Luke Chapter 23, Verse 42
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42: και ελεγεν τω ιησου μνησθητι μου κυριε οταν ελθης εν τη βασιλεια σου
42: And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest
into thy kingdom.
42: And he said to Jesus: Lord, remember me when thou shalt come into
thy kingdom.
Remember me. This is a phrase praying for favour, or asking him to
grant him an interest in his kingdom, or to acknowledge him as one
of his followers. It implied that he believed that Jesus was what he
claimed to be -- the Messiah; that, though he was dying with them, yet he
would set up his kingdom; and that he had full power to bless him, though
about to expire. It is possible that this man might have heard him preach
before his crucifixion, and have learned there the nature of his kingdom;
or it may have been that while on the cross Jesus had taken occasion to
acquaint them with the nature of his kingdom. While he might have been
doing this, one of the malefactors may have continued to rail on him while
the other became truly penitent. Such a result of preaching the gospel
would not have been unlike what has often occurred since, where, while
the gospel has been proclaimed, one has been "taken and another left;"
one has been melted to repentance, another has been more hardened in
guilt. The promise which follows shows that this prayer was answered. This
was a case of repentance in the last hour, the trying hour of death;
and it has been remarked that one was brought to repentance there,
to show that no one should despair on a dying bed; and but one, that
none should be presumptuous and delay repentance to that awful moment.
When thou comest, &c. It is impossible now to fix the precise idea which this robber had of Christ's coming. Whether it was that he expected that he would rise from the dead, as some of the Jews supposed the Messiah would; or whether he referred to the day of judgment; or whether to an immediate translation to his kingdom in the heavens, we cannot tell. All that we know is, that he fully believed him to be the Messiah, and that he desired to obtain an interest in that kingdom which he knew he would establish.
