Even before the appointed time
for God to realize His grand plan
of salvation for mankind came,
“For God loved the world so
much that he gave his one and
only Son, so that everyone who
believes in him will not perish
but have eternal life. God sent his
Son into the world not to judge
the world, but to save the world
through him” (John 3:16,17,
NLT), Jesus already knew that the
road to Calvary would not be
easy.
“Jesus was in great pain and
prayed so sincerely that his
sweat fell to the ground like
drops of blood” (Luke 22:44,
CEV).
Christ who knew no sin became
the offering for our sin, so that
we could be made right with God
(2 Corinthians 5:21). “He was
despised and rejected by
mankind, a man of suffering,
and familiar with pain. Like one
from whom people hide their
faces he was despised, and we
held him in low esteem. Surely he
took up our pain and bore our
suffering, yet we considered him
punished by God, stricken by
him, and afflicted. But he was
pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our
iniquities; the punishment that
brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are
healed” (Isaiah 53:3-5).
He silently went through the
mockery of a trial in mere
human court, and though was
found innocent (Luke 23:15), the
very same people for whom He
did miracle after miracle
demanded His death … even
death on the Cross. The mocking
continued until …
“One of the criminals hanging
there also insulted Jesus by
saying, "Aren't you the Messiah?
Save yourself and save
us!" (Luke 23:39, CEV).
“But the other one made him
shut up: "Have you no fear of
God? You're getting the same as
him. We deserve this, but not
him—he did nothing to deserve
this" (Luke 23:40-41, MSG).
“Then he said, "Jesus, remember
me when you come into your
kingdom. Jesus said to him, "I tell
you the truth, today you will be
with me in paradise" (Luke
23:42-43, NCV).
In the hour of men’s worst
wretchedness, God’s greatest
grace was displayed. Discover
the beauty of these four truths:
I tell you the truth. The promise
given by Jesus to the repentant
criminal was not an empty
consolation to a dying man, but
the truth as surely as He who
promised is the Truth (John
14:6). And the same promise is
available to us now. “We believe
with our hearts, and so we are
made right with God. And we
declare with our mouths that we
believe, and so we are saved. As
the Scripture says, "Anyone who
trusts in him will never be
disappointed." That Scripture
says "anyone" because there is
no difference between those
who are Jews and those who are
not. The same Lord is the Lord of
all and gives many blessings to
all who trust in him, as the
Scripture says, "Anyone who
calls on the Lord will be saved”
(Romans 10:10-13, NCV).
Today. Salvation is available
today to anyone who will
confess with their mouth and
believe in their heart that Jesus
Christ is their Lord and Savior.
Jesus Himself guaranteed this to
a condemned man who was
“criminal” by all worldly
standards; He asked of him no
requirements, no laws, and no
good works before He promised
him the joy of being with Him in
paradise. Because salvation is
God’s grace at work in us, it is
something we can never work
on.
“God saved you by his grace
when you believed. And you
can’t take credit for this; it is a
gift from God. Salvation is not a
reward for the good things we
have done, so none of us can
boast about it” (Ephesians 2:8-9,
NLT).
“For there is only one God and
one Mediator who can reconcile
God and humanity—the man
Christ Jesus. He gave his life to
purchase freedom for everyone.
This is the message God gave to
the world at just the right
time” (1 Timothy 2:5-6, NLT).
“Jesus is the only One who can
save people. No one else in the
world is able to save us” (Acts
4:12, NCV).
You will be with Me. God offers
us a relationship that is intimate
and personal. Imagine how, amid
the frenzied shouting and
cheering of a crowd that was
celebrating His slow death, He
turned His ear to the soft
pleading of one repentant man.
And while this man merely asked
to be remembered, Jesus
promised him companionship.
Since the fall of man, God hasn’t
changed in His desire to
fellowship with men. This is the
very reason why He sent Jesus
to reconcile us with Him, through
Christ (John 3:16).
Jesus promised His disciples,
“There are many rooms in my
Father's house. I wouldn't tell
you this, unless it was true. I am
going there to prepare a place
for each of you” (John 14:2,
CEV). The same promise is true
to everyone who believes in
Him.
In paradise. These two words
tell us that life doesn’t end in
death. Paradise is waiting for
everyone who has put his faith
in Christ.
“I tell you the truth, those who
listen to my message and believe
in God who sent me have eternal
life. They will never be
condemned for their sins, but
they have already passed from
death into life. And I assure you
that the time is coming, indeed
it’s here now, when the dead will
hear my voice—the voice of the
Son of God. And those who listen
will live. The Father has life in
himself, and he has granted that
same life-giving power to his
Son. And he has given him
authority to judge everyone
because he is the Son of Man.
Don’t be so surprised! Indeed,
the time is coming when all the
dead in their graves will hear the
voice of God’s Son, and they will
rise again. Those who have done
good will rise to experience
eternal life, and those who have
continued in evil will rise to
experience judgment” (John
5:24-29, NLT).
Because of God’s amazing grace,
salvation is available to all
because Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners, even
the chief of them (1 Timothy
1:15).
Let us not render powerless the
work of Christ on the Cross. He’s
our only way to salvation (Acts
4:12).