QUESTION:
WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF JESUS BEING CRUCIFIED BETWEEN TWO NOTORIOUS
SINNERS?
“And He, bearing His cross, went out
to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha,
18 where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side,
and Jesus in the center.” (John 19:17-18)
God’s Word
makes very clear the purpose for which Jesus came into the world. “This is a
faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners.” (1 Timothy 1:15)
And so, it
is only reasonable to understand that when on the cross He was between two such
sinners, one who would recognize Him as Savior and the other who would not. The
scene becomes a microcosm of His world wide appeal, some would believe in Him,
many would not. Both thieves disbelieved when hung next to Him, but in the
minutes that passed, one turned from rejection to acceptance. Jesus promised
him entrance into Paradise that very day. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and
thou shalt be saved.”
Also, when
it came time for the Roman authorities to verify the deaths of all three, they
broke the legs of two of them, but Jesus, already dead, did not have His legs
broken, thus fulfilling the Old Testament prophecy (Psalm 34:20) mentioned in
John 19:32,33….“Then the soldiers
came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with
Him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already
dead, they did not break His legs.” He is God! Therefore, He had power to lay
down His life and to take it up again. He of His own volition dismissed His
spirit, thereby affirming His deity. This amazingly so and in
complete contrast to the two between whom He was crucified.
Dick Christen
