Quiet Moments with
the Criminal
Luke 23:32-43
Lent Midweek 4
Pastor Randy Walquist
March 22, 2006
Some time ago I came across the following statement which describes the cross of
our Savior in a way I had not considered before. Listen: "The cross stands like
a set of scales silhouetted against the Jerusalem sky. Its upraised bar balances
a crossbeam where love and justice meet, where all humanity has been weighed—and
found wanting!"
This is another way of
expressing the message of the hymn we just sang, especially the second stanza:
"Inscribed upon the cross we see In shining letters, 'God is love.' He bears our
sins upon the tree; He brings us mercy from above!" This hymn mentions both the
reality of our sins and the wonder of God's love, just as the saying I just
read. But one thing that intrigued me about the saying was the concept of the
balance. At the cross, God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. To
accomplish that reconciliation, Jesus had to satisfy the Father's justice. To do
this He had to pay the price for our sins—and that required the ultimate in
love. God is complete justice and total love. In a way, justice and love had to
be "balanced." How do these two fit? How do complete love and total justice ever
"balance"? Only in the cross, where Jesus willingly hung in love, paying the
penalty for the sins of the world! Jesus was hanging on the cross with His arms
outstretched for all the world!
Ever since at least the
time of Daniel, the balance has made human beings uncomfortable. Do you remember
the account of the balance in the book of Daniel? King Belshazzar of Babylon had
gathered many of the leaders of his kingdom for a great feast. When all the
guests were present and the party was in full swing, something unusual happened.
A mysterious hand appeared and started writing strange words. Do you remember
those words and the interpretation given them by Daniel when it was clear that
no one else understood their meaning? The Aramaic words were "Mene, Mene, Tekel
Upharsin." The translation of these words was "Numbered, numbered, weighed,
divided." The people at the party could not make sense out of this. So the king
called Daniel, who had had some experience with interpreting dreams and
revelations that had brought the Babylonians confusion. After viewing the words,
Daniel broke the bad news to the king. This was Daniel's interpretation of the
mysterious words: "God has numbered your kingdom. You have been weighed on the
balance and found wanting. Your kingdom will be divided!"
Not exactly the message the king had been hoping for! Actually, the message
terrorized the king. Ever since that time, because of the reality and the
seriousness of our sin, the balance has made sinful human beings uncomfortable.
Oh, yes, in our legal system we desire the balance of fairness and equality
under the law. But whenever we consider God's view, we understand that what we
need is not justice and fairness, but goodness and mercy!
That's why the picture
of the cross as a balance is so encouraging! If it is the cross of our Savior
that serves as our balance, we have peace because we know that in the cross God
allowed justice and love to come together for the salvation of the world!
Justice and love met in Jesus, and we can see how they functioned as we think
about the men who died on either side of Jesus that first Good Friday.
Both men crucified with Jesus on Calvary had been criminals. They admitted that
they were being executed for wrongs they had committed. Both men had been
weighed on the scales of human justice and were found wanting. We know very
little about these men. Matthew's Gospel tells us that both criminals joined the
crowd in casting insults at Jesus. They said things such as, "He saved others;
He cannot save Himself. He is the king of Israel; let Him come down from the
cross, and we will believe in Him." And "He trusts in God; let Him deliver Him
now, if He delights in Him, for He said, 'I am the Son of God.'"
It was not just one
criminal. Both of them had joined in the jeering and taunting. But something
happened inside one of the criminals, the one we are especially thinking about
this evening. He called to Jesus using a completely different tone than the one
he had used earlier. This time he cried, "Jesus, remember me when You come into
Your kingdom." As far as we know from all of the Gospels, this was the last word
spoken to Jesus before He died. If any other words were spoken to Him after
these words, they are not recorded in the Bible! These final words to the Savior
were spoken not by a religious leader, nor by the disciple whom He loved, nor
even by His mother standing at His feet. They were spoken by a common criminal!
You will remember Jesus' response: "Today, you will be with Me in paradise."
With these words Jesus lifted this criminal from the scale on which he was so
lacking and placed into the Savior's care, where forgiveness and love cover a
multitude of sins. Thus, justice is satisfied and love is sufficient.
Of this criminal's past
we know so little. We do not know all the crimes for which he had been
convicted. Matthew calls him a robber, but there may have been other crimes as
well. We can only surmise that he was a wayward son over whom some mother's
heart must have broken! Over whom some father's hopes must have been dashed!
It was this criminal who
called to Jesus. How could one so low have experienced a change in heart? How
could he have gone from being a hardened criminal facing execution, a man who
joined the crowd and mocked the world's Savior, to a man who called in faith to
Jesus and then (showing some "fruit of repentance") turned to the other criminal
to confess Jesus to him? What brought about the change?
Answer: This criminal
heard close-up what Peter heard from a distance and wrote about years later:
"When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered,
He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly" (I
Peter 2:23).
This criminal observed
the spears of abuse thrust at Jesus. He was personally guilty of hurling some of
those spears at Jesus. But Jesus did not throw them back! Jesus bore them all in
His heart. So this criminal heard all of this and lifted his faint head to look
at the Man from whose lips had come tender words of response, "Father, forgive
them!" When the criminal's eyes met the Savior's all time stood still. In those
eyes he saw no hatred, no scorn, no condemnation. He saw only forgiveness and
love! Then the criminal knew. By the power of the Holy Spirit he could tell that
he was face to face with the Savior who was dying for the sins of all!
This robber did not know
much theology. He did know at least three things: Jesus was a king, Jesus had a
kingdom not of this world, and Jesus had the ability and willingness to bring
even the least worthy into His kingdom. That might not be much theology, but it
is surely enough! The criminal called to be remembered. Remember me! He was not
asking for justice. He was calling for mercy, love, grace! And, in an instant, a
lifetime of debt was cancelled!
That is the way our God works! He calls unworthy people. He calls you and me! The scales no longer frighten us, therefore, because He shows us how His complete justice has been met. Jesus went to the cross. The cross shows in shining letters, "God is love!" Justice and mercy have come together! There is room at the cross for all sinners. Yes, sinners! So we are bound to qualify! We have been weighed on the balance and found wanting. But our Savior lifts us from the scales and embraces us anyway! Take the words of Jesus to that criminal personally. As we close our eyes in death, past failures will not matter. What will matter? The cross, where all humanity has been found wanting—but has been redeemed anyway, because of the love of Jesus! His love shown at the cross matters! By the cross Jesus says, "Today, you—yes, even you!—will be with Me in paradise!" Amen.
Pastor Randy Walquist
March 22, 2006