Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.
All Commentaries on Matthew 27:38 Go To Matthew 27
Rabanus Maurus
AD 856
Or, according to the practical exposition, the cross in respect of its broad transverse piece signifies the joy of him that works, for sorrow producesstraitness; for the broad part of the cross is in the transverse beam to which the hands are fastened, and by the hands we understand works. By the upper part to which the head is fastened is denoted our looking for retribution from the supreme righteousness of God. The perpendicular part on which the body is stretched denotes endurance, whence the patient are called ‘long-suffering’. The point that is fixed into the ground shadows forth the invisible part of a sacrament.
For because He is at once King and Priest, when He would offer the sacrifice of His flesh on the altar of the cross, His title set forth His regal dignity. Andit is set over and not beneath the cross, because though He suffered for us on the cross with the weakness of man, the majesty of the King was conspicuous above the cross; and this He did not lose, but rather confirmed, by the cross.
