John Calvin Commentary Luke 23:42

"And he said, Jesus, remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom." — Luke 23:42 (ASV)

Lord, remember me. I do not know that, since the creation of the world, there has ever been a more remarkable and striking example of faith; and so much greater admiration is due to the grace of the Holy Spirit, which it so magnificently displays.

A robber, who not only had not been educated in the school of Christ, but, by giving himself up to detestable murders, had endeavored to extinguish all sense of what was right, suddenly rises higher than all the apostles and the other disciples whom the Lord Himself had taken such great pains to instruct. Not only that, but he adores Christ as a King while on the gallows, celebrates His kingdom in the midst of shocking and worse than revolting abasement, and declares Him, when dying, to be the Author of life.

Even if he had formerly possessed right faith, heard many things about the office of Christ, and even been confirmed in it by His miracles, still that knowledge could have been overpowered by the profound darkness of such a disgraceful death.

But that a person, ignorant and uneducated, and whose mind was entirely corrupted, should all at once, on receiving his earliest instructions, perceive salvation and heavenly glory in the accursed cross, was truly astonishing.

For what marks or ornaments of royalty did he see in Christ, to raise his mind to His kingdom? And certainly, this was, as it were, rising from the depth of hell to above the heavens.

To the flesh it must have appeared incredible and absurd to ascribe to One who was rejected and despised, (Isaiah 53:3) whom the world could not endure, an earthly kingdom more exalted than all the empires of the world. From this we infer how acute the eyes of his mind must have been, by which he beheld life in death, exaltation in ruin, glory in shame, victory in destruction, a kingdom in bondage.

Now if a robber, by his faith, elevated Christ—while hanging on the cross and, as it were, overwhelmed with cursing—to a heavenly throne, woe to our sloth,²⁷⁶ if we do not behold Him with reverence while sitting at the right hand of God; if we do not fix our hope of life on His resurrection; if our aim is not toward heaven where He has entered.

Again, if we consider, on the other hand, the condition in which he was when he implored the compassion of Christ, our admiration of his faith will be still heightened.

With a mangled body, and almost dead, he is looking for the final stroke of the executioner, and yet he relies on the grace of Christ alone.

First, from where did his assurance of pardon come, but because in the death of Christ, which all others look upon as detestable, he beholds a sacrifice of sweet savor, efficacious for expiating the sins of the world.²⁷⁷

And when he courageously disregards his tortures, and is even so forgetful of himself that he is carried away to the hope and desire of the hidden life, this goes far beyond human faculties.

From this teacher, therefore, whom the Lord has appointed over us to humble the pride of the flesh, let us not be ashamed to learn the mortification of the flesh, patience, elevation of faith, steadiness of hope, and ardor of piety; for the more eagerly anyone follows him, the more nearly he will approach Christ.

²⁷⁶ “Maudite soit nostre lacheté;” — “accursed be our sloth.”;” — “accursed be our sloth.”

²⁷⁷ “Ayant ceste efficace de purger et nettoyer tous les pechez du monde;” — “having that efficacy to cleanse and wash away all the sins of the world.”;” — “having that efficacy to cleanse and wash away all the sins of the world.”