Jesus welcoming the outsiders in - characters unique to Lukes gospel
Luke 23v36-40 The repentant thief
We call it "Good Friday", but only one of the people there when Jesus was crucified ended that day with hope in their heart.
The rulers sneered at the one they thought a false messiah
The soldiers mocked the one they thought a false king
The disciples were horrified to see Gods plans apparently go wrong - how could their messiah and king be crucified?!?
Luke alone of the gospel writers draws our attention to the one man who had hope that day. One of the robbers had an astonishing change of heart. Matt (27v44) tells us that to start with both of the robbers were heaping abuse on Jesus - you can imagine how crude their insults may have been.
But something changed this man. Perhaps he remembered Jesus' words as the nails were driven through his hands and feet "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing". Perhaps he noticed that although everyone was pouring out hatred towards him, Jesus' response was a look of love and compassion.
Whatever it was, suddenly he changes. Look how he turns on his fellow victim. Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ! Somehow, no matter how bleak things look now, Jesus is going to come into his kingdom! We can summarise his statement as follows "I am a sinner, Jesus isn't, he is my King"
Jesus recognises and accepts the simple faith that the man puts in him. V43 is a wonderful promise.
There is no baptism. No church attendance. No doctrine learnt. Yet this man is saved. He is given the promise of paradise, which is the blissful resting place where Christians wait between death and the resurrection, awaiting the new heavens and the new earth.
The robber had many hours of literally excruciating pain to endure before that moment arrived - but the promise was sure.
No pilgrimages. No bad karma to be worked out. No offerings to make. Nothing to do… because on the cross Jesus Christ has DONE IT ALL.
This should be a tremendous comfort to us too. Nobody is too old, too weak, too "useless" in this worlds eyes, too sinful, too frail, too young, too limited, too tired to do the one thing for God which really matters. Accept Jesus as Lord and King in your life.
I've preached this in decrepit old peoples homes where many people had been virtually abandoned as useless and undesirable - but Jesus still loved them and wanted to hear from their hearts. If a man who was in agony nailed to a cross could open his heart to Jesus, then anyone can.
This good Friday, lets really think about Jesus, about the cross he bore. Let
us remember and think about the horrors which he bore there for us. Let us try
to follow the example of this robber - no matter what our current circumstances,
good or bad - and say "I am a sinner, Jesus isn't, he is my King".
Alex White
Choose your preferred style for this site: