He Offers Salvation: Believe
Luke 23:32-49
Jesus is being taken to the hill where He will be crucified. Completely undeserving of death, He is to be executed along with two others. Jesus has been sentenced to death unjustly. He has committed no punishable offense. Further, He is sinless, free even from the guilt of sins for which there is no judicial penalty. So, He is innocent in two arenas: under human law and under God’s perfect standard.
The two others to be executed with Jesus are identified as criminals. As people, they are spiritually guilty of being sinners, as are all of us. They are also guilty of crimes for which society’s penalty is death. They are guilty in two arenas: before God, spiritually, and before man, temporally.
Three figures hang on three crosses, near enough to each other to communicate even in the process of hanging there crucified and dying. Jesus is doubly innocent. The other two are doubly guilty.
Jesus, with the undeniable power to come down from the cross and wipe out the instigators and the executioners, instead stays put. He overcomes the human priority of self-preservation, and His divine priority of selflessness prevails. He does not declare that sin will go unpunished. Instead, while retaining the integrity of the holy and just punishment of sin under God’s unchangeable law, He volunteers to receive the punishment Himself that is deserved by each of us. Jesus’ disposition toward sinners is made evident in this horrific and awe-inspiring scene.
First, He sacrifices Himself for lost and undeserving humanity. That’s the macro view, or the “big picture.” That tells us He loves us so much that He would go to extreme lengths to make a way for humanity to be saved.
Second, He intercedes before the Father for the forgiveness of those apparently responsible for His execution. He shows a divine mercy in asking the Father to forgive them, referencing their ignorance. That’s the median view, or the “medium picture.”
Third, He responds to the faith of one criminal by declaring him to be heaven-bound (forgiven and saved). That’s the micro view, or the “up-close-and-personal” picture.
Jesus’ voluntary self-sacrifice is not just a sweeping manifestation of a theological proposition (He died for the whole world). It also comes to us, face to face, on the human level, one sinner at a time (He died for you).
The executioners (save one), going about their duties, don’t realize the brush they’ve had with God. But you might be having a brush with Him right now as you ponder these truths. Who in this story best represents who you are or want to be?
– The ETB writer for the spring quarter is a South Carolinian who formerly served Southern Baptists in a closed country. We are honoring his request not to publish identifying information.