"One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: 'Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!' But the other criminal rebuked him 'Don't you fear God' he said, 'since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong' Then he said 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' Jesus answered him, 'Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise" Luke 23: 39-43
The passage from Good Friday brings a tear to my eye especially what Jesus says. To me, this speaks a lot into where my standing is with Jesus at times and I suspect where a lot of Christians are as well. Are we the first criminal that insults Jesus? Or, are we the second one? It can be argued, like most things, we are both at separate times in our lives.
Like the first criminal, we can totally miss who Jesus is and overlook who we are. Also, we can be incredibly self-centered as the first criminal is. (Of course, I am sure if I were on the cross my first instinct would be escape as well). The criminal doesn't see that he has reaped what he has sown and is getting justice. He looks at Jesus as a means to an end. I would suspect if Jesus had freed this criminal that the criminal wouldn't have changed his life, but continued what he was doing. There would have been no gratitude or repentance for his actions. Just moving on until the next crisis popped up.
How often do we treat Jesus like that? I need you in the midst of my crisis, but forgotten once it has been past? This isn't to say we shouldn't approach Him in our times of need. I am just pointing how I can be at times. Sometimes as a Christian I feel that Jesus is obligated to do good things for me. He is all-powerful and doesn't want us in trouble, so we can treat Him as an insurance policy and no more than that. Then, if we don't get our way (as we see it), we can be petulant and mocking him for not getting our way. I am convicted when I read this realizing I can be like this. That's not the kind of relationship we should be having anyways.
The second criminal gets it. He understands his sin and why he is there. He also sees Jesus for who He is. Innocent of wrongdoing but being punished nonetheless. He is humbled and truly repentant when he asks Jesus to remember him.
Jesus' response is a thing of beauty. The criminal is going to die, but he has the assurances of eternal life. In the midst of intense pain, Jesus still ministers to this man. It's humbling to think about. Jesus is dying and still ministering - who are we to complain of our circumstances keeping us from being involved? I picture this scene that Jesus turns His head to the second criminal with a smile and saying "today you will be with me in paradise".
Wouldn't you love to have Jesus say that to you directly? He does when you follow Him.
The two criminals are like the voices in our head. Sometimes we choose to be demanding and selfish. Always wanting our way. When we get what we want, we move on with a thankless and ungrateful heart. Other times we are humbled by Jesus' sacrifice realizing He took the punishment that was rightfully ours. He was innocent but punished for our crimes so that we could spend eternity with God. With that, we can be grateful for every prayer answered, humbled by His overwhelming mercy and grace, and truly repentant for our sins. To follow Him means to follow even when its not convenient to us or treat Jesus only when we "need" Him. To be honest, we need Him always, so our lives should reflect that.
It's not always going to be easy. We will sin and we will struggle. We will fall down and suffer setbacks. But, we will also see amazing things, we will encounter miracles. We will grow and be healed. Our sins will be dealt with. We will know the peace that passes all human understanding.
Which criminal on the cross do we behave most like? I am sometimes one or the other - but I am striving to be more humble, repentant, and seeking Jesus more each day.
The passage from Good Friday brings a tear to my eye especially what Jesus says. To me, this speaks a lot into where my standing is with Jesus at times and I suspect where a lot of Christians are as well. Are we the first criminal that insults Jesus? Or, are we the second one? It can be argued, like most things, we are both at separate times in our lives.
Like the first criminal, we can totally miss who Jesus is and overlook who we are. Also, we can be incredibly self-centered as the first criminal is. (Of course, I am sure if I were on the cross my first instinct would be escape as well). The criminal doesn't see that he has reaped what he has sown and is getting justice. He looks at Jesus as a means to an end. I would suspect if Jesus had freed this criminal that the criminal wouldn't have changed his life, but continued what he was doing. There would have been no gratitude or repentance for his actions. Just moving on until the next crisis popped up.
How often do we treat Jesus like that? I need you in the midst of my crisis, but forgotten once it has been past? This isn't to say we shouldn't approach Him in our times of need. I am just pointing how I can be at times. Sometimes as a Christian I feel that Jesus is obligated to do good things for me. He is all-powerful and doesn't want us in trouble, so we can treat Him as an insurance policy and no more than that. Then, if we don't get our way (as we see it), we can be petulant and mocking him for not getting our way. I am convicted when I read this realizing I can be like this. That's not the kind of relationship we should be having anyways.
The second criminal gets it. He understands his sin and why he is there. He also sees Jesus for who He is. Innocent of wrongdoing but being punished nonetheless. He is humbled and truly repentant when he asks Jesus to remember him.
Jesus' response is a thing of beauty. The criminal is going to die, but he has the assurances of eternal life. In the midst of intense pain, Jesus still ministers to this man. It's humbling to think about. Jesus is dying and still ministering - who are we to complain of our circumstances keeping us from being involved? I picture this scene that Jesus turns His head to the second criminal with a smile and saying "today you will be with me in paradise".
Wouldn't you love to have Jesus say that to you directly? He does when you follow Him.
The two criminals are like the voices in our head. Sometimes we choose to be demanding and selfish. Always wanting our way. When we get what we want, we move on with a thankless and ungrateful heart. Other times we are humbled by Jesus' sacrifice realizing He took the punishment that was rightfully ours. He was innocent but punished for our crimes so that we could spend eternity with God. With that, we can be grateful for every prayer answered, humbled by His overwhelming mercy and grace, and truly repentant for our sins. To follow Him means to follow even when its not convenient to us or treat Jesus only when we "need" Him. To be honest, we need Him always, so our lives should reflect that.
It's not always going to be easy. We will sin and we will struggle. We will fall down and suffer setbacks. But, we will also see amazing things, we will encounter miracles. We will grow and be healed. Our sins will be dealt with. We will know the peace that passes all human understanding.
Which criminal on the cross do we behave most like? I am sometimes one or the other - but I am striving to be more humble, repentant, and seeking Jesus more each day.
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