Thought One:
They called out to Him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.” Luke 23:37
I can imagine Jesus forgivingly looking at them and saying to Himself, “It’s not about me now, I’m busy saving all of you.”
Why do I say forgivingly? Because in verse 34, while the soldiers gambled for His clothes by throwing dice, Jesus said, “Father, forgive the, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Even in His agonizing state, He found time to forgive.
Thank You, Lord, for your graciousness and forgiveness.
Thought Two:
“One of the criminals hanging beside Him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving Yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!” 40 But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? 41 We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” 43 And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with Me in paradise.” Luke 23:39-43
Do you realize that with God, it is never too late to turn to Him? Here you had two bad dudes on both sides of Jesus, getting ready to pay for their wrongdoings, and Jesus paying for all OUR wrongdoings. He did no wrong. One of the prisoners recognized Christ, and must have known about Him because he didn’t disagree that Jesus was the Messiah, and he stated that Jesus had not done anything wrong. Jesus showed mercy on this criminal and saved his soul.
Now, for the other criminal, he will be in hell for eternity instead of Paradise.
You have a choice to make as well. Will it be Heaven or Hell? I pray that you’ve already made your choice to be in heaven for your eternal life, and experience heaven on earth until that time comes. How? By accepting Jesus as your personal savior, believe that He was born of a virgin and is the Son of God, that He died for you and me, and rose again to live forever at the right hand of God. Simply ask God to forgive you and to make your heart His home. He will. He knows if you sincerely mean it. He knew you before you were born and knows each hair on your head. You can’t fool God.
May this Easter not only be the time that we celebrate Jesus rising from the grave, but a time of rejoicing you being raised from your old sinful life into a new life in Christ. Hallelujah!
