An Exposition of Luke 23:39-43
Sinusundan ko ang bawat laro
Ng koponan kong nanghihingalo
Sa bawat bolang binibitaw
'Di mapigilang mapapasigaw
Iyan ang mga panimulang linya ng likhang-awit ni Gary Granada, “'Pag Nananalo ang Ginebra” (tinig ni Bayang Barrios). Ito ay pagsasalarawan ng kasiyahang nadarama ng isang tipikal na basketball fan kapag nagwawagi ang kanyang paboritong team. Iyan din ang mga panimulang linya ng awitin niyang “'Pag Natatalo ang Ginebra”, pagsasalarawan naman ng damdamin ng isang tipikal na fan kapag nagkakalat ang kanyang paboritong koponan. Para sa mga hindi basketball fans, mahirap unawain iyan pero ganun po talaga. Ganyan ang damdamin ng mga fans. Masyado silang affected sa nangyayari sa hinahangaang koponan
Ngayon ay hindi na ako nanonood, pero pinagdaanan ko rin 'yan. Kapag natatambakan ang aking paborito, at nakikita kong nauubos na ang oras, nasasaktan ako. Lalo na kapag nakikita mong unti-unti nababakante ang mga upuan. Lumalabas na ng ULTRA o Araneta Colosseum ang mga manonood kasi tiyak silang hindi na makakahabol pa yung natatalong koponan-- at malamang marami sa kanila ay nasasaktan din tulad ko. Parang gusto ko na ngang patayin ang telebisyon kasi nga masakit sa damdamin.
Bihirang mangyari, subalit kung minsan ay nangyayari na yung hindi mo inaasahang makakahabol pa ay nakakahabol pa. Sunod-sunod ang turnovers ng kabilang team at nakaka-iskor naman sila. Makikita mo, yung mga lumalabas ng Colosseum at hindi pa nakakalayo ay biglang bumabalik sa kanilang mga upuan. Napasarap ulit ang laban. Akala mo wala nang pag-asa, meron pa pala.
Ang taong katabi ni Kristo sa kanyang pagkakapako sa krus ay aakalain mong wala nang pag-asang maligtas. Bakit?
Una, hindi siya isang relihiyosong tao. Siya ay isang kriminal. Kapag nanonood ako ng police report sa mga newscast, tinatanong ng reporter yung mga nahuling suspek, “matagal na ba ninyong gawain ito?” . Sagot ng suspek (habang tinatakpan ang kanyang mukha), “hindi po sir, ngayon lang po. Nayaya lang ako.” Kadalasan ay hindi kapani-paniwala, pero ibigay na natin. Meron naman talaga sigurong natukso lang, hindi naman talaga niya gawain. Sinubukan lang gumawa ng kalokohan- timbog agad.
Ang kriminal sa tabi ng Panginoon ay tinawag na kakourgos. Ganito ang depinisyon ng isang Greek lexicon sa salitang iyan:
"one who customarily engages in doing what is bad"
(Louw-Nida)
Hindi siya isang one time criminal na natimbog; siya ay isang professional criminal. Normal na sa buhay niya ang paggawa ng masama-- ito ang kanyang career. Hindi siya yung tipo ng tao na makikinig sa mga usaping ispirituwal.
Pangalawa, sa ulat nina Mateo at Marcos, noong una ay kasama siya sa mga kumukutya at lumalapastangan sa Diyos. Ang salitang “robbers” sa Matt. 27:41-44 at Mark 15:32 ay nasa plural form. Hindi isa kundi yung dalawang kriminal ang kumukutya at lumalapastangan sa Panginoon.
Isipin na lang ninyo ang kanyang kalagayan. Nakapako sa krus, marami siyang tinanggap na hagupit; marami siyang sugat. Sa bawat oras na dumaraan ay nanghihina siya. Slowly but surely, he is dying.
Pero saan niya ginagamit ang natitirang lakas? Ginagamit niya ito sa paglapastangan sa Diyos na may likha ng daigdig, laban sa Diyos na nagbigay ng buhay sa kanya at patuloy na bumubuhay sa kanya. Death is at the doorstep and he will soon face his Creator, and he is using the depleting energy in his body to mock the judge who has the authority to declare him justified or guilty.
Malapit na siyang malagutan ng hininga. Kumbaga ay last two minutes na ng kanyang buhay at kung mamasdan mo ang kanyang kalagayan, wala talaga siyang kapag-apag-asang maligtas.
Unexpected turn of events
Humirit ulit ng isa pang round ng pang-aalaska ang isang kriminal:
Luke 23:39- One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!".
Ang inaasahan niya, sasali ulit yung kapwa niya kriminal sa pang-iinsulto sa Panginoon. Pero ang tugon ng kanyang kapwa kriminal ay kagulat-gulat:
“ But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God..."
Marahil ay na-shock siya sa tugon ng kanyang kumpareng Kriminal-- “Anong nangyayari sa iyo pare?”
