Two crosses stood touching the afternoon sky, each holding a thief. Both robbers hung with arms outstretched and watched as the spikes were nailed into the hands and feet of the One to be hung on the third cross. Each relived the excruciating pain with each strike of the mallet.
The crowd stood watching, staring, wondering if they were about to witness a miracle. After all, the man in the middle – the one they called Jesus – wasn’t this the man who just days before was being followed by hordes of people wherever he went?
The last strike was hurled as the spike was set in place. With rugged strength and without thought to the pain caused by movement, the soldiers hoisted the cross into its hole with a thud. The jolt caused searing pain to pierce through his body. The body of Christ.
The soldiers picked up Jesus’ clothes lying at the base of the splintered wood cross and began laughing amongst themselves as they cast lots for the garments, which were bloodied and stained. The crowds mocked him saying, “He saved other people – let him save himself!” People watched as the soldiers, after finishing their game, responded to Jesus’ plea for a drink by offering him vinegar – the completion of prophecies recorded long ago.
The two thieves, one hanging on each side, watched as the circus of death continued.
With a rough voice, the thief on his right yelled to Jesus (paraphrased), “Aren’t you the guy who claimed to be the big shot Messiah? Yeah, well then save yourself! Better yet – Save us!”
The other thief interjected (again, paraphrased). “Don’t you even fear God’s wrath man, since you yourself are under the same sentence? We deserve to die for what we’ve done, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong!”
How did he know?
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It had only been a week ago that he had been caught stealing his neighbor’s lamb in preparation for the Passover. Living in poverty, he had no lamb or goat to use, yet alone one without blemish, spots or anything else. He wanted his family to celebrate the Passover as all the other townspeople were – preparing their homes for the annual feast. What was so wrong with that? He’d repay the person he was stealing it from. Of course, he still needed to repay all the other things he had stolen or his wife was never going to speak to him again.
His family was perpetually poor and he did all he could to keep them fed and clothed but the size of their arms and legs were their very evidence of their poverty. At night, he would and scrounge the pigpens, where even the pigs ate better than he on scraps thrown outside the temple gates – scraps from the chief priest’s dinners.
He promised his wife that this year’s Passover would be different, but the past weeks and even years thievery made this year’s promise a prisoner and ultimately sentenced him to a cross.
If he had it to do over again, he still would have tried to find a lamb somewhere for his family. It was that important to him. He wanted his children to know what God had done for his people. How he had saved them from death so many years ago by passing over their home if an unblemished lamb’s blood had been applied to the doorposts. He wanted them to always remember and never forget. After today, however, there would be no do-overs and he wouldn’t have to steal to provide. He would no longer have to. It was his day of sentencing – his day of death.
There would be no miracles here today. Or so it seemed.
The thief that had mocked Jesus now hung silently next to the One who, whether he wanted to or not, he would one day bow down to. He was finding it harder to stay alive with each breath he took. The other thief that had rebuked him when he had mocked Christ, used his final breaths to make a desperate plea to Jesus.
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
His eyes were sincere. His plea even more. His faith was off the charts. In the final moments of his life, Christ sets him free. Jesus sees his faith, he hears his plea and he answers with grace.
“I tell you the truth – today you will be with me in paradise.”
The thief had been granted freedom, took his last breath, and passed from this life to the next.
Can you imagine such joy? Yes, there had been a miracle that day. Everyone else just missed it.
