We are not told of a
sign on the crosses of the other two but that may simply be because Jesus is
the primarily issue of the gospels. John
notes that there was an attempt by the Jewish leaders to change what Pilate had
directed to be posted, JESUS OF NAZARETH, KING OF THE JEWS.
John says many of the Jews read this title. The reason for the many people is that the cross was near the city. Both the traditional site at the Church of
the Holy Sepulcher and the site called Gordon’s Calvary fit this nearness to
the city. In addition, it was
Passover. Estimates are that there were
anywhere from 60-100,000 people living in Jerusalem at the time; but at
Passover when Jews from the diaspora came in large numbers, it was more like
half a million to 2-3 million. Wherever
the cross was located near Jerusalem John’s statement would have been
accurate. Much of that busyness would
have been related to Passover; yet they did not realize that on the cross was our
Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7).
Second: Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.
What a powerful truth
is illustrated in this exchange. This is
the classic picture of faith alone,
of the inability of man to please God by good works. The thief had no time for works other than
defending Jesus to the other thief. It
is also the classic picture of Jesus as the
All-Sufficient One, El Shaddai. What
Jesus promised the thief depended on Jesus finishing well on the cross; it
required His sacrifice be adequate and accepted as payment in full for our sin
and guilt.
We see as well the
requirement, on the part of men, that they receive Christ by faith. Jesus’ words were spoken only to one thief,
not to the other. They were spoken to
the one whose faith was apparent when he spoke of Jesus’ future: remember me when you come into Your kingdom. The thief is declaring his faith in Jesus as
One who is about to die but will live again.
The thief places his own hope for the future in the care of this King on
a cross.
It is important for us
to talk about the cross, to study the cross of Jesus, to consider the events of
that day. But the cross of Christ is not
a mere academic topic. It is an event
that requires a response. One thief
rejected Christ, ridiculing Him until he died.
But one put his hope in Christ, hope beyond this life. Whatever it is that you are trusting in in
this life must be evaluated as to what it will do for you the second after you
die. And you will die; it is common to
all men. The crucified, buried and risen
Lord Jesus Christ will never disappoint those who trust in Him, not in this life
nor in the one to come.
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