Certainly, This Man Was Innocent [Luke 23]
32 Two others also, who were criminals, were being led away to be put to death with Him. 33When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. 34But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.
35And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One."
36The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, 37and saying, "If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!" 38Now there was also an inscription above Him, "THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS."
39One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, "Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!"
40But the other answered, and rebuking him said, "Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41"And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." 42And he was saying, "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!"
43And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise." 46And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, "Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT." Having said this, He breathed His last.
47Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, "Certainly this man was innocent."
As Jesus was hanging on the cross the people around were still trying to decide whether He deserved to be there or not. Even though it was too late for it to make any difference, there was still a strong sense that each one had to decide. "The people stood by, looking on" captured with the drama of whether He was who He said He was. "And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, 'He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.'"(emphasis added). It was if they still were trying to justify that it was the right decision to have this man die. After all, He could still save Himself if they were wrong about Him not being God's Chosen One, they reasoned. Even the soldiers joined in the debate, secretly wondering if this man was really righteous and undeserving of the treatment they were giving Him.
It is a decision that each one of us has to make even now, 2000 years later. Did Jesus deserve to die? Was He truly innocent? The two criminals hanging beside Him illustrate the only two possible answers. One yells out, "Aren't You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us." It didn't matter to him if Jesus was truly innocent. He knew what he deserved but he wanted to save his own skin.
The choice the other criminal made was the right choice. "And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." His decision that Christ was indeed God's Son and that He was completely righteous enabled him to receive the truth - Christ died for him. And today he is with Christ in Paradise because he made the right decision. The criminal that deserved to die for his sin received the forgiveness that Christ prayed for him. "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."
What is your decision today? Did Christ deserve to die that slow and painful death or did He die for you? (see also Romans 5:6-7) Can you declare with the centurion, "Certainly this man was innocent?"
Father, I praise You for Your Son, who was righteous and did not deserve to die. Thank You for the forgiveness that is mine because when He died on the cross He paid for my sins, for which I could not pay. I praise you that I will also live with you in heaven because I have received this truth.
All the Scriptures Explain Jesus [Luke 24]
13And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem.14And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place.15While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them.16But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.17And He said to them, "What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?" And they stood still, looking sad.18One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, "Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?"19And He said to them, "What things?" And they said to Him, "The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people,20and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him.21"But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened.22"But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning,23and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive.24"Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see."25And He said to them, "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!26"Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?"27Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.One of the most amazing discoveries I have made in all of my years of Bible study is that the entire Bible is about Jesus from start to finish. For a time, I only studied the New Testament because I thought that it was for the Christians. I don't know what I thought about the Old Testament, but I had no clue that the Old and New Testaments dovetailed perfectly and both told about Jesus. At the time of the events above, only the Old Testament with "Moses and all of the prophets" was available to the people who wanted to know God. Therefore, the resurrected Jesus "explained to them the things concerning Himself" using only the Old Testament. There were no gospels, Acts, or epistles yet written for Him to use to explain about His life. It was all there in the Old Testament already. Just that one fact boosted my faith more than just about anything else I have learned. To think that all of the 66 books of the Bible written over a period of thousands of years by a host of writers from all walks of life are summed up in the life, death, resurrection and the return of Jesus still amazes me just as I imagine it amazed those who listened to the resurrected Jesus explain about Himself in all the Scriptures of that day.
I praise you ,Jesus, that the entire Bible is Your story. Cause me to keep reading it and learning more about You.
Join us as we begin tomorrow a journey through the Old Testament, one chapter at a time. Let's look for this amazing story of redemption that the Son of God has provided!
Verna McCrillis, 12/31/2009