The First Thief
Then one of the criminals hanging there began to yell insults at Him:
“Aren’t You the Messiah? Save Yourself and us!” (Lk 23:39 HCSB)
I felt like I was waking up from a dream. It was dark and quiet but the dark was slowly giving way to light as my eyes slowly opened. The quiet was giving way to the sound of voices. People were yelling, They were hurling insults, but to whom, I did not know. I heard them saying, “Scoundrel! Thief! Plunderer!”
The shouts became louder and my body started to ache; every part of my body. My back felt raw and burning. My face felt bruised and swollen. My ribs were sore and must have been broken. I began to realize I’d been beaten.
The greatest pain was in my wrists and in my feet. I tried to reach out to rub the pain but the movement made the pain even greater. My hands would not move. I was nailed to a wooden cross. Spikes went through my feet and my wrists. How did I get here? Why was I here?
The insults got louder and I realized this crowd was yelling at me and two other men next to me. The one furthest from me I knew well. He wasn’t really a friend. We occasionally did business together but I did not trust him. Most of the time I considered him a competitor.
The Man next to me seemed familiar but I did not know him well. There were several women looking at Him, crying and reaching out. The Roman Soldiers kept the crowd at a distance. It occured to me, this was the Man everyone was talking about. Some said He was the Messiah, the one who would deliver us from Roman occupation and restore us to the world power we once were. They called Him Jesus, son of Joseph, the Galilean. What if He was Messiah?
I yelled, “Aren’t You the Messiah? Save Yourself and us!” He did not answer me. My colleague rebuked me but I didn’t really pay attention to what he said. He spoke to Jesus and Jesus said something to him. Their conversation was faint. I could hear the sound of their voices but not what they were saying. The noise of the crowd also became faint and my eyes felt heavy. I could not breathe. I pushed up against the spikes in my feet and the pain was excruciating. I could not even scream. It was then that I knew death would soon be upon me. I had a brief moment of fear but immediately realized death would bring an end to this suffering. I resigned myself to death, even invited it. I closed my eyes and started to wish for it. There was no other way off this cross.
Before the noise faded completely, it started to return, growing louder again, only this time it was different. These were not insults I was hearing. These were screams. My eyes opened and I could see once again. I was no longer on the cross. I was free, floating in space but with an unseen, weight upon me. The pressure enveloped me, squeezing me, crushing me, from every direction. The pain returned a thousand fold. I screamed out. My screams joined the others.
I was surrounded by other screaming people. They were next to me, below me, above me. There were also hideous creatures everywhere but they were restrained with chains, chained to walls I could not see. I struggled to make sense of this. They were screaming and hissing. The smell of sulfur filled the air and flames increased with each hiss of these strange creatures. Their hatred was being poured out on the humans but these screaming creatures also seemed to be in total agony. Then the realization hit me. These were demons. I was trapped in hell with them and other human souls.
……………
The Second Thief
“Don’t you even fear God, since you are undergoing the same punishment? We are punished justly, because we’re getting back what we deserve for the things we did, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!”
And [Jesus] said to him, "I assure: Today you will be with Me in Paradise."
(Lk 23:40-42 HCSB)
I felt like I was waking up from a dream. It was dark and quiet but the dark was slowly giving way to light as my eyes slowly opened. The quiet was giving way to the sound of voices. People were yelling, They were hurling insults, but to whom, I did not know. I heard them saying, “Scoundrel! Thief! Plunderer!'
The shouts became louder and my body started to ache; every part of my body. My back felt raw and burning. My face felt bruised and swollen. My ribs were sore and must have been broken. I began to realize I’d been beaten.
The greatest pain was in my wrists and in my feet. I tried to reach out to rub the pain but the movement made the pain even greater. My hands would not move. I was nailed to a wooden cross. Spikes went through my feet and my wrists. How did I get here? Why was I here?
The insults got louder and I realized this crowd was yelling at me and two other men next to me. The one furthest from me I knew well. He wasn’t really a friend. We occasionally did business together but I did not trust him. Most of the time I considered him a competitor.
The Man next to me seemed familiar but I did not know him well. There were several women looking at Him, crying and reaching out. The Roman Soldiers kept the crowd at a distance. It occured to me, this was the Man everyone was talking about. Some said He was the Messiah, the one who would deliver us from Roman occupation and restore us to the world power we once were. They called Him Jesus, son of Joseph, the Galilean. What if He was Messiah?
My colleague suddenly yelled at this Man. ““Aren’t You the Messiah? Save Yourself and us!”
I heard of the work and deeds this Man did. He preached a message of love and forgiveness. Not what I expected from Messiah. We hoped for a great military leader. We hoped for another king like David.
This Jesus also healed the sick. He restored sight to the blind. He made the lame walk. I even heard he brought people back from the dead. I yelled back at my colleague. “Don’t you even fear God, since you are undergoing the same punishment? We are punished justly, because we’re getting back what we deserve for the things we did, but this man has done nothing wrong.”
My colleague did not answer. It seemed he was slipping into death. Will death be his escape from the excruciating pain he and I are both suffering? Will death come to me and free me from my agony? What will happen to my soul after I die?
I turned to Jesus and I said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!”
Jesus looked at me, His eyes stared directly into mine. They were piercing. I felt as if he looked directly into my soul. It seemed like He knew everything I ever did, every thought I ever had. I felt convicted. I waited for His rebuke. I expected to hear Him say, “It’s too late. You answered correctly. You spoke truth when you said, ‘We are punished justly, because we’re getting back what we deserve for the things we did.’”
However, His words were not what I expected. He surprised me when He said, “I assure you: Today you will be with Me in paradise.”
I wept. The weight of all my sins seemed to disappear. My weeping became uncontrollable. Was this true? After a lifetime of sin the Messiah, crucified alongside me, said I would be with Him in Paradise. Suddenly, the pain in my body began to disappear. The shouts of the crowd faded until I could no longer hear them. In fact, the crowd was gone. The cross was gone. I was in a room with no walls, no ceilings, no floor, yet I stood firm on…I don’t know. I was being enveloped by a light. The source of the light was the Man next to me, Jesus. He was different. He was majestic. There are no other words to describe Him. He is God. I fell to my knees and I cried out, “Lord. It’s true. You are Messiah, the Son of the living God. My Lord, my God, I am unworthy to be in Your presence.”
He stopped me, smiled, took my hand and raised me to my feet. Then He said, “Here you will dwell with Me forever along with all the Saints and the Heavenly Host, not because you were worthy but because I always loved you. Your confession at Calvary was all that was needed for you to secure My righteousness and inherit My gift to all who will receive it—eternal life.”
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Which of these two represents you?
