Faith Formation: Matthew The Gospel of God With Us - Matthew 27:38-44

"Then two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, "You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is king of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He trusts God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to, for he said, 'I am God's Son.'" The rebels who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way. Matthew 27:38-44

The voices at the cross were mostly one sided. Jesus did not speak to anyone but God. Matthew did not record the conversation between Jesus and the criminals, or his pronouncement of forgiveness, or his resignation, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." All that was in Luke's Gospel. Jesus spoke to Mary and the beloved disciple in John's Gospel, and also said, "I am thirsty. ... It is finished." The people that spoke to Jesus mocked and ridiculed him. "Those who passed by" may have been the general population who shook their heads. They would have shaken their heads at anyone being crucified because the sentence implied guilt and must have been deserved. No crucified person ever got the benefit of the doubt, or died under the suspicion of innocence, a miscarriage of justice. No one offered sympathy to the dying. The religious authorities brought back the accusation which was significant to them. They were unconcerned about the crime against Rome, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews." They returned to false accusation and blasphemy related to the sanctity of the Temple and the issue of Jesus being Messiah, Son of God. The difference between "King of the Jews" and "King of Israel" alluded to the difference between a political, national concern and a religious, messianic one. The vocal derision recalled scripture passages, the first directed at Jerusalem and the issue of the Temple, the second from the Psalm most turned to as about Jesus personal suffering: "All who pass along the way clap their hands at you; they hiss and wag their heads at daughter Jerusalem: Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth." Lamentations 2:15 "All who see me mock me; they sneer at me and shake their heads; 'Commit your cause to the LORD; let him deliver - let him rescue the one in whom he delights." Psalm 22:7-8

These voices of derision and mockery recall the language of the Tempter from the very beginning of Jesus journey. " ... save yourself! If you are God's Son, come down from the cross. ... He saved others; he cannot save himself. ... He is the King of Israel; .... He trusts God; let God deliver him now if he wants to, for he said, 'I am God's Son.'" In the wilderness the Tempter twice addressed Jesus saying, "If you are God's Son." The first temptation was to save himself by turning stones to bread. The second temptation was a test of his trust in God to rescue him. The third temptation was to take on the title, "King of Israel" by bowing down to Satan. Those who mocked Jesus quoted Psalm 22 at him just as the tempter tried to persuade him with scripture. In the wilderness Jesus responded to the tempter citing scripture. At the cross he responded with silence. The time for argument was over. Jesus had stated the case for God throughout his life. Those who had ears to hear listened. Those who did not have ears to hear repeated the temptations to no avail.

The two criminals joined the taunting. There was no repentance. Only suffering. If they had any hope in Jesus somehow saving the day for himself or them it was long past. Luke told a different story, but Matthew, and Mark, knew none of that. "When someone is convicted of a crime punishable by death and is executed and you hand him on a tree, his corpse must not remain all night on the tree; you must bury him that same day, for anyone hung on a tree is under God's curse. You must not defile the land that the LORD your God is giving you for possession." Deuteronomy 21:22-23 The only thing Jesus heard were the curse of those around him. He died cursed. Curses accompanied him to death.