Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!" In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.' " In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him. [Matthew 27:39-40]
The onlookers were looking for a lesser salvation.
There is deep irony in the way the gospel writers record these insults. Many of the phrases are accidentally right, in the manner of Caiaphas the High Priest: it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish. [John 11:50]
In the end the salvation they looked for - Jesus saving himself - was both possible and impossible. Such a salvation would have been an onlooker's salvation, what was required was a sacrifice. Jesus' love is greater than they can imagine.
The onlookers were looking for a lesser miracle.
A deeper irony still is that the miracle of leaving the cross would have been as nothing compared to the miracle of Christ's resurrection. Jesus' power is greater than they can imagine.
The onlookers were looking for a lesser king.
There is a crowd around the cross. He may be regarded as King of Israel if he comes down. But by his dying on the cross he establishes a very much greater kingdom that reaches across every boundary. (Revelation 7:9-17 - a crowd that no-one could count) Jesus' kingship is wider than they can imagine.
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