The Power of the Cross Reveals
the Glory of God’s Love in Christ
Jesus’ Love for Sinners
Jesus answered him,”I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise. Luke 23:43
Three crosses stood there on Calvary the day Jesus died. Three condemned men hung on those crosses. Each endured the same death sentence; yet each viewed life and death so differently as they hung there, dying.
One man hung on a cross of rejection. This man mocked Jesus. We don’t know what he knew about the Lord. We only know he repeated what he heard others say as he hung, embittered by his own powerlessness and the apparent weakness of the Savior who hung beside him. What is one to make of a messiah who cannot even save himself?
One man hung on a cross of repentance. This man mocked at first, but then admitted his own guilt. He saw in Jesus a power the first criminal missed. Seeing that power, the second criminal begged for mercy. He could do nothing to amend his past. He could promise nothing in a bargain for the future. Instead, he simply asked, “Jesus, remember me.”
“Remember me!” Not my sin, but me. Bible scholars tell us this man is the only person in the New Testament to call Jesus by his first name. He attaches no title, but says simply, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He seems to be the first to understand the true nature of Jesus’ kingdom. Imagine! A thief! And he is the first of so many down through the ages who will cry out, “Jesus, remember me.”
Third, in between the two thieves, hangs one on a cross of redemption. Jesus suffers there, arms stretched out, reaching wide in love to all who will receive him. That cross cancels out any need for despair. No matter what your past is all about! No matter how bleak and hopeless your future looks! From the cross of Christ flows endless power to forgive and help.
Yet, in that first cross, we read a warning. We dare not presume on God’s mercy or mistake it for weakness. The power of the cross can save, but it can also repel. Both thieves saw and heard the same message. One rejected. One repented.
Where in you life is the apparent powerlessness of God a sign of his love for you?
Prayer Starter
Jesus, help me realize your
great mercy, especially…
This week of devotionals for taken from The Power of the Cross by Rev. Barry Keurulainen Copyright 2010 CTA, Inc.
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