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Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. John 5:24
D.L. MOODY
The cross of Christ divides all mankind. There are only two sides, those for Christ, and those against Him. Think of the two thieves; from the side of Christ one went down to death cursing God, and the other went to glory.
What a contrast! In the morning, he is led out, a condemned criminal; in the evening, he is saved from his sins. In the morning, he is cursing—Matthew and Mark both tell us that those two thieves came out cursing (Matthew 27:44; Mark 15:32); in the evening, he is singing hallelujahs with a choir of angels. In the morning, he is condemned by men as not fit to live on Earth; in the evening, he is reckoned good enough for heaven. In the morning, nailed to the cross; in the evening in the Paradise of God, crowned with a crown he should wear through all the ages. In the morning, not an eye to pity; in the evening, washed and made clean in the blood of the Lamb. In the morning, in the society of thieves and outcasts; in the evening, Christ is not ashamed to walk arm-in-arm with him down the golden pavements of the eternal city.
ERWIN LUTZER
Take a moment to imagine it: That evening in Paradise, Jesus is dining with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, when the thief shows up, and they ask, “Who are you? What did you do to get here?” And he answers, “I don’t know…how I got here except that the dying man next to me said He would remember me.” And Jesus steps forward and says, “Yes, I remembered you!”
The dying thief rejoiced to see, That fountain in his day,
And there may I, though vile as he, Wash all my sins away.
PRAYER
Father, thank you for redeeming rebels like me through the power of the gospel.REFLECTION QUESTIONS
What is it about the nature of the gospel that divides people?
What did the thief on the cross do to earn his salvation?