Good Friday, April 7, 2023
By Jeremiah Charles Williams, Tree of Life Church, Palmer, Alaska
John 11:25-26
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Luke 23:33-49
33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. 35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,45 while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. 47 Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” 48 And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. 49 And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things.
The Man on the Cross in the Middle Said I Could Come
by Jeremiah Charles Williams
Picture this: Jesus on the cross, beaten, laughed at, mocked, people yelling at Him left and right. His mother and the disciple John watching as many people gamble for his things. While all this is happening, Jesus is telling His Heavenly Father, “Forgive them for they know not what they do”. All this is happening while there are two criminals also there being crucified, one on the left and one on the right. In the verses above, we read that one of them says something like, “Aren’t you the Son of Man? Can’t you save yourself and us??” While the other man is saying, “Don’t you fear God? He did nothing wrong! We should be here not him!” This is the man who asks Jesus to remember him when He comes into his kingdom, and Jesus says “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise”. (Luke 23:42)
Right then and there that man received salvation just by faith, by believing in Jesus. He didn’t go to church. He was never at a prayer and worship night. He may have never seen Jesus perform a miracle. But seeing Jesus up close, in that moment, he said in his heart “I believe”. And when he got to heaven that day, if anyone had asked him how he got there, he might have said, “The man on the cross in the middle said I could come.”
While writing this devotional it reminded me of a time as a kid growing up in church. I knew who God was. I knew that I wanted to have Jesus in my heart, and I knew I couldn’t save myself. When the pastor asked, “Who wants to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior?” I remember walking down to the front of my mega church where I was baptized right then. You never forget days like that. Jesus met me where I was in my life. He was waiting for me to call upon Him to say, “I can’t–and I don’t want to do this alone.”
That’s probably what the man on the cross next to Jesus was saying–he couldn’t save Himself. He needed a Savior. And look how Jesus welcomed him in the kingdom of God, no questions asked. The man came just as he was, a sinner wanting to change his life. Doesn’t that sound just like how He welcomes you and me? Remember, Jesus wants no man to perish but that all would come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
Jesus’ story did not end on the cross. Sunday came and God raised him from the dead! And that was just the beginning. And He is still saying, “Come.” If you have never given your life to Jesus, you can come to him right now in faith, just like that thief on the cross did. If you have already come to Jesus, I encourage you to take a moment today and remember the story of how He saved you. On this Good Friday, when we remember what He did for us on the cross, we say, “Thank you, Jesus!
Let’s Pray
Lord God, we thank you for sending Your one and only Son to die on the cross for the entire world’s sin. While we were still sinners, Your Son, Jesus, died for us. So we say thank you. Thank you that it’s not by our own works that we are saved but by Your grace and mercy. We love you, Lord! In the powerful name–the only Name that can save– in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Because He lives, we can face tomorrow…
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