Journey Through The Bible
     Old Testament Reading: Exodus 1-2
     New Testament Reading: Luke 23

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
And he said to him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23: 42-43).

It was early in the morning on Friday as they crucified Jesus between two criminals. Those who passed by were yelling insults at him. The chief priests with the scribes and elders were mocking him. The soldiers also mocked him. Matthew and Mark say, “even the criminals who were crucified with him taunted him” (Matt 27:42 & Mark 14:32).

As the minutes grew into hours and the agonizing pain of the crucifixion intensified, something happened. Something changed in the heart of one criminal. Was it those compassionate words of Jesus that He spoke from the cross? The prayer He offered on behalf of those who crucified Him. “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.”

Perhaps it was the voice of Jesus that caused him to remember some earlier teaching of Jesus that he had heard. What caused the change we will never know, but as one criminal continued hurling his insults toward Jesus, the other grows silent. Then this wicked criminal turns to his friend and rebukes him. His earlier mocking of the man from Nazareth has now turned to praise of Jesus the Messiah.

Here Jesus is being mocked because He appears unable to save anyone and He can’t even save Himself, yet He saves a thief by not saving Himself. This criminal believed Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus was the Savior, that Jesus offered gracious forgiveness. He was convicted of his sins and he asked for forgiveness and he received it.

It took courage for this criminal to defy the influence of his friend and the mockery and scorn of the crowd, religious leaders, and soldiers. It took faith to put his trust in a dying King. When you consider all that he had to overcome, the faith of this criminal hanging on the cross was astounding.

Luke is the only gospel writer to include our Lord’s prayer for His enemies and His ministry to this repentant criminal. This fits well with Luke’s purpose to show Jesus as the sympathetic Son of Man who cared for the needy and came to earth to be the Savior of the world.

The mockers were wrong. Jesus can save. But the only way He can save sinners was to not save Himself. Jesus, being unwilling to save Himself from the cross, becomes the Savior of the World. He died so that those who are dead might receive life.