Makikita rin natin dito ang unang palatandaan ng isang taong binago ng Panginoon. Sabi niya “Don't you fear God”
But let me just say that these marks of conversion are not exhaustive. One must survey all the relevant accounts and deductive passages on conversion before we can present an exhaustive list of the Converts' marks. We will limit the marks to what we are seeing in Luke 23:39-43)
The first mark of conversion: fear of God.
Tulad ng lahat ng hindi pa mananampalataya, ang propesyonal na kriminal na ito ay walang takot sa Diyos. Ang pagsasalarawan ng bibliya sa lahat ng hindi pa mananampalataya ay "There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Rom 3:18). Subalit ngayon ay may malaking pagbabago-- biglang nagkaroon siya ng takot sa Diyos.'
Ika nga ni John Macarthur: “the first thing you see in a real conversion is a heightened awareness that God is a threat”
He is crucified; he is suffering from a cruel form of capital punishment in the ancient times. That is terrifying enough. Yet escaping from the cross is not his concern right now. For him there is something more terrifying than crucifixion.
The Roman government can only destroy his body. But there is a higher judge who can destroy not just the body but the soul as well.
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matt. 10:29)
He has fallen into the hands of Roman authorities, and that is dreadful. Yet that is not his concern at the moment. For him there is something more dreadful.
“ It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Heb. 10:31)
BTW, how do you evangelize? Is God a threat in your gospel presentation? Or do you have your own version of the gospel which offers a non-threatening God? Mag-ingat, baka hindi ebanghelyo yang ibinabahagi mo.
The second mark of conversion: a high view of Jesus Christ.
To the natural eyes, there is nothing impressive about Jesus. Even those who admired him in the early days demanded that he should be crucified during his trial. Christ is majestic in glory but he clothed it with frail humanity. As a result:
“He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” (Isa.53:2 b)
The Pharisees, Saduccees, the Priests, Pilate, Herod and other authorities can't see his beauty. Moments ago, this criminal himself finds Jesus unattractive and unimpressive. He was mocking him moments ago. Yet there was a sudden change. His eyes were opened and he saw beyond what eyes could see.
a. He saw the sinlessness of Jesus.
Nakita niyang hindi nila ka-level si Hesus. They are rightly judged as criminals but this this man called Jesus is sinless. There is nothing in him that deserves this wicked punishment.
1 Peter 1:22- "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth."
Heb. 4:15- "we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin"
b. He saw Jesus as a King
The crowd entertained themselves by placing a crown of thorns upon the head of Jesus. They nailed a sign which says ““This is the king of the Jews.””. Earlier, they put a mock royal robe on him. The irony is, the one whom they mocked is the true king who deserves more than the best robe the world can offer; he deserves the best crown which the world cannot give. He is not just the King of the Jews but the King of the entire universe and the heaven itself
This criminal however asked Jesus to remember him when he comes into his Kingdom. That is a recognition that Jesus is indeed King. For What is a kingdom without a King?
Namamangha ako sa lalim ng insights na ibinigay ng Diyos sa taong ito. In search for a similar case of conversion, John Macarthur says this criminal's conversion is close to Paul's. Pero sa ganang akin, mukhang malayo. You see, there was a miracle in the conversion of Paul. There was that blinding light. He even heard the audible voice of the Lord Jesus.on the way to Damascus. This man's conversion however was unaided by miracles.
When Jesus died, there was a violent earthquake; The temple veil was rended from top to button. The centurion who was guarding him were terrified by the earthquake and so they confessed, “"Surely he was the Son of God!".
Praise God for the salvation of that centurion; praise God for the conversion of Paul. However, the criminal's conversion was unaided by miracles and signs. All he saw was a wounded and dying man, yet he saw him as King.
The followers of Jesus along Emmaus road said “we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel (Luke 24:21)” – When Jesus died, their hopes for the Kingdom were shattered. But this man looks forward to the day when Christ will finally reign.
c. He saw Jesus' victory over death.
Again he saw something hidden from the eyes of others. In John 2:19-21, Jesus prophesied that when they shall murder him, he will rise again from the dead in three days. In verse 22, John reports that only after the resurrection did the the apostles understood the significance of Jesus' words about this resurrection. One apostle even said that he will not believe Christ's resurrection unless he can insert his fingers on Jesus' nail marks and his hand on Jesus wound by the side. These are men who benefited from Jesus' instruction and fellowship for three years.
~This criminal however did not have that privilege of walking with Jesus for three years. Ang mga Dabarkads niya sa nakaraang tatlong taon ay malamang mga kriminal din na kagaya niya. But he looks forward to the day when Jesus lives and reigns. Another unusually amazing deep insight from this man.
The third mark of Conversion: Willingness to be ridiculed for the cause of Christ.
The fact that it is written in the bible means that Luke's careful investigation (Luke 1:1-4) yielded eyewitnesses who heard of this confession. Just imagine the scene: the whole world is mocking Jesus. Everyone thinks he is a fraud. And out of that multitude of voices, you will confess Christ as King. For that reason, you will share the ridicule reserved only for Jesus.
