Matthew 27:44

44 And the thieves who were on the crosses said evil words to him.

Matthew 27:44 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 27:44

The thieves also
One or other of them, not both; an Hebrew way of speaking, as Drusius F2 observed: so it is said of Jonah, ( Jonah 1:5 ) , that he was "gone down into the sides of the ship"; not into both sides, but into one or other of them: so here the thieves, one or other of them, not naming which, railed at Jesus, for it was but one of them; see ( Luke 23:39 ) , unless it can be thought, as it is by some, that they both at first reviled him; but one being quickly convinced of his evil, ceased, and rebuked his fellow sufferer, confessed his, sin, bore a testimony to the innocence of Christ, and desired to be remembered by him in his kingdom. This was an aggravation of the sufferings of Christ, that he should be vilified by those,

which were crucified with him;
who ought to have been, considering the condemnation they were in, and the future state they were just entering into, lamenting and confessing the sins they had been guilty of, instead of adding sin to sin, and so aggravating their condemnation. These, at least one of them,

cast the same into his teeth;
as the populace, the chief priests, Scribes, elders, and Pharisees had done; twitted him with his pretensions of being the Son of God, the Messiah, and king of Israel; and urged, that if he was, why did not he save himself, and them also?


FOOTNOTES:

F2 Quaest. Heb. l. 1. qu. 5.

Matthew 27:44 In-Context

42 A saviour of others, he has no salvation for himself. If he is the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will have faith in him.
43 He put his faith in God; let God be his saviour now, if he will have him; for he said, I am the Son of God.
44 And the thieves who were on the crosses said evil words to him.
45 Now from the sixth hour it was dark over all the land till the ninth hour.
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus gave a loud cry, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, my God, why are you turned away from me?
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