Life and Death – Two Sides of One Cross
By Joel McEnery
Three crosses and three men; each judged as guilty and condemned to death. Two of the men were thieves, and between them was the Son of God, Jesus Christ. A profound picture, isn’t it?
The one who personified righteousness, judged guilty by the law of men, hangs between two unrighteous men. Both were thieves, judged guilty by the same law and condemned to the same death on a cross. Yet the eternal outcome of these two thieves was very different. One remained condemned and the other confessed Jesus Christ as the righteous One and thus discovered deliverance to a place of no condemnation.
In reading the different Bible accounts of the crucifixion, the apparent atmosphere of the occasion was one of hopelessness and unbelief. Those present and those passing by reviled the ones hanging on the cross, particularly Jesus. The crowd of sceptics shouted for more miracles, calling on the Lord to prove himself as the Messiah by coming down from the cross. Then one of the criminals who was crucified beside Him blasphemed Him, saying, ‘if you are the Christ save yourself and us’. Like the crowd, he gave voice to the hopelessness of the unbelieving heart which somehow, despite being found guilty, considers itself undeserving of the suffering that often comes as a consequence of sin.
As for the second thief, he rebuked the first, saying, ‘do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we received the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.’ Lk 23:40-41. I find this an amazing response, given the hopelessness and unbelieving atmosphere of the occasion. Here was a man who, despite the shame of his own situation, and despite the reviling in the crowd around him, had eyes to see something different from everyone else. Faith arose in this man, and in the hope of his salvation and eternal life, he believed. He said to Jesus, ‘Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus responded, ‘assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise’.
Today, I find the society in which I live fairly hopeless and unbelieving. You also may find it that way. Regardless of this, I am committed to daily making this judgement – that like the two thieves, I am a sinner and deserving of all consequences I may encounter, even to death on a cross. However, Jesus Christ has miraculously provided all that is required so that, when I join Him, I can be free from sin and its condemnation. Now, with each trial that comes my way, just or unjust, I have a choice. I can be like the first thief, without faith, who demanded a miraculous deliverance from his suffering. Or I can be like the other man who joined Christ at the cross. I can reckon myself to be dead to sin and believe for new life in God. I can receive freedom and peace as I cry out to be remembered by Christ.
Christ and His cross stand between us and our freedom from sin’s power and its condemnation. To most, this cross is an offense. On the day of Christ’s crucifixion, most people could not get past the fact that the man who had performed so many miracles would not save himself from death. How could this man who was dying on the cross be the One who could bring salvation to the soul? However, one man did see that salvation of the soul, and indeed life from God, comes by way of His cross and suffering.
The cross of Christ – death to one man, life to another. On which side are you?
