the triumphal entry before the cleansing of the temple, whereas Matthew seems to indicate that this occurred on Monday morning before the cleansing of the temple. Most critical scholars will call this a mistake on Matthew’s part in his compilation according to Mark’s Gospel. However, it seems better to simply say that Matthew broke chronological order – the cleansing of the temple in his mind was inexorably tied to the coming king of Israel (his main theme) and for Mark it was important for him to highlight that the Messiah came into the temple and surveyed it (Mark 11:11). As with most Gospel problems, one rarely needs look no further than emphasis to find the conclusion to problems.

Fig leaf without fruit.

The fig tree – at first glance this miracle seems exceptionally odd. Nowhere in the Gospels do we have Jesus performing a damaging miracle – all his miracles to this point had been of the healing, restoring, even resurrecting variety. This seems all the more odd when it is considered that Mark tells the reader that the fig tree was not in the season to bear fruit (Mark 11:12). Why kill a predictably unproductive fig tree? The answer is Jeremiah 8:8-15.

“How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us’? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie. The wise men shall be put to shame; they shall be dismayed and taken; behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD, so what wisdom is in them? Therefore I will give their wives to others and their fields to conquerors, because from the least to the greatest everyone is greedy for unjust gain; from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they shall be overthrown, says the LORD. When I would gather them, declares the LORD, there are no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree; even the leaves are withered, and what I gave them has passed away from them.”

Why do we sit still? Gather together; let us go into the fortified cities and perish there, for the LORD our God has doomed us to perish and has given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD. We looked for peace, but no good came; for a time of healing, but behold, terror.”

(Jeremiah 8:8–15 ESV)

Jesus was using the same imagery that Jeremiah the prophet used – Jeremiah the prophet who lived just north on the Mt. of Olives at Anatoth pronounces Jerusalem’s coming doom for their idolatry – Jesus the prophet who was staying just south on the Mt. of Olives pronounces Jerusalem’s coming doom for their rejection of “he who would gather them.” This doom would ultimately come to fruition (pun intended) when Jerusalem would be sacked in 70 A.D. The Jeremiah passage fits the times of Jesus and the Great Revolt (66-70 A.D.) so closely that it becomes extremely hard to argue that Jesus was not using it as the basis for his destructive miracle.

Passion Week in One Day

Monday morning I am leading a couple and their friend around Jerusalem on a very directed study of the Passion Week of the grave-conquering Messiah.  I have been looking forward to it for quite a while - rarely do you have the opportunity to focus in on such a specific period (normally I will cover from Abraham-Mohamed in 1 DAY - 2100 BC-640 AD - 2750 years vs. 7 days!)  We will start with the triumphal entry and make our way through the rest of the week stopping at the various sites which are mentioned in the four Gospels.

Here is a satellite view of what our 5 1/2 mile trip will look like.

1.     Mt. of Olives - Triumphal Entry (Sunday or Monday of Passion Week Luke 19:37-40) 

2.     Dominus Flevit – Triumphal Entry (“the Lord Wept” – Luke 19:41-42)

3.    Temple Mount (Monday or Tuesday-Thursday of Passion Week - Mark 11:27-30)

4.     Southern Temple Mount Steps (Monday or Tuesday-Thursday of Passion Week - Matthew 23)

5.     Room of the Last Supper (Thursday Night of Passion Week - John 13-14)

6.     Garden of Gethsemane (Thursday Night/Friday Morning of Passion Week - John 18:1-12)

7.     Herodian Quarter (Friday Morning of Passion Week - John 18:13-27)

8.     Herod's Palace (David's Citadel) (Friday Morning of Passion Week - John 18:28-40)

9.     Church of the Holy Sepulcher (Friday Morning-3pm of Passion Week - Mark 15)

10.  Austrian Hospice Overlook – Ascension (40 Days Later - Matthew 28)