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, 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
