Jesus was crucified together with two others who have traditionally been referred to as ‘thieves’. These were probably two of Barabbas’ co-conspirators. These guys were not just petty thieves. They were bandits; revolutionaries who robbed Roman supply transports to wreak havoc on the Roman occupiers. Crucifixion was the worst kind of punishment reserved for those that the Romans hated most. This included revolutionaries and, on that day, it also included Jesus who was being crucified as a revolutionary. It is a tragically ironic situation given that Jesus had vehemently opposed the Jewish revolutionary agenda. But it was as it had to be, because Jesus was paying for the sins of his people and so he suffered the punishment for the very agenda that was leading them away from God at the time. Crucifixion was a terrible fate for Jesus to have to suffer, but given the historical context it could not have declared a clearer message about what Jesus was doing. He suffered for our greatest errors so that we would not have to suffer the consequences ourselves. One of those thieves being crucified with Jesus recognised this before he died and he was saved as a result. Likewise, many Jerusalemites accepted Jesus in the early years of the Christian church and, as a result, many were saved from the doomed revolution. But the salvation that these people received was far more significant than that. In Christ we are saved from judgement and are given eternal life with him in paradise. Jesus considered your salvation worth what he had to go through.
Praise Jesus for what he has done for you.
Read Luke 23:26-43
