Is There Significance That 2 Men Were Crucified with Jesus?

When it comes to reading the Bible there are some things to bear in mind. First, if it is IN the Bible it is there for a reason. Second, sometimes what is NOT said or written is equally as important.

Recently our pastor delivered a profoundly deep message on the first Easter Sunday with Mary's encounter of the angels in the tomb and with a newly resurrected Jesus outside the tomb.  We have all heard sermons in which we receive a powerful message with an in-depth analysis of the word, or, the exigy of the Bible; That is, the extracting of information from the Bible.

The crucifixion then came to my mind and I wondered WHAT the significance was of there having been 3 men crucified on Calvary that Good Friday.
Certainly we all understand the import and seemingly innumerable instances in which the Word gives us a reference to 3, but I felt there was more to this than that.  I reached out to my friend a Baptist minister and in a few brief messages attempted to expound on what I felt was significance to get his insight. Failing miserably, I then turned to the Holy Spirit and the good book.

Jesus demonstrates perfect love
The greatest commandment is to love our Lord with our whole heart. IF we could do that then we would also love all his children as we love ourselves, but alas, our sinful nature leaves us short every time. We see a couple instances in the story of the crucifixion in which Jesus provides a model of how we are to love others.

First, John 19:11 we see Jesus telling Pilate the power He claims to have is from above (so he is NOT challenging an earthly position of power) but also tells him his sin is not as  egregious as Judas': “You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. So the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.” (NLT) In other words, you are being used by the Almighty- this is not on you.

The next instance is from Luke 23:28-31  28But Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29For the days are coming when they will say, ‘Fortunate indeed are the women who are childless, the wombs that have not borne a child and the breasts that have never nursed.’ 30People will beg the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and plead with the hills, ‘Bury us.’ 31For if these things are done when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?

I take this as a word to the people- this? this is fleeting. My physical death will be over quickly but you are going to be left here to your own devices, relying on pastors not using the Gospel but rather a worldly spin on the Word.

Perhaps the most obvious and significant example is John 23:34  where Jesus is pleading for our mercy (the crowd jeering him) at the foot of the cross saying: “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”  Though I am not always successful, I try to remember this when I feel I have been "wronged" and hang on to anger or hurt feelings longer than I should.

He took my place on the cross
While many of us may have heard the analogy that Jesus took our place on the cross, there may not be a more obvious example other than his sentencing in front of Pilate and the crowd. Pilate, caught between his misgivings, a premonition from his wife and a precarious position between what he knows and the Roman emperor, is clearly looking for a way out. In fact, as we see in Luke 23:7, he gives Herod jurisdiction on this matter since Herod is over Galilee.

He is not convinced Jesus is what the Pharisees are portraying him to be and matter of factly proclaims "I have found no fault in this man." (Luke 23:14)  It was customary to release one of the accused during a feast for mercy's sake apparently, so again, Pilate attempting to extricate himself by admonishing Jesus and releasing him to his people, but the crowd demanded the release of Barabbas (a robber, not a thief so this is a really bad guy) and for Jesus to be crucified with the other criminals. As we now know the Pharisees got the crowd riled up to demand Jesus' blood instead.

Pilate asks a third time what wrong this man had done and then washes his hands of the situation, effectively and almost prophetically, putting the blood of Jesus on the Jewish people. So here is, what I believe, the first demonstration of Jesus laying down his life for our sins. If that is not enough to give you goosebumps or get you choked up a bit...

He preceded us in death
Then his time of the cross seems to be a bit of a conundrum. He was crucified in the auspices he was an enemy of the state. Romans were expert merchants of death and routinely used crucifixion as a warning to all non-Romans who broke the law, and in the case of insurgents would ensure their existence on the cross would not only last for days of indescribable agony, but then left the bodies on display. Perhaps one of the greatest examples of this was the final disposition of Spartacus's revolt  and his fellow gladiators in France in 73 B.C. Once Crassus had defeated the revolting gladiator-slaves, he lined the road to Damascus with 6,000 crosses and put one of the insurgents on each cross. This was a grisly and clear reminder to all who travelled the road between Rome and Damascus what penalty they would face if they chose not to live under Roman rule.

So here we see an accused protagonist of the state hung on a cross to die an insurgent's death but he does not linger there like those who preceded him. It was almost as if the scourging he received inflicted enough harm to hasten his death. Centurions would routinely break the legs of the condemned if they were not enemies of the state. Again, we see a misstep in tradition of the Roman army when the guards approached Jesus' cross and found he was already dead and were instructed to thrust a spear into his thorax, rather than desecrate the body. If he were not already dead a hasty end was imminent.

However, as we know from the Gospels, He had already given his last breath and gave up the spirit.  The criminals on either side had not yet succumbed and consequently, had their tibias broken by an iron rod to speed their death.

Salvation is yours for the asking

During the crucifixion, we are given the details of a conversation between the 3 men on the cross when one thief challenges Jesus to rescue them all "If you are the Christ save Yourself and us." (Luke 23:39) while the other, with a repentant heart, asks Jesus to remember him when Jesus comes into his Kingdom. Jesus so lovingly and warmly consoles him with the assurance that "... today you will be with Me in Paradise." (Luke 23:43) This also shows the two human hearts: the repentant heart and the heart that is not truly repentant but instead is asking for grace to get out of his situation because he is only sorry he has been caught. But the real power of this example is nothing more needed be done on the thief's part!  Too often today we rationalize how salvation can't be that easy. It has to be. We are called "sheep" more than once and that is not because they are cute but because they are defenseless and rather dumb. Remember, we only had ONE rule in the Garden and we screwed that up. How is it we think, through our works, we can please a God who offered his only Son to forgive us?

Besides, if there is something on my end to do I could brag about, as Paul points out, it and it would be a direct contradiction with Jesus' last statement before death.

One will be taken, one will be left
As we read of Jesus' warnings of the future after He is gone, we realize He is talking about a time in the future in which the green wood (indicative of a living tree with water- Psalm 1:3 a tree planted by a river) dries up, what then? It seems to me He may be referring to the end times and how we will rely on our own knowledge from a worldly church. While the tree symbolizes a church, it is clear the "green wood" is one with the Living Water we can only get from Jesus, while the dry wood is one where we no longer get sustaining life-giving water from the LORD. I feel his example here, between the two criminals, one who received him as Lord and the other defiant in his sin to the end, are so powerfully symbolic of what Jesus shared in Matthew 24:40-42 “Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. 41Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left. 42 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. 

Being called may be risky and uncomfortable
Finally we close the scene with Joseph of Arimethea in the uncomfortable situation of having to jeopardize his position and approach Pilate for the body of a man executed for treason. As a Sanhedrin, he had spent his life building a reputation so the potentiality of him losing it all for a momentary calling out of his norm must have been daunting. Unlike the wealthy young man from Mark 10:17 Joseph undertakes the calling of the Lord and gets Jesus' body from the Roman authority for burial.

Time was of the essence since Jewish law stipulated a body be cared for before sundown and to not work on the Sabbath which commenced at sundown that evening. His request was granted, seemingly without much to-do and apparently some grace, thus setting the stage for the greatest come-back ever recorded.