Impenitent Thief
In Biographical Summaries of Notable People
Save this record and choose the information you want to add to your family tree
Impenitent Thief
In Biographical Summaries of Notable People
Save this record and choose the information you want to add to your family tree
| Name | Impenitent Thief |
| Gender | Male |
| Aliases | the Bad Thief, the Unrepentant Thief, the Blasphemous Thief, Gesmas, the Unpenitent Thief, Gestas |
| Description | GESTAS is one of the two thieves that were crucified alongside Jesus. According to tradition, he was crucified on the left of Jesus central cross. The other thief was Dismas. GESTAS was cousin of Dismas and older than him. He was about fifty when he was arrested and crucified. Just as Dismas was son of a rich Jewish merchant, GESTAS' parents were poor peasants. Although they were friends, the comparation with Dismas made GESTAS violent and rebel. It is said that in 1848 an Irish politician denounced Isaac Disraeli, the famous English Premier, as a Jewish traitor, "the heir at law of the blasphemous thief that died upon the cross." The personality of GESTAS was stronger than Dismas' and slowly Dismas was corrupted by him. Both became malefactors. Finally their lifes ended at the tragic hill of Calvary. Among his doings was that he stole the holy vessels of the Temple and stripped naked the daughter of Caiaphas, Sarah by name, who was priestess of the sanctuary. So defiant was GESTAS. But finally Dismas and GESTAS were caught by the assesination of a woman who with her children was going from Jerusalem to Joppa. They were imprisoned for a long time before being brought to trial. The Roman governor, Pilate, put them to death by crucifixion. Just before his execution GESTAS received a cruel flagellation and was obliged, like Jesus and Dismas, to carry his cross to the hill of Calvary. GESTAS staggered under the weight of his cross, his eyes and teeth glared with fear. Dismas and GESTAS sweated, watching the crosses being arranged on the ground. On arriving there and after giving him some myrrh and vinegar, the executioners stripped off his ragged clothing and gave him a loincloth. Then they nailed him on the cross. They put him on the cross and first nailed his hands at the wrists on to the cross beam of the cross and then they nailed down the feet. He cried in despair due to the pain. GESTAS groaned and screamed with pain of his injuries. No doubt he suffered both in... |
| Birth |
Galilee |
| Death |
Cause of death: Crucifixion33
Jerusalem |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Ethnicity | Semitic people |
| Occupations | Robber, Highwayman |
|
Relatives
|
Spotted an error? Suggest an alternative
Copy and paste this as text into your genealogy software or website
Share your comments about this record
Post comment