“Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?”
The full verse · Luke 23:40 · KJV
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Asked by
Repentant Criminal: one of the two malefactors crucified with Jesus, who rebuked the other and asked Jesus to remember him (Luke 23:32-33, 40-42)
Asked to
Unrepentant Criminal: the malefactor who railed on Jesus, saying, "If thou be Christ, save thyself and us" (Luke 23:39)
The Scene
At Calvary, Jesus hangs between two malefactors while the rulers deride Him and the soldiers mock, and one of the malefactors rails on Him: "If thou be Christ, save thyself and us" (Luke 23:33-39).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionThe rulers and the soldiers were mocking Jesus (Luke 23:35-36), and now one of the dying criminals joined in. The other man broke ranks. His question reminds his companion that they are facing the same death, and soon they will face God. Barnes explains it this way: "You are condemned to die as well as he," and "God is just, and you are hastening to his bar." Gill says he reproved the other "for his baseness and wickedness," since he was "adding sin to sin" in his last hours. The question presses past the fear of death to the fear of God, and it opens the way for what he says next: that they suffer justly, but Jesus "hath done nothing amiss" (Luke 23:41).
The Response
What Scripture recordsLuke records no reply from the other criminal. The man who asked answers his own question: "we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss" (Luke 23:41). Then he turns to Jesus: "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom" (Luke 23:42). Jesus answers him: "Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43).
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsLuke calls the two men "malefactors," that is, evildoers, led out to die with Jesus (Luke 23:32). Matthew and Mark record that those crucified with Him reviled Him (Matthew 27:44; Mark 15:32); Luke alone tells of one who rebuked the other and turned to Jesus.
In the Greek, "rebuked" is a present participle (epitimon), picturing him in the act of rebuking. "Condemnation" is krima, a judgment or sentence. The night before, Jesus had said that the Scripture "And he was reckoned among the transgressors" must be accomplished in Him (Luke 22:37, quoting Isaiah 53:12).
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThis question shows grace reaching a man in his last hours. He had nothing to offer and no time left to change his life, yet he feared God, owned his guilt, saw Jesus' innocence, and asked to be remembered. Matthew Henry traces the steps: "He reproved the other for railing on Christ. He owned that he deserved what was done to him. He believed Jesus to have suffered wrongfully."
Jesus' answer, "To day shalt thou be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43), comes from a cross. The One "reckoned among the transgressors" (Luke 22:37) was saving a transgressor while He died. The two criminals faced "the same condemnation," but they did not meet the same end, because one of them turned to Jesus.
Look Closer
What had the other criminal just said to Jesus?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord Jesus, You heard a dying man who owned his guilt and asked You to remember him; what keeps me from coming to You that honestly?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- Both men faced the same death, yet one mocked and the other feared God. What do you think made the difference?
- Share about a time when someone's honest word, even a hard one, helped turn you back toward God.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
To fear God is to take Him seriously: to remember that you will stand before Him and to be honest about yourself. This man did not excuse himself. He said, "we indeed justly," and then he looked to Jesus. That is the way to come to God at any point in life.
He also spoke up while others around him were mocking. Notice how he did it: he counted himself among the guilty. A rebuke that includes yourself ("we indeed justly") is very different from one that looks down on others.
His story is not a reason to put off turning to God. It shows that no one who turns to Jesus is beyond His mercy, even at the very end.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
“For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?”
“Why, what evil hath he done?”
“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”