What the Criminal Knew

Today’s reading: Luke 23:13-43

We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong. Luke‬ ‭23:41‬ ‭NLT‬‬

First, when we come to each of the four crucifixion scenes in the New Testament, we may long for more details. Why wasn’t there more descriptive language given for these six hours of Jesus on the cross? The purpose of the gospel writers was to record history, not legend, and we are to find ourselves in that history.

This criminal, in verse 43, shows us a model of the conclusion that everyone who is saved has to come to:

We are guilty, deserving death (Ephesians 2:1).

He was innocent, a perfect sacrifice (Hebrews 10:14), and now stands able to make us innocent by His blood🩸.

Father, we pray today that more and more people would come to the conclusion of this insurrectionist and murderer. May they place their faith in (and turn to) the King of the Jews (Isaiah 45:22).

Read Colossians 2:12-15 to get an even clearer picture of what happened on the cross and what happens when we trust in Jesus. ✝️