Daily Blast - Easter: Day 8

April 9, 2020 Joe King

Scripture

32 Two others, both criminals, were led out to be executed with him. 33 When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified—one on his right and one on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice. 35 The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. “He saved others,” they said, “let him save himself if he is really God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” 36 The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine. 37 They called out to him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 A sign was fastened above him with these words: “This is the King of the Jews.” 39 One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!” 40 But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? 41 We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” 43 And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Luke 23:32-43 (NLT)

Reflection

Yesterday we looked at Jesus’ trial and how people, who a week ago welcomed Him like a king, were now sentencing Him to death in exchange for the freedom of a well-known criminal.

Today we are focusing on Jesus’ time on the cross. As shown in the piece of scripture above, Jesus wasn’t crucified by Himself. There were two criminals, one each side of Jesus’ being punished for their crimes.

The first criminal speaks to Jesus with sarcasm, asking Him to prove He is the son of God by saving Himself and the two criminals. This criminal is desperate for Jesus to save him from the physical pain of hanging on the cross. What he doesn’t understand is that Jesus staying and dying on the cross saves more people than he could ever imagine.

The second criminal has much more of an understanding of this. He points out that three men are dying on crosses however only two deserve to be there. He sees the bigger picture and instead of asking Jesus to save his physical body, he asks Jesus to remember him when He is with His Father in heaven.

After the two men have spoken to Jesus, He responds to the second man telling him that he will be with Him in heaven. A little while after this conversation Jesus dies.

There are similarities and differences between these three men who died at the place of The Skull. Firstly, all of them died painfully by crucifixion. However, the first criminal was neither saved in life or death.

Whereas, the second criminal who welcomed Jesus into his life before his death, died physically. But, because of Jesus’ sacrifice, he was saved and now spends eternity with God.

Apart from dying on the cross, Jesus was completely different from the two criminals as He wasn’t dying for His sins, but those of God’s people. Instead of being saved, He was the one who saved.

Sometimes we can be like the first criminal, focused on what’s happening in the present. If we are absorbed with the present we can often become blinded and not see the big picture.

We need to be more like the second criminal, in the sense that we are not blinded and dwelling in the now but looking forward to the future and to the bigger plan that God has for our lives.

At times like these, it can be difficult to look past the present and to the future but we need to keep talking to God and asking Him to help us in this situation.

Challenge

Are you finding it difficult to look past the present? Are you struggling to see the bigger picture? I encourage you to spend some time with God, praying that God will help you look forward to the future rather than dwelling on the present.