Nougat 3

So I was actually revisiting the text to raise another point, when something caught my eye. And it impressed upon me that YHWH doesn’t leave things unfinished. Not at all. Today’s Holy Nougat is a tangible reminder:

“One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!” The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭23‬:‭39‬, ‭45‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Proof Positive

It might not actually be related, I could be reading into things, but I think I further solved the mystery of the torn Temple Curtain. I believe that it may have been a response to the unbelieving thief.

I know, I know – neither YHWH nor Y’shua are the kind to be bullied or pressured into proof. Yet, given the thief’s comment, which I paraphrase as, ‘if you are …, you would …’, I see a response. Now please don’t mishear me. I maintain that we cannot, must not, should not put Our Lord to the test, as Y’shua indicated to the devil while being tempted in the Wilderness.

Nevertheless, if we interpose John 19:30 into the moment, we see Y’shua saying, ‘it is finished’, shortly thereafter. And some theologians read that statement to mean the salvific work was finished. Whether the phrase is inserted or not, the fact of the rent curtain points to access to YHWH. When coupled with the assurance that the other thief had been pardoned, we know (beyond reasonable doubt) that Y’shua Is The Messiah! Is that not the response/proof needed? Not necessarily as he expected, but the response to his question nevertheless.

I agree, the thieves were not saved from physical death. And given his skepticism, I assume the barefaced thief might not have earned a room in Paradise. But he could have. There was space enough for him.

Siblings, as we continue on our journey towards eternity (for all of us are headed there one way or the other), may we not lose sight of Y’shua’s divinity or salvific power.

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May all we seek be found in Christ