Mid-century illustration of a calm sea at dawn

Matthew 27:38 · World English Bible

Matthew 27:38 Meaning Then There Were Two Robbers Crucified

Then there were two robbers crucified with him, one on his right hand and one on the left.

What does Matthew 27:38 mean?

The awakened center hangs fixed between 2 lesser powers. Right and left are the poles a person is stretched between, spirit and flesh, the faculty that steals upward toward the light and the one that steals downward toward matter.

From the Esoteric reading below.

Matthew 27:38 through 1 lens

The same verse, read by one tradition.

ESOTERIC

Esoteric

The awakened center hangs fixed between 2 lesser powers. Right and left are the poles a person is stretched between, spirit and flesh, the faculty that steals upward toward the light and the one that steals downward toward matter. Both are thieves because each takes life for its own end. Crucifixion is the body drawn out on its own crossbeam of nerve and bone, and the divided nature hangs on either side of the true self while it is offered up in the middle.

2 thieves: the 2 poles of the divided nature, one reaching toward spirit, one sinking toward flesh, each taking life for its own end Right hand: the higher pull, the faculty that steals upward toward the light Left hand: the lower pull, the faculty that steals downward toward matter Crucifixion: the body stretched on the crossbeam of its own nerve and bone where the self is offered up

Esoteric lens

Live Matthew 27:38 today

  1. Watch the two voices today, the one saying you should be better, purer, more disciplined, and the one saying forget it and scroll. Both want to run the day. You can hear them both and keep your seat.
  2. With one person today, resist taking a side when they lay out two extremes, their own harshness about themselves or their own excuses. Stay warm and stay in the middle; it is more use to them than agreeing.
  3. When a decision at work gets pulled between a grand ambition and a lazy shortcut, pause long enough to find the plain, honest option neither voice was offering.

Which of my two loudest voices have I mistaken for my real self?

The same truth in other traditions

Bhagavad Gita 6

The self sits between the pull upward and the pull down, and the work is to stay seated in the middle rather than be dragged by either. Balance itself is the practice.

Buddhism

The middle way runs between punishing the body and indulging it. Both extremes promise freedom and both quietly take your life.

Taoism · Tao Te Ching

The one who does not grasp at either side is not torn in two. Keep to the center and you can see both pulls without belonging to either.

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