Luke 23
Read: Luke 23
The crucifixion account is difficult to read. Jesus had done nothing wrong, yet he was condemned to die a criminal’s death. Pilate didn’t find reason to kill him and neither did Herod. It is interesting to see here that these two evil men were actually better to Jesus than the so called righteous religious leaders who condemned him out of envy and bitterness because of the truth Jesus had spoken to them.
Crucifixion was a nasty way to die even for someone who had done terrible things. Luke’s description of the crucifixion does not hardly do it justice. Jesus was stripped of his clothes, beaten nearly to death, crowned with a crown of thorns, and nailed to a cross. Today, no civilized society would use such a gruesome method for capital punishment. Even though it is hard to watch, I recommend watching The Passion of the Christ to get an idea of what Christ did for us.
In this passage, I am reminded that Jesus died for all sinners. There were two men who were crucified with Jesus. One of them mocked Jesus, but the other stood up for Jesus and said ”We are punished justly, because we’re getting back what we deserve for the things we did, but this man has done nothing wrong.” What a statement! It’s hard for me to imagine anyone deserving that sort of punishment. Here we see a man who saw his sins were great. We do not know exactly what he did to get crucified, but he clearly believed it was pretty bad or he wouldn’t have said what he did.
The man then said, “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom,” and Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” No one is too far gone! This man, in his last moments repented of his sin and trusted in Jesus. What a beautiful thing! My church has a monthly service for Death Row inmates at Central Prison in Raleigh. For the past two years, I helped put on a Christmas service for them. Many of these men have done terrible things! One specifically is a serial murderer and rapist of ten women. Yet even in such a dark place, God is moving! Some of these men have repented and committed their lives to Jesus. Now their purpose in life is to minister to their fellow inmates and share that hope and forgiveness with them.
No matter what you’ve done or how good you think you are, you are only one wrong decision away from ending up like the men at Central Prison. We all sin, and we all make mistakes. Just because you haven’t killed anyone doesn’t mean you don’t need God’s forgiveness. Jesus came to take our punishment for us and offers forgiveness to us for all sins both big and small. Today, take some time to thank Jesus for the cross and try to watch this video montage of the Passion as you reflect on what Christ has done for you.
