Cross, the Vantage Point (Luke 23:42-43)

Cross, the Vantage Point

 

Luke 23:42-43

 

When Jesus was crucified, he was crucified together with two thieves on his right and left sides. This was the fulfillment of Isaiah 53:12, saying “…… he …… was numbered with transgressors.” Then, one of the thieves asked to Jesus, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” This is an amazing conversation. This is even more amazing considering that it was between two persons who were condemned to death and in the horribly painful process of dying on the cross.

 

Sometimes we talk about our future. When we talk about our future, it is usually rather worries than hopes. Often our prospects depress our hearts heavily because our future is uncertain, and we have already experienced many failures and difficulties in the past. In this sense, the words between the thief and Jesus are extremely weird. on their crosses, in the dreadful pains, when the shadow of death is looming ahead, they are talking about hope and future. And not like our foggy and gloomy future, they are talking about the most assured, most glorious, and most immediate future hope. Jesus promised to the poor thief that he would ‘surely’ be with Jesus ‘in paradise’ and ‘today.’

 

Jesus’ promise reveals a marvelous truth. The truth is that this seemingly most miserable sinner dying on the cross is only a breath away from paradise and eternal life with his merciful King Jesus there. And even a more marvelous truth is that Jesus, who is dying in the hellish pains, is in fact the gate to the Heaven, to the Kingdom of God. This penitent thief found this gate in Jesus, and the paradise shining through the gate. In the last moment and the darkest moment of his life, he found the light in Jesus. And Jesus, with his Agony, opened the gate wide and welcomed him so gladly.

Can there be any more exciting reversal than the story of this thief? How could he find light in Jesus in such dreadful pains? But what I believe is that actually he was in ‘a vantage point’ to see who Jesus really is. He was dying on the cross for his sins, and there he met Jesus who came to this world, and through his ransom sacrifice, saves him from his sins and death and guides him to His Kingdom. What a perfect combination! on the cross, the sinner met the savior. on the cross, the sinner found the light of forgiveness, the light of resurrection, and the light of eternal life in Heaven, which are actually being emitted powerfully from the torn bleeding body of Jesus Christ. From his vantage point, the thief saw the light so clearly that he never doubted it and plunged himself into the grace of Jesus. And he was saved.

 

We may hate the cross because of its pains and its shames. But the truth is that the cross is the only place where we, as sinners, can find and recognize Jesus as our savior and as he truly is. only when we are groaning with the dreadful pains of my sins and the sins of the world, only then, our blind eyes will open to the light of Jesus. only from the vantage point, we will find and receive the eternal hope in Jesus. May the Lord bless us and lead us to the cross, not under the cross but on the cross so that we may also see more clearly who Jesus is and what Jesus gives to us through his body and blood!

 

“Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.’”