The soldiers also mocked him and, when they drew near to offer him bitter wine, they said, “So
you are the King of the Jews? Save yourself!” Above Jesus there was an inscription in Greek,
Latin and Hebrew, which read, “This is the King of the Jews.”
One of the criminals hanging with Jesus insulted him, “So you are the Messiah? Save yourself,
and us as well!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Have you no fear of God, you who received
the same sentence as he did? For us it is just: this is payment for what we have done. But this
man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me, when you come into your
kingdom.” Jesus replied, “In truth I tell you, today, you will be with me today in paradise.”
“Jesus, remember me,when you come into your kingdom.”
Read:
David is anointed king of Israel. God, the Father, in his great mercy, has made us members
of the Kingdom of his Son where fullness dwells. Jesus, the Eternal King, reigns from the
Cross.
Reflect:
In the desert, after tempting Jesus and failing, the devil “departed from him until an opportune
time” (Lk 4:13). The devil revisits him, in far more disguised manner, while Jesus is on the
cross: the temptation comes through the crowd around him who jeer him and ask him to prove
himself as King by coming down from the cross: a temptation no different from that in the desert
where the tempter asked him to jump off the Temple to prove himself to be the Son of God.
Jesus refused then; he refuses now as well. For, his Kingdom is not one of grandiose spectacles
at the service of oneself, nor is his Kingdom to prove anything before anyone: His Kingship,
and thereby his Kingdom, is all about making oneself vulnerable and powerless for the sake
of love, a kenosis (selfemptying) unto death in order to give life to all (cf. Phil 2:5-11).
Pray:
“Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”
Act:
Spend some time today in personal adoration of the King of Kings.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2022