Two Crosses

In Luke 23, we see two criminals that were crucified with Jesus. The reason there are two is to show the grace of God and to demonstrate that there is a choice to be made. Grace is an unearned gift from God - the Gift of Salvation. Now, the first choice is refusal - denying Christ - not accepting the Gift. The second choice is acceptance - reaching out and grabbing the gift.

We are all guilty of sin. We are all deserving of punishment. Some will deny their guilt while others will acknowledge their guilt. Likewise, some will accept God's Gift of Salvation and others will refuse it.

There were two criminals that day - one on His left, the other on His right. In a very real way, each one of us is one of those two criminals. We are all guilty of something, some of us acknowledge our guilt, and others deny it. Some accept the gift of salvation, others refuse it. Each of those men eventually dies on their cross and stands before God to give an account of himself – alone. However, if there were only two crosses that day, who could be reconciled with God?

With Jesus in the middle, suddenly the responses of each of the men take on a new meaning. The first man denies his guilt, the other acknowledges it. Both die, but the second man joins Jesus in paradise. Standing in judgment before God, only the second man has Jesus as his substitute. The first man stands before God alone. Consider how close salvation was to the second man yet he died in unbelief. The first man only asked that Jesus remember him.

There were three crosses on the hill that day. Each of us takes our place on either side of Christ. The one that you identify with, the one that represents your view of Christ will indicate where you will spend eternity.

Both criminals die and both will appear before God. Those that refuse the gift will stand alone. Those that accept the gift will stand with Jesus.

Which of the two criminals are you?