KIM HAWTREY asks, If you were to come face to face with God, what would you say? And more to the point, what do you expect he would say to you?
On the first Good Friday two thousand years ago, a pair of thieves had the opportunity to find out. They came face to face with Jesus at his crucifixion, for they too were being executed alongside him.
What transpired that day might surprise you. It will certainly challenge you. And although it happened back in antiquity, by stepping into their shoes we can encounter God ourselves through his timeless word, the Bible.
The New Testament historian Luke describes the crucifixion of Jesus in chapter 23 of his Gospel. You can picture the scene. After being sentenced to death, Jesus was taken to a place called ‘The Skull’ to be nailed to a wooden cross. Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed, one on his right and the other on his left.
We are told that one of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at Jesus, issuing an ultimatum and challenging Jesus’ claim to be God’s Son. But the other criminal rebuked him, saying, “don’t you fear God?”
Don’t you fear God? It’s a good question. By voicing it, this other criminal put his finger on something. He pinpointed the attitude problem in his colleague, indeed in human nature everywhere: a profound disregard for our Maker that runs deep in the human heart. The criminal who insulted Jesus, in other words, is like a prototype of all of us.
hell to pay
What is the nature of our problem towards God? The Bible says we were created in the beginning to display an appropriate ‘fear of God’ (Psalm 33:8) by acknowledging him and bowing to his will. But instead each of us has turned our back on God and ignored him.
That means all of us, without exception. Need more convincing? As a quick test, ask yourself this question: when was the last time you prayed? When we don’t pray it is as good as telling God that he is irrelevant. And there are many other symptoms of our unbelief on top of this single example.
Jesus accordingly says we are ‘evil’ (Luke 11:13). Are you shocked by this? Embarrassed that Jesus would refer to us in such language? There’s more. Jesus made it clear that our evil nature puts us under God’s wrath – on the road to hell. Unless something changes we are already condemned, under sentence of death like those thieves hanging on the cross.
In Luke 12, Jesus warns us in no uncertain terms: “I will show you whom you should fear: fear him who after the killing of the body has the power to throw you into hell.”
Yes, the Bible tells us that hell is real. Think about it … why else would God take the extreme step of sending his Son to become man, then face opposition and die a criminal’s death? The only explanation for such a costly rescue operation is that the spectre of hell is very genuine.
The first thing the cross of Christ proves, therefore, is that God regards the problem of human evil with utter seriousness, and that it is a mistake to imagine God will not send unsaved sinners to hell.
You and I are the reason why Jesus came. We had hell to pay, but no credit left. We made the cross of Christ necessary because we fail to ‘fear God’.
starting over
Thankfully, that is not the end of the story. If the first thief shows up the problem of human evil and the necessity of the cross of Christ, then the second one points to the solution to evil – and the sufficiency of Jesus’ death for dealing with it.
Luke continues with his account of the crucifixion scene that day. It is now the other criminal’s turn to speak to Jesus and he simply says, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” God’s Son replies, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Consider this for a moment. This thief was dying and had only hours to live. He had no time left, in other words, to reform his life. No time to start attending church, take part in religious ceremonies, or perform good deeds. And yet Jesus pronounces him forgiven in the sight of God and promises to see him in heaven.
See the implication? The thief is made right with God simply by faith in Jesus. He admits his guilt (no use denying it when you are plainly reaching your end at the hands of the criminal justice system!) and trusts that Jesus is capable of saving him.
Here we see a great thing: Jesus has built a bridge between us and God, using two planks of wood and three nails.
I remember meeting a man who for many years had no time for Christianity. He used to say, “I am basically a good enough person to get into heaven.” Then one day a friend stumped him with a question: “If it’s that simple, why then did Jesus have to die on the cross?”
Why indeed? That man came to realise that Jesus’ death can only count for something if it accounts for everything; that no effort or merit of our own can save us from God’s judgment, only Jesus can – by his death in our place to pay for our sin.
We need to do as the second thief did and cast ourselves upon the mercy of God. We are instinctively proud and self-sufficient. We want to try to appease God or dictate to him. So the hardest thing of all about becoming a Christian is putting aside our pride and letting him take over. It goes against the grain. Yet that is what we must do.
you and jesus, face to face
Today, the same Jesus who spoke with the two thieves is speaking to us in the Bible, and we must decide our response to him. Which will it be?
The first thief was given the opportunity of a lifetime and yet still missed the point, treating Jesus the wrong way.
The other thief had nothing to bargain with and yet ended up inheriting all the blessings of God, by treating Jesus the right way.
One day, we will each stand before the judgment seat of Jesus and meet him face to face. Make sure he will remember you, by making it your prayer this Easter to say, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Kim Hawtrey
