Summary

The word Luke uses to describe those crucified with Jesus are... Evil-doers, general thugs, villains, and criminals. Luke’s deliberate choice of this word fits his emphasis on Jesus’ love for no-accounts and outcasts, the kinds of folks most good people despised.

Discussion Questions

1. In your mind, why was Jesus concerned with the thief on the cross?
2. Do you see yourself as an evil-doer, general thug, villain, and criminal? Why or why not?
3. Criminal #1 doesn’t believe a real Messiah should end up on a cross. Do you? Defend your answer.
4. Somehow, criminal #2 saw something in Jesus no one else saw that day. He saw Jesus as a King who can change the destinies of people—even a justly condemned criminal dying on a cross. He saw a power in Jesus that had nothing to do with making lame men walk or taking a handful of fish and biscuits and feeding thousands. He saw what Luke wants all of us to see: the power of God’s self-sacrificing love nailed to a cross for people like him, for people like us. Do you see yourself as a sinner who need God’s grace? Explain your answer.
5. There is a grinning ex-con walking the golden streets who knows more about grace than a thousand theologians. No one else would have given him a prayer. But in the end that is all that he had. And in the end, that is all it took. Paul wrote the Ephesians: “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast” (2:8-9). It’s all of grace. So, what does all of this mean? Explain your answer.