Becoming (Like) Dismas

"One of the criminals who was suspended kept up a railing at Him, saying, Are You not the Christ (the Messiah)? Rescue Yourself and us [from death]!

But the other one reproved him, saying, Do you not even fear God, seeing you yourself are under the same sentence of condemnation and suffering the same penalty?

And we indeed suffer it justly, receiving the due reward of our actions; but this Man has done nothing out of the way [nothing strange or eccentric or perverse or unreasonable].

Then he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when You come in Your kingly glory!"

Luke 23:39-42

[This is the 18th message of this series]

The two criminals crucified with Jesus were not named in Scriptures. Tradition and an apocryphal book names the one mocking Jesus as Gestas and the other one who Jesus said He will see in paradise, Dysmas or Dismas.

Reverence and Repentance

All of us have missed the mark, and Jesus came specifically for us, calling us to repentance -- and to which Dismas was a good representative.

Dismas knew that he had made mistakes and he accepted the consequences. He acknowledged Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah and defended Him to his fellow sinners. He had a reverence for the Savior and asked that He will not forsake him.

Model

Such is the model of someone who has turned over his or her life to the Lord. It was just a pity that he did so at the very end of his life. But this just goes to show that it is never too late for anyone, although we can be sure that he regretted it tremendously that he didn't do so much earlier when he could do so much more for the Lord.

Unrepentant Spirit

The Lord didn't say anything to the one who was constantly mocking Him. He didn't have to, he (Gestas) had already chosen his destiny.

Dismas even called Gestas out for his insolence and his arrogant spirit. By doing so, Dismas gave him an opportunity, a last chance to repent and recognize Jesus for who He was, yet he chose to disrespect and not acknowledge Jesus for who He said He was.

High Brow

There were a specific group of people who was like Gestas and they too will have no excuse. With all their knowledge and all that they have witnessed Jesus claimed to be and how He backed it all up, and with all the time they spent studying diligently about the Messiah and yet they didn't recognize and acknowledged Him. And worse they deliberately mocked and slandered Him, collaborated and schemed to have Him out of their way. They will be in the same boat as Gestas. They were the legalistic religious leaders of that day and time and their associates. 

Let us not be like them and Gestas -- with their every breath mocking Jesus, even to their last moments. Instead, let us in total humility be like Dismas.

Becoming (Like) Series

Don't Be Like Them Series