People of hope part 19: The Man on the Cross Next Door
Monday devotions @ Work 7 September 2020
In Luke 23:39-43 we read the account of Jesus’s crucifixion and the 2 men that was crucified with him and the brief, but most remarkable conversation Jesus had with them.
39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” 40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” 43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
We know virtually nothing about these two men apart from the fact that they committed crimes apparently deserving of the death penalty under the criminal justice system of the day. What we do know about them though is their respective reactions to the verdicts and the consequences thereof.
On the one hand one of the men said to Christ “If you are the Christ, save yourself and us!” This man showed no acknowledgement of his wrongdoing – his only objective was to be relieved of his pain and to be released from the cross and back into the life he knew on earth. His focus seems to be on the here and now with very little if any vision of a future or insight in matters of justice or righteousness let alone spiritual holiness.
On the other hand, his fellow counterpart on the other cross displayed a vastly different attitude. There are several things we can derive from his reaction.
· He seems to fear God – he knows he is dying and is thinking about and reviewing his future! This is in stark contrast to the other thief who seems to only have this life in mind. He even rebukes this man by saying “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?
· This man acknowledges his guilt when he states “And indeed, justly for we receive the due reward of our deeds…” He knows in his spirit there can be no forgiveness without an acknowledgement of wrongdoing and in this critical hour he is not arrogantly holding on to his innocence or blaming someone else including the cruel justice system of the day. He could have done that in bitterness and offense – he did not.
· He recognizes Jesus’s innocence. “…but this Man has done nothing wrong” In stark contrast with acknowledging his own guilt and acceptance of his punishment on grounds thereof he openly declares to the other man that Jesus is innocent. He probably knew that Jesus’s trial and sentence was illegal even in the justice system of the day – but also that He had committed no crime at all. Thus, somewhere in this man’s spirit – despite being a criminal himself – he has a sense of justice and is not compromising on that.
· He asks for grace. “… remember me…” Against all odds this man decides that he has one more chance – one more opportunity to change the outcome of his future – and that depends on grace alone. He has nothing to offer God. He has no nicely successful life, no accolades, or achievements to depend on. In this hour – He grabs onto the only last strand of hope left – The grace and mercy of God. Grace means to get what you do not deserve. He had no chance to make restitution. He could not go back and fix what he did wrong to whom he did wrong in this life. All he could ask for was God’s grace – and he did – he asked.
· He addresses Jesus as “Lord” recognizing His authority as a King when he declares that Jesus has a Kingdom, “… when you come into your Kingdom” even though Jesus did not appear to be in a position of authority at all! In Jesus’s worst hour on earth when He had willingly laid down His Kingship and became sin for us – this man addresses Jesus as “Lord”.
· At this point Jesus answers him “Assuredly I say to you today you will be with Me in Paradise” Jesus extends the grace he asks for to him. Jesus knows He is the King and He has a Kingdom and He has the authority to grant this man entry into His Kingdom. In this moment this man on the cross next to Jesus becomes completely innocent. His cross void of sin – because all His sin is on the cross of The Man next door – the cross of Jesus. There has been an exchange in the spirit. The man’s sin left him and clung to Jesus. Jesus was dying in the place of this man.
· We do not read of a verbal response to Jesus’s answer as this man receives the grace he asks for but sometimes silences are loaded with more meaning than all the words in the world we could string together in whatever sequence. I think this was one of those moments where silence spoke louder than what a thousand words could ever be able to speak. The first sinner in the New Covenant transformed and transported in split seconds from eternal death to eternal life. A moment where words are inadequate. The moment when this man receives from the hand of Jesus what he does not deserve – Paradise.
I wonder what this moment meant to Jesus. The world, the church his disciples all have forsaken, rejected, and despised him and a few moments ago He said: “Father why have you left me, leaving me helpless and abandoned?” In this very moment there is the first sinner right next to him – acknowledging, seeing recognizing what Jesus is doing for him. Asking, receiving the grace of the King. One man seeing, recognizing, accepting, receiving what Jesus is doing for all the world. One person to take with Him to Paradise that very day!
Today I do not post a worship song with this as it is most appropriate to observe a moment of silence in which we need to say:
"Lord... remember me..."
