Asking earnestly

 And one of the criminals hanging there was blaspheming Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!”

Luke 23:39

Introduction

When talking with others about the three men who hung on crosses, the conversation typically trends toward the one who repented. The one to whom Christ said, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (verse 43) is the one who is spoken of most often when it comes to the issue of works, faith, and baptism. But there was another criminal who remained without repentance. And that one still cried out for help, asking Jesus to save Himself, “and us!”

But this request was empty. It was a mockery, since this particular man did not believe Jesus could do what he was asking. And so Luke calls this a blasphemy. Others derided Christ and belittled Him, but when this unbelieving criminal called for aid, it was described as a crime which itself is worthy of death (Leviticus 24:11-14).

The nature of blasphemy

The concept of blasphemy is very vague for most people. Most often it is framed as a simple denial of God as God. And that is a “good enough” description for most people on most days, but the crime runs deeper than a simple verbal denial of God.

In Isaiah 41, we see God speaking to the people about their transgressions. In the midst of this discourse, verse 23 appears as a challenge against the false gods to prove their worthiness of praise. Of course, the Lord knows they are unable to meet this, which proves they are false. He states, “Declare the things that are to come afterward, that we may know that you are gods.”

One of the traits that make God God is that He ordains all things that come to pass (Proverbs 16:1; 21:1). This power is not merely predictive as might seem indicated by the verse. Instead, “declare” reminds us that the future is ordained. And the false gods who are on trial in Isaiah are unable to do either to any meaningful degree. Certainly there are evil spirits who can accurately predict certain events (Acts 16), but even they are wholly incapable of declaring what is and what will come to pass.

This test God gives to the false gods divides them from Him. It is a definitive moment where the true God who created and ordains all things while holding them together demonstrates that He is greater than them. And this test of power is rendered by a criminal on a cross beside the Lord Jesus Christ.

A reminder of God’s power

It is this very same kind of challenge the criminal on the cross gave to Jesus. It was not like the other who cried out, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” Instead, it was a, “save us if You can.” And this was called blasphemy.

When I pray, it is easy to fall into hedging my bets and saying, “if you will it…” This even seems scriptural, following the formula laid out in James 4:15. But James was not talking about prayer in that passage. He was addressing arrogance in the assumption of future events. The opposite ditch we might fall into, though, is the “name it and claim it” mentality that says God will do something simply because we ask for it.

James does talk about that in the same chapter, stating, “You do not have because you do not ask.” But he follows that up by saying, “You ask and do not receive because you ask with wrong motives…” While it is true that we are commanded to ask, it is equally true that what we ask ought to be informed by the heart of God.

And that is the fundamental difference between the two criminals on the cross: one asked earnestly for what he knew Jesus would provide while the other mocked Him in pretense by supposing the Messiah would never hang condemned on a cross. Our prayers ought to be aligned with what God has actually promised in His word. He will save those who believe from their sins, bringing them into the full inheritance of Christ. And that is worth much more than any deus ex machina events that might deliver us out of seemingly impossible circumstances.

May the Lord bless you and conform you into the image of His Son.