Luke 23.35-43 The Outlaw’s Insight: Understanding Jesus Through Unexpected Eyes

This Gospel describes some of the last moments of the life of Jesus on Earth.  The Gospel seems more appropriate for Lent and Easter.  Jesus says very little.  He is dying on the cross, he is dismissed by the leaders who are responsible for his death.  The most interesting conversation is between the two condemned men who are being crucified with Jesus.  We do not know what their crimes were.  In those days it did not take much to be condemned to death.  We know nothing about the criminals. The two criminals take very different positions with Jesus.  The first one taunts Jesus but is rebuked by the second who seems to have an amazing understanding of who Jesus is.  It is ironic that the Pharisees with all their training in Scripture fail in recognizing Jesus as the Messiah yet here we have this criminal who is being executed but he is able to recognize who Jesus is.  The criminal is rewarded for his faith.  I suspect that the other criminal was pardoned too.  There is no limit in the willingness of Jesus to forgive.

Complete our 1 Minute Survey

Transcript

Hello, and welcome to “A Psychologist Looks at Scripture.” I am Peter Doherty, a Catholic priest and psychologist, and I am delighted you are here.

In this podcast, I combine my experience in psychology and scripture studies to offer fresh perspectives on the Gospels. These sacred texts even though written two thousand years ago are timeless.  They continually invite us to deepen our faith, gain new insights, and grow spiritually. There is always more to explore.

Each episode runs about 7 to 10 minutes. I appreciate your busy schedule and aim to share meaningful reflections within that time. If you're interested and have the time, please feel free to explore earlier episodes on the podcast website and YouTube.

Thank you for joining me on this journey. Your support inspires me to keep producing these episodes. Please do not hesitate to send your questions and comments—they truly matter and help this podcast thrive.

Todays Gospel will be read in churches on November 23, 2025.  The timing of this Gospel is somewhat unexpected.  This Gospel describes some of the last moments of the life of Jesus on Earth.  The Gospel seems more appropriate for Lent and Easter.  Jesus says very little.  He is dying on the cross, he is dismissed by the leaders who are responsible for his death.  The most interesting conversation is between the two condemned men who are being crucified with Jesus.  We do not know what their crimes were.  In those days it did not take much to be condemned to death.  We know nothing about the criminals. The two criminals take very different positions with Jesus.  The first one taunts Jesus but is rebuked by the second who seems to have an amazing understanding of who Jesus is.  It is ironic that the Pharisees with all their training in Scripture fail in recognizing Jesus as the Messiah yet here we have this criminal who is being executed but he is able to recognize who Jesus is.  The criminal is rewarded for his faith.  I suspect that the other criminal was pardoned too.  There is no limit in the willingness of Jesus to forgive.

It is incredible that this criminal at the last moment is saved from condemnation and will spend eternity in paradise.  What happened?  I immediately thought of three Gospel stories, the story of the young man who asked Jesus what must he do to inherit eternal life, a question we can all relate to.  We hear about this in Matthew 19:16-22.   The second story was about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in the temple found in Luke 18:9-14.  Like the criminal in today’s Gospel, the Tax Collector acknowledges his bad behavior and is experiencing remorse.  The stories are different and have different outcomes but both men are asking about eternal life.  The young man had done everything right but there was something he lacked.  The criminal being crucified beside Jesus admitted that he had done many things wrong.  What I want to draw your attention to is that while his history was not something to be proud of, he was nevertheless able to recognize who Jesus was and understand His mission.  The criminal took responsibility for his actions.  He was bold enough to want to go to paradise.

There is just one more story and that is the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10).  Zacchaeus was a wealthy chief tax collector in Jericho.  He wanted who wanted to see Jesus but because he was too short, decided to climb a sycamore tree to get a better view. Before Zacchaeus could say anything, Jesus called him down, saying He would stay at Zacchaeus's house. Moved by this simple encounter, Zacchaeus is inspired to give half his possessions to the poor and repay fourfold anyone he had cheated. Keep in mind that there are several scriptural references of Jesus having dinners with Pharisees.   None of His hosts respond like Zacchaeus. We are not specifically talking about eternal life although ultimately because of   this encounter Zacchaeus experiences a deeper relationship with Jesus.  Initially he did not do much other than climbing a tree to see what was happening, but he made himself available for an encounter with Jesus and was receptive to Jesus’s invitation. 

On the level of appearances these stories seem inconsistent.  When we explore deeper it makes sense.  The nameless criminal recognized who Jesus is.  He recognized that Jesus was God, having the power to welcome him to Heaven.  The rich young man saw Jesus as a teacher maybe even a prophet but there is no indication he recognized Jesus’s divinity.  While the young man was still operating on the idea that he had to merit salvation.  The criminal recognized that Jesus would forgive him.

The call to follow Christ is not simply avoiding temptation and sin but actively seeking a deeper relationship with our God, developing our spirituality and maturing in all aspects of our life.  I am not suggesting that we not take sin seriously, but that ask ourselves what is the basis of our faith?  Yes, it is important to recognize our short comings and to know what we need to do in order to address them.   Jesus is offering us something that is not contingent on our success in living our values. 

So, in conclusion, have you ever met someone with high moral values and lifestyle but is not religious or even may even be an atheist?  Conversely, we may know people who live the letter of the law of their faith, but they have a heart of stone.  I have come to the conclusion that we will likely be surprised when we get to Heaven to see people there, whom we were not expecting.  We may be able to judge the morality of actions, but we must not judge people.  I do not see how we can develop our spirituality when we ourselves are judgemental.  There is still much to understand about God’s call to be in relationship with him.  We must cultivate a sense of humility and curiosity in seeking to understand that God is truly present in our lives, rather than only a source of judgement.

Thank you for joining me today.

Next Sunday, I’ll be sharing a new podcast episode on Matthew 24:37-44, where we will hear about Jesus warning his disciples to be prepared, alert and focussed.  He hints that much is going on and we may miss it if we are not alert.  That was two thousand years ago.  Do we still need to be alert! 

If you are new here, I invite you to check out previous episodes on major podcast platforms or YouTube. And for my regular YouTube listeners, please consider subscribing and sharing the podcast with friends who love Scripture.

New episodes come out every Sunday, focusing on the week’s Gospel. Your feedback is always valued and helps our community grow.

A big thank you to Heather Patel Doherty and Richard Coulombe for their wonderful help in preparing each episode.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at peter.dohertyomi@gmail.com.

May God richly bless you!