15:27-29
He was crucified with two rebels, one on His right and one on His left. This is a reminder of the request of James and John in Mark 10:37 where they wanted to be “one on His right and one on His left” in His glory. Well here was His glory. People passing by hurled insults at Him and mocked Him, little realising that He was achieving the greatest victory in history, defeating sin, death and the devil. Some manuscripts have v28, which is similar to Luke 22:37, but the best manuscripts do not have v28.
15:30,31
Both the crowds and the chief priests mocked Jesus, especially for “not being able to save Himself”. If only they had known that Jesus had gone to the cross to save them! He had no need to save Himself. It is worth noting we too do not have any need to save ourselves. This is true in at least two senses. First, Jesus has paid the price for our sins, there is nothing left for us to do, and as Galatians and Hebrews make abundantly clear it is absolutely vital that we do not seek to add anything. Secondly, we can sacrifice our lives for the sake of the gospel and for others. Jesus knew that the Father was looking after Him, so He could go through the most horrific of circumstances, the cross. Jesus said that if we seek to save our own lives we will lose them, but if we lose our lives for His sake we will find it (Mark 8:35). Because of the cross we are free in every way to live for Christ.
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