~Charles Spurgeon comments: “Its easy to swim with the current, and hard to go against the flow”
Dear students, when the textbooks and the whole class assumes Darwinism (evolution), it will be easy for you if you will swim towards their direction. Life will be easier for you if you will just accept the assertion that molecules gradually change overtime to become man. But I'm telling you, God will be please if you can stand up for the Bible's teaching that man was instantly created by God in his image on the sixth day. Oh how I wish I could turn back time and be a maverick in the classroom.
When all the people around you think that homosexuality is okay, God will be pleased if you shall go against the flow at the risk of being labeled as a discriminator or an homophobic. Stand up for what the bible says about homosexuality.
Going against the flow not only pleases Christ, it is also a mark of true conversion, as demonstrated by that thief on the cross.
The fourth mark of conversion: his plea to be a recipient of mercy.
He knows he is a sinner; he knows what he deserves is punishment. Yet he sees Jesus as a merciful king and so he asked “Remember me”. That reminds me of the tax collector in Luke 18:13 who went to the temple yet stood at a distance. He can't even look up because of shame. And while beating his breast pleads “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
JESUS' Response
1. A Promise of Assurance
Aren't you glad there is certainty in Jesus promise? He said “you will be with me...” Ano kaya kung sinabi ni Hesus, Okay, you will be with me in paradise. Pero mag-ingat ka! May ilang oras ka pa para mabuhay. Baka magkasala sa last two minutes. Pagbabayaran mo sa purgatoryo ng sandaang taon. Magbilin ka na sa mga kamag-anak mo na mag-novena sila pagkamatay mo. Dapat ipagdasal ka nila tuwing death anniversary mo at All Soul's Days. No, Jesus gave a certain promise that he will be preserved for the remaining hours of his life so when he departs from this life, he will be in paradise.
Those who were faithful to the Lord for two minutes prior to death is just as safe as those who were faithful for the last twenty years.
This ought to give us hope in sharing the gospel at someone's deathbed. Many times, our loved ones reject the gospel we offer. The rejection may last for decades, but God may still do something amazing in the last two minutes.
I'm also looking forward for surprises in heaven. We will see unexpected people there. "Nandito ka!!! "Di ba nagnakaw ka pa dalawang araw bago ka mamatay !!!" We'll God granted him repentance before he took his last breathe.
This ought to give us hope in sharing the gospel at someone's deathbed. Many times, our loved ones reject the gospel we offer. The rejection may last for decades, but God may still do something amazing in the last two minutes.
I'm also looking forward for surprises in heaven. We will see unexpected people there. "Nandito ka!!! "Di ba nagnakaw ka pa dalawang araw bago ka mamatay !!!" We'll God granted him repentance before he took his last breathe.
2. Immediate fellowship
There are those who believe in Psychopannychy as an intermediate state, popularly called soul sleep . In this view, the soul is unconscious in between death and resurrection. This verse says that on that very day, the converted criminal will enjoy God's fellowship in paradise. The reunion of our souls with our bodies will wait until the resurrection--- John 6:44, “ I will raise him up on the last day” , but we will be in conscious fellowship with Jesus and other saints. Remember Lazarus with Abraham in Luke 16:19-31
Now if you think the doctrine of soul sleep is weird, there is something weirder. The Jehovah's Witnesses insist on this translation:
'Truly I tell you today, You will be with me in paradise." (New World Translation)
Other translations however read:
"I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." (NIV)
“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (ESV)
Legitimate bible translations place the comma before the word today; but the NWT places it after. That is strange because in other instances where the phrase “amen soi lego“ appears, the NWT always placed the break immediately after it. Luke 23:43 is the only exception. Why? As in other places where the NWT is controversial, they were translating out of theological bias.
NWT translated it that way to support a distinctive of the Jehovah's Witnesses: they believe that men cease to exist as persons at death. In their system the repentant criminal has been non-existent for the past 2000 years.
The following verses are proofs that we will enter into immediate fellowship with the Lord after death:
Acts 7:59
While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
Phil 1:21-24
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.”
2 Cor. 5:6-8
Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
This is not just to defend a doctrine. It is meant to give you hope that even death can do you no harm. All it can do to you is to bring you to immediate fellowship with your King.
CONCLUSION
Sa basketbol, ang isang koponan ay maaaring makahabol sa last two minutes malamang dahil sa husay ng mga manlalaro at sa strategy ng kanilang coach o di kaya ay dahil sa mga “lucky breaks”. Pero sa last two minutes salvation, hindi husay o suwerte ang batayan upang makahabol sa langit, kundi habag ng Diyos.
John 6:44 “"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
This is the story of two criminals. Both were notorious sinners. Both were deserving of eternal punishment. Both were unable to come to Jesus. The only difference is that God the Father has drawn one to come to his Son and the other was not. God's sovereignty and God's mercy were both displayed in this account of a salvation in the last two minutes.
