33. And when they came to the place called The Skull, there they
crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.
34. But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do
not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among
themselves.
35. And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were
sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ
of God, His Chosen One.”
36. And the soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him
sour wine,
37. and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save
Yourself!”
38. Now there was also an inscription above Him, “THIS IS THE
KING OF THE JEWS.”
39. And one of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse
at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!”
40. But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not
even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
41. “And we indeed justly, for we are receiving what we deserve
for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”
42. And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in
Your kingdom!”
43. And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be
with Me in Paradise.”
44. And it was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the
whole land until the ninth hour,
45. the sun being obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in
two.
46. And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father,
INTO THY HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.” And having said this, He breathed His last.
47. Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising
God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent.”
48. And all the multitudes who came together for this spectacle,
when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts.
49. And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from
Galilee, were standing at a distance, seeing these things.
We call the day of Jesus’ death “Good Friday”
because, while it was horrible for Him, it was GOOD for us. The most heinous death for
Jesus is what provides the way of salvation for sinners. That criminal who was crucified
with Him was the first person to “taste” the benefits of Good Friday. As far as
we know, that man never did anything good. A career criminal, perhaps. Who knows what he
did - ax-murderer, thief, rapist? Yet, when he looked to Jesus in trusting dependence and
asked Him to remember him when Jesus came into His Kingdom, Jesus promised that man
Paradise!
No matter what you have done, Jesus offers you the same opportunity
to enter Paradise (Heaven) he did to the criminal on the cross. Simply admit your need and
“look” to Jesus, asking Him to “remember” you. Another way to say that
is to “trust” Him for salvation and to go to Heaven. Don’t trust anything
else. Don’t trust yourself or your church attendance or your good works to get you
there. Ask Jesus to take you there. (for a fuller explanation of what is involved in
becoming a Christian, click here.)
If you have been struggling with pornography, know this for certain:
the death of Jesus covers all sins. There is nothing you have done that is so bad that
Jesus will not forgive you if you admit that it was wrong and ask Him for forgiveness. It
will be a really Good Friday for you when you put your trust in Jesus.