Move closer to the Cross and see Him who loves you…..
One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’ But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’ Luke 23:39-43
Jesus the saviour of the world was crucified on a cross in front of many enemies. But as we together reflect on the cross, like some who stood there in person on that day, we can truly see Him and who he is.
Much has been written about the thief on the cross who defends Jesus and is given a promise that he will join Jesus in paradise. But think about the setting. Two men who were in terrible pain speaking to each other and about to die. It is amazing that the thief had the energy to defend Jesus at that moment. I think we miss that sometimes. To use some of his last moments to engage with Jesus and to own his own sin is extraordinary. There was something about being in Jesus’ presence, even at His frailest moment, that changed those around Him who were willing to see.
When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” Mark 15:39
That is the story too of the centurion. We do not have much information about this man but church legend states that he became a Christian as a result of his encounter with Jesus on the cross. The fact that a Roman soldier sent to crucify a prisoner was moved to see the truth about who Jesus truly was is amazing. He didn’t just say he was innocent. He claimed he was the Son of God despite the mocking sign ‘King of the Jews’ which was placed above Jesus’ head on the cross. That soldier had a divine revelation. If He was the Son of God then He was there for all people of the world. The scripture states that the centurion was standing right in front of him. He was looking at Him. He wasn’t guarding Him against an angry mob who was also there. He wasn’t facing towards them. He was facing the other way. Something about how Jesus died moved Him to proclaim that truth.
Thank-you Jesus. We love you.