The Messiah, Yes or No..?!

Did you ever think about why there were two thieves crucified with Jesus the Christ on that day 2000 years ago at a place called Calvary?  There was one on either side of Him, and except that they had to have done some really bad things to have deserved such a punishment, which was reserved for the most heinous of criminals, little is known about them.

It occurred to me the other day that those two men, which are traditionally referred to as the “penitent thief” and the “impenitent thief,” and some ancient texts have named them “Dismas” and “Gestus” respectively, are very reflective of the world where it comes to recognizing Messiah.  For the purposes of this article, I will refer to them as “Yes” and “No,” because then and now, those are the only two possible responses to the Cross, and I think very possibly that is why there were only two others being crucified with our Lord that day.

On that day, many people turned out to witness which was both the most blessed and the most terrible event in the history of the world, and besides His mother and a handful of His disciples and followers, most of the rest of them were full of hate and on hand to curse Him.

Then and now, the percentages of those who recognize Him are about the same.  

As far as “Yes” and “No,” they were both hanging from crosses close enough to talk directly to the Light of the World, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the Truth, the Epitome of Love, the Messiah; yet both joined the crowd in taunting Him.  

And then, probably very suddenly and certainly by virtue of the Holy Spirit, “Yes,” probably recalling and connecting among other things what he had been taught about the coming Messiah by the rabbis as a child, and that he had heard about this man Jesus who had done nothing wrong and had been performing miracles, recognized who he was next to and pondered that while he himself clearly deserved what he was getting, this man Jesus who was dying next to him did not deserve the punishment.

“Yes” certainly would not have had all the details and wasn’t there for the miracles, but somehow he understood that just asking Jesus for forgiveness was sufficient, that Jesus would save him, because only Jesus can.

With his eyes wide open to this fact, he rebuked “No,” who was still jeering at Jesus asking him “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?”  Luke 23:40  

Then he turned to Jesus and said “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom!” Luke 23:42, to which Jesus immediately replied, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”  Luke 23:43  

My friends, my brief description of that scene, discussed so many times since, is where the rubber meets the road.  

Those two criminals, “Yes” and “No,” are you and I as well as everyone we know and don’t know.  Just like us, because we are all dying from our sin and are hanging on those crosses with The Truth right in front of us, each of them and each of us had/have a choice to make,  One of them, “Yes,” understood what was happening on the Cross only inches away from him.  The choice he made was in the waning moments of his life and he asked to be remembered by the only One who could save him once he breathed his last breath on that horrific instrument of death, and has, since that afternoon, been in Paradise. 

“No” on the other hand, sealed his own fate by choosing to go along with the gathered crowd, rejecting and cursing Jesus until he was ushered into an eternity of damnation and hellfire.  

I am here to tell you that except for 2000 years passing, nothing has changed since that day.  Our Heavenly Father loves us and is still reaching out to us via the work done on that Cross by His Son and according to 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.”  

None of us was there that day, but we are all metaphorically part of that crowd and our Lord had each and every one of us in mind when He allowed Himself to be scourged almost to death and then nailed to that Cross as a final sacrificial atonement for our sins.

That day two men made their decisions.  One of them, who couldn’t even put his hands together to pray is now with our Lord.  The other is NOT.

The offer of Salvation through the Blood of Jesus the Christ is still on the table for all who would simply say yes to Him.  Just like the “penitent” thief, there is nothing you can do to be worthy.  It doesn’t matter what you might have done or not done, if you are 10 or 110; as long as you are breathing, He is ready and willing to accept you as you are and wash away your sins and burdens and welcome you into His Eternal Kingdom.  

But, just like those condemned men next to Him that day, and everyone else since, you have to make that decision.  

How will you respond..?