Lessons from a criminal

Tomorrow is known as “Good Friday”.  It seems strange to call the remembrance of an innocent man’s murder anything close to “good”… but that’s what we often see when God steps into our lives – what we assume doesn’t always match up with reality.

Jesus was wrongfully arrested, tried in a kangaroo court, and then used as a political pawn before being sentenced to death on a cross…all despite being innocent.  That certainly doesn’t seem “good”, either.  Crucifixion was one of the most barbaric ways to die, as the victim bleeds out, slowly suffocating as their strength fails while the hours, and even days, drag on.  The Romans perfected the process to exact as much pain and suffering as possible.  Over a 500-year span, it is estimated that Rome crucified somewhere between hundreds of thousands to as many as two million people.  That doesn’t sound “good” at all.

Yet, we still call the day Jesus was crucified “Good Friday”.  However, Jesus wasn’t the only person nailed to a cross that day.  Let’s take a look at Luke’s account:

Luke 23:32-42
Two others – criminals – were also led away to be executed with Him.  When they arrived at the place called The Skull, they crucified Him there, along with the criminals, one on the right and one on the left.  Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.”  And they divided His clothes and cast lots.

The people stood watching, even the leaders were scoffing: “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One!”  The soldiers also mocked Him.  They came offering Him sour wine and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!”

An inscription was above Him: This is the King of the Jews.

Then one of the criminals hanging there began to yell insults at Him: “Aren’t you the Messiah?  Save Yourself and us!”

But the other answered, rebuking him: “Don’t you even fear God, since you are undergoing the same punishment?  We are punished justly, because we’re getting back what we deserve for the things we did, but this man has done nothing wrong.”  Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

The Jewish nation looked forward to the day when the Messiah would arrive, rescue the nation from their oppressors, and set up the kingdom which God had promised for centuries.  This future resurrection/redemption is likely what the criminal was referring to.  Because of this, the criminal who had just put his faith in Jesus, believing that He was the promised Messiah, was probably surprised by what Jesus said to him next:

Luke 23:43
And He said to him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in paradise.”

When would this criminal see Jesus again?  When would he receive eternal life from Jesus?  Today.

Jesus’ gift of eternal life, for all who believe in Him, isn’t an IOU that will be fulfilled at some point in the future.  No, when we believe in Jesus, He gives us eternal life today.  Right now.  Not something to earn, not something to prove.  It’s His gift to you, and we can receive it because of His death on the cross.

He paid the penalty for our selfish, sinful lives – and because of that we are able to live the life we were initially created to live out.

John 10:10
A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.

The Greek word for may have is a present tense verb.  Jesus meant that we can have an abundant life right now, just like the criminal received.  All we have to do is believe that Jesus is who He says He is – the Messiah, the Savior sent by God – just like the criminal did.

And if Jesus considers a criminal who has been condemned to die as someone worth saving, then His offer is good for any of us, too.  That is good news for us.  That’s why it’s called “Good Friday”.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Staring death in the face

Recognizing that the time had come make the payment for humanity’s sins, Jesus said one last prayer to His Father.

Luke 23:44-46 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three, because the sun’s light failed.  The curtain of the sanctuary was split down the middle.  And Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into Your hands I entrust My spirit.”  Saying this, He breathed His last.

This is Jesus fully trusting the Father all the way to the end.  Staring death in the face, Jesus’ confidence in the Father’s provision and plan never wavered.  It wasn’t enough for Jesus to suffer through beatings.  It wasn’t enough that He was nailed to a cross and hung there for six hours.  As brutal as Christ’s suffering was, our sin-debt would not be paid unless His death occurred. 

But why must it be death?  Why couldn’t the Father accept some other form of payment?

We were made for relationship with God.  We were created such that God was both our purpose and our fuel.  However, our rebellion separated us from the source of life.  Justice would expect that for the choices a person makes, that person should experience the natural consequence of his or her actions.  Since we cut ourselves off from our one source of life in all the universe, the natural consequence for our rejecting our Creator…is death, a complete separation from God.

However, God chose to be merciful and delayed the natural consequences that we deserved.  Although our physical bodies were now corrupted and we would experience physical death, God allowed for a substitute to take our place so that a person’s spiritual death (eternal separation from God) would not occur.  Israel’s sacrificial system was a foreshadowing of Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice.

Jesus summed it up like this:

John 3:16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

Jesus knew that His death was to be a substitute for ours.  His sacrifice took the natural consequences of what our sinful choices warranted.  But it had to be death…because that’s what we deserved. 

Earlier, Jesus quoted Psalm 22 as He dealt with the conflicting emotions of despair and hope.  Jesus’ last words, His last prayer – Father, into Your hands I entrust My spirit – underscored His complete trust in the Father as He completed the sacrifice, and His words find their source in Psalm 31. 

Psalm 31:1-5 Lord, I seek refuge in You; let me never be disgraced.
Save me by Your righteousness.
Listen closely to me; rescue me quickly.
Be a rock of refuge for me, a mountain fortress to save me.
For You are my rock and my fortress; You lead and guide me because of Your name.
You will free me from the net that is secretly set for me, for You are my refuge.
Into Your hand I entrust my spirit; You redeem me, Lord, God of truth.

All the way to the end, Jesus was trusting the Father.  Because of His death, our opportunity for relationship with the Father has been restored.  Eternal life is available to anyone who believes in Him, which means that you understand who He is, why He died, and you trust Him when He said that He will give you eternal life.

That is why today is a Good Friday.

Keep Pressing,
Ken