AMAZING GRACE! THAT SAVED A WRETCH LIKE ME

The writer has beautifully captured the fact that: “There were no accidents in the life of the Lord Jesus-only appointments. It was not accidental that the Lord Jesus was between these two thieves because the Father was working out His gracious providential plan.”

Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom”. Words wet with remorse and sorrow trickled down from the bleeding mouth of one of the two dying thieves. They were criminals crucified on the cross at Golgotha as punishment for committing crime under the Roman law. The hillock of Golgotha stood outside the walled City of Jerusalem; where the deadly punishment of death by crucifixion* was conferred to the worst criminals as a deterrent punishment. In between the crosses of those two thieves stood one cross, on which was crucified the One, who knew no sin, did no sin and in Him was no sin, and yet He was numbered with the criminals.

A large crowd gathered at Golgotha that morning, which included the chief priests, the teachers of the Law and the elders. Those who passed by that way also came and joined the mob. Their entire attention was focused singularly upon the One who was crucified on   the cross at the centre, although He did not commit any crime. On the contrary, He did only good things to the people. He healed all manner of sicknesses and diseases among the people. He healed the lepers, the demon possessed were set free, the blind were restored to sight, the palsied healed, an epileptic boy healed, the dead were raised alive. His compassion for the people knew no bounds. He was merciful to those who cried for mercy. He forgave and continues to forgive the sins of the people.

The sun hesitated to send his beams down upon the earth as the atmosphere was surcharged with hatred and bitterness against the One, who hung on the cursed tree, between those two thieves, and the air became heavy with the stench of death. The vultures hovered above their heads seeking to devour their prey.

It was none but Christ Jesus, the Prince of life. After crucifying Him, and after parting His garments by casting lots, the Roman soldiers sat down and sipped wine, as their manner was, and watched the Suffering Servant of Jehovah, entertaining themselves at the suffering of the King of glory. 'You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross if you are the Son of God!' said the passers-by, wagging their heads.

'He saved others, but He cannot save Himself! He is the King of the Jews! Let Him come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him' mocked the chief priests, the teachers of the Law and the elders.

The thieves were not far behind in sneering and jeering at the Lord.

From every mouth flew insults, scorn and mockery. Their hatred of the Lord Jesus, the prince of Glory was visibly manifest in its worst form.

As the grace of God had its work upon the children of men, one of the thieves stopped jeering at the Lord any more. But the other continued his outburst, 'if Thou be the Christ, save Thyself and us'. He did not come to save Himself, but to lay down His life as a ransom for the sin of everyman born upon this earth.

'Don't you have the fear of God, seeing that you are also in the same condemnation?' The other dying thief cautioned his comrade. He continued in the same breath, 'you and I are punished justly: for we receive the due reward for our criminal deeds, we deserve to die like this for our crime, but this Man, has done nothing amiss!'

The message of the cross preached by the penitent dying thief to his dying comrade on the cross! But there was brazen silence.

This dying penitent thief then slowly turned his eyes towards the Saviour. He singled out himself and pleaded trembling, 'Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom'. When everyone else hated Him, condemned Him, accused Him, jeered at Him, wagged their heads at Him; and yet although he was all alone, he trusted in the Saviour and pleaded for mercy.

The Lord Jesus while upon the cross was bleeding profusely all over. The crown made of sharp thorns, placed on His head tore his brow, from which blood oozed down. His body had long furrows like a man's ploughed field and the huge amount of blood that came there-from covered his being giving the spectacle of a garment dyed in crimson red. Our Lord's visage was marred than any man. He had no form or comeliness and there was no beauty that anyone would desire Him. Nothing but coarse mockery and crude insults rained on Him from every mouth.

The penitent thief, who had the rare privilege of being nearer to the cross of the Saviour, could see the grace, the gentleness, the love, the meekness and the holiness of the Saviour in display in full grandeur. There had been no bitterness on the face of the Lord to those who unjustly tried Him, unjustly flogged Him, buffeted Him, spat upon Him, crowned Him with a thorny crown, and scoffed at Him and humiliated Him. The Lord moved with compassion at their ignorance and asked the Father for their forgiveness. The penitent thief saw those extraordinary virtues of the Saviour.

The grace of God working in his heart brought to remembrance, the coming of the kingdom of God and the following judgment that is reserved for sinners like him. The penitent thief saw in Jesus his Saviour and Lord that, 'This man hath done nothing amiss'. He was the holy Son of God. He believed in the deity of Jesus, by calling Him Lord (Romans 10:13), when the multitude called him, “scoffer”. He said “Lord, remember me, when Thou cometh in Thy kingdom!” It was a prayer which embraced in its fold, the Kingship of Christ and His everlasting kingdom, and his earnest desire to enter into that Kingdom. Amazing grace!

'Today, thou shalt be with Me in paradise' said the Saviour. The repentant thief marvelled at the authority with which the Lord Jesus spoke amidst His sufferings and agony upon the cross. Words of profound comfort! Words of eternal joy! It brought cheer to his soul. The malefactor felt that he had come to possess a priceless treasure, though it was at the end of his little life. The certainty preceded the assurance of it, 'verily I say unto thee'....and the imminence of this promise, 'today shalt thou be with Me...' O! what a Saviour!

The penitent thief drowned in exhilarating joy. Unspeakable joy and peace that transcends human understanding enveloped his soul. The Lord had forgiven his sins. As he was musing in his heart about the joy of the assurance of salvation, he saw black dark clouds gathering in the sky, the sun began to darken and darkness covered the entire earth.

'My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me', the loud cry of the Saviour reverberated through the hills and valleys of Palestine. The storm of God's wrath raged upon His Son. The Father turned His face away from the Son. But the Son 'finished' the arduous task entrusted to Him, at the appointed time. The Almighty God, the Father was fully satisfied. As if to relay the delight of the Father, the sun burst through the dark clouds and shined brightly over all the earth.

The thief adored His Saviour. The violent strokes of the club that fell upon his legs could not deter him from worshipping his Saviour, Lord and Master. Moments passed. As the soul of the penitent thief passed into Paradise, the city which has foundations of exquisite precious stones of diverse kinds, with gates of elegant pearls and its streets made of pure gold,which dazzles like transparent glass, outshined by the very presence of the Sovereign God where there is no more sorrow and no more weeping, the soul of the impenitent thief passed into the blackness of the darkness of hell, to the company of Satan, the old serpent and the deceiver of souls and the multitude of the fallen angels, where there is weeping and wailing for the timeless ages of eternity.

*Death by Crucifixion:- Death by crucifixion is the most barbaric and heinous, as it is gradual death by hanging on three sharp nails supported by raw flesh, running into several days. It used to be quite a long-drawn-out, process rarely ending before thirty six hours. The pain was intense and excruciating, as the whole body was strained, while the hands and feet, which are just a mass of nerves and tendons, would keep losing blood. The arteries of the head and stomach would be surcharged with blood, causing aching headache, traumatic fever and tetanus would set in caused by sharp nails with which the victim's palms and feet are nailed to the cross with brute force. The legs of the victim are shattered with club, if for any reason the crucifiers intended to hasten the death of the victim.

If you want to understand more about God’s Free Gift of Salvation in these final moments of human civilization, you could read through the several other articles in this blog archive.

- by Nadesan K.