Jesus was crucified with 2 criminals. We are not talking about men who stole candy from babies – we are talking about men who had ruthlessly murdered. Here they were, hardened offenders who were being tortured to death with Jesus.
Where does your mind go while you are being tortured?
For Jesus it was to His Father and to us – resolutely fulfilling the mission He had volunteered to pursue in order to nail all the penalties against us on the cross:
“He (God) cancelled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross” (Col. 2:14-15).
One felon chose to curse, bewail and abuse as he died. That’s perfectly understandable, almost human. The other, and this staggers me, looked beyond his immediate suffering and chose to see hope in the man being crucified beside him. He regarded a future while being in excruciating life-ending pain.
But there is our answer to our problems in life! We are all villains who have broken God's most holy laws. We all deserve to be put to death. We don't realise it but we are writhing in the agony of sin until we choose to trust in our Saviour. Make Jesus your hope, your destination, your future.
Jesus promised the villain, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).
At this time of Easter we look to the Man on the cross, the Man who took ALL of our wrongdoings and all of the punishments that were due to us, and forever disposed of them so that we can live and reign with Him forever.
For you, at this moment in time, it means you are free of any condemnation for anything you have ever done. No ifs and no buts. You are free from emotional pain. No ifs and no buts. You are free of all the effects of sin. No ifs and no buts. YOU ARE FREE!
“So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free” (John 8:36).
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All quotations are from the NLT.
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