Monsignor Pope Ping!
In part, to fulfill Isaiah 53:12: “He ... was numbered with the transgressors”
Isaiah 53 (NASB)
The Suffering Servant
1 Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2
For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
3
He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4
Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
7
He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
8
By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
9
His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
10
But the Lord was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
11
As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
12
Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.
I think the most important reason, and it’s mentioned in the article- is because it is used as a symbolic representation of the two roads to travel: Aceept Jesus and live, reject him and die. One man realized who He was, and the other mocked him. They represent the two families- the family of God and the children of Satan. That’s my take, at least.
It was prophesied to be so...............
It is unlikely that he would be crucified between two who had not been found guilty of some offense. That was the capital punishment of the day, and thievery was common.
Optics?
Bmk
It’s most likely there just happened to be two other crucifixions on the schedule that day.
Check out the Kabbalah Tree of Life
Yeshua in the center is represented as Tiferet, Beauty, also Rachamim, Compassion
The thief on the right received Chesed, Loving Kindness, Mercy, also Gedulah, Greatness
The left, ouch Gevurah, Strength, also Din, Judgment, and Pachad, Fear
http://www.digital-brilliance.com/themes/tol.php
This is very good!