Daily Devotions
Two Thieves Look at Jesus
Title: Two Thieves Look at Jesus
Reading for April 26: 2 Kings 22-23
Weekly reading for April 15-21: Luke 20-24
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
Luke 23:39-43
So much of the gospel can be summed up in this short exchange. First of all, we see the rejection of Jesus by a man condemned for his sins. This criminal cannot see Jesus for who he really is because he cannot see himself correctly. He is full of pride. He does not have ears to hear or eyes to see (Luke 8:10).
How many of us are like this criminal? Filled with pride, we reject Jesus for ourselves because of a stubborn refusal to accept him. We think that if he were really the Christ we wouldn't have to suffer as we do in this life. (And it is our pride that keeps us from seeing that much of our suffering is self-imposed).
The other criminal has a completely different attitude toward himself and Jesus. He recognizes that he is suffering justly. He is humble enough to admit that he is a sinner and deserves his fate. And this perspective allows him to see Jesus more clearly. He puts his faith in Jesus and "calls on the name of the Lord" (Acts 2:21).
Father God, give us the humility of the penitent thief to see ourselves and our Savior more clearly.
