Words from the Cross (Part III)

Articles

Lance Byers
06/22/24 - Words from the Cross

“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Did the recipient of this blessing deserve it? Absolutely not. Was he baptized? Most likely no, and if he was, the baptism of John, the only baptism available to him, demanded his following Christ which He did not do until moments prior. Nothing except a few tidbits about the last few moments of this man’s life is known to us. At best, he would have been a non-believer, and at worst, he was an apostate.

So, why would Jesus tell him this while hanging on the cross? When we look at Matthew 27:44 and Mark 15:32 those same robbers who were condemned with Him reviled him in the same way those in the crowd and the chief priests and the scribes did. Jesus had spoken against people like this in Matthew 10:32-33:

“So, everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”

Even in their darkest hour, they still had eyes to see. Even in the most painful final hours of their life, even when crying out in agony, they still had ears to hear. Had they seen the miracles of Jesus? Had they heard His teachings before this moment? It is unknown whether they had even heard His name before, but one thing is certain. They experienced the darkness described in Matthew 27:45. They would, likely, to have been familiar with Psalm 22 (see part I of this study). They realized that Jesus was called the “Christ.” One of them realized who Jesus claimed to be and called out to Him in Luke 23:39:

“Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

His plea was one of selfishness and rooted in a sinful self-desire to save himself.

The other one of them realized who Jesus actually was and was aware enough to respond to all the signs swirling around him as if in a whirlwind. The words which had come out of his own mouth, not recorded, reviling Jesus likely sounded remarkably similar to the first condemned man. His final hour becomes his finest and greatest as he comes to a realization and opens his mouth to speak, at first not to Jesus, but to the other man dying next to him (Luke 23:40-41):

“Do you not fear God since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”

The realization of who Jesus was had struck him, and he knew that Jesus could save them, but it was unjust to do so since they had earned this punishment. Jesus was innocent, though, and the only reason an innocent man would die willingly, is for the sake of another. It is likely he reasoned what is more clearly stated in Romans 5:7-9:

“For one will scarcely die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die – but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.”

Again, it is impossible to know what this man knew, or what interactions he may ever have had with the disciples or Jesus Himself. Had he learned to pray, “…Thy kingdom come…?” Had he deciphered that the kingdom was not an earthly one? The scriptures do not give us that insight, but the all-important question was now asked to Jesus in Luke 23:42:

“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

This was a blessed request which only Jesus Himself could grant. The salvation of a condemned man which did not need baptism because the command had yet to be issued. The salvation of a condemned man which only needed a rudimentary knowledge, and a sincere and repentant heart to hear those beautiful words Jesus spoke to him. How blessed was that man, condemned to die a sinner by hanging on a cross!