Throughout his life, Jesus aligned himself with the “bad elements.” In his death, it was the same: he was crucified between two “malefactors,” two wrongdoers. You have probably heard the familiar saying that Jesus was crucified not on the altar between two candles but on Golgotha between two thieves. That’s a good saying, isn’t it? But it doesn’t go quite far enough, because they weren’t just thieves. According to Mark and Matthew, they were worse than mere thieves; they were bandits, armed robbers, men of violence, prepared to kill as well as steal. This indeed is an “element” wildly unsuited
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