✨WEB · Luke 23:39
What does Luke 23:39 mean?
"One of the criminals who was hanged insulted him, saying, “If you are the Christ, save yourself and us!”"
— Luke 23:39 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
The soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar,
and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”
An inscription was also written over him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
One of the criminals who was hanged insulted him, saying, “If you are the Christ, save yourself and us!”
But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Don’t you even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?
And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.”
He said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”
Explanation
Luke 23:39 takes place during the crucifixion of Jesus, as he hangs on the cross at Golgotha alongside two criminals who were also being executed. This particular verse records the words of one of those criminals, who joins the crowd, the religious leaders, and the soldiers in mocking Jesus. In plain language, this man is throwing a taunt at Jesus, saying essentially, "If you're really the Messiah, prove it — get yourself and us out of this mess."
The context is crucial to understanding the weight of this statement. Luke's Gospel was written to give an orderly, accurate account of the life of Jesus, likely for a Gentile audience represented by "Theophilus." By the time we reach chapter 23, Jesus has been arrested, tried, condemned, and nailed to a cross between two condemned criminals — a detail that fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 53:12 that the Messiah would be "numbered with the transgressors." The mockery in this verse echoes the taunts already hurled by the rulers in verse 35 ("He saved others; let him save himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen one") and the soldiers in verse 37. This criminal simply adds his own voice to the chorus of scorn, using the same logic: real power should rescue itself from suffering, not submit to it.
Theologically, this verse highlights a profound misunderstanding of who Jesus is and what he came to do. The criminal assumes that if Jesus were truly the Christ, he would use his power for self-preservation and escape.
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