MARTIN CAREY
“Keep moving dirt bags, this is your lucky day!” The Roman guard laughed as he yanked the chains that linked the prisoners together.
Convict Jacob had learned that abuse is all he could expect from these guards. As they marched him and the rest of the day’s sentenced convicts out of Jerusalem’s gates to the site of execution, it was nothing but insults, threats, and blows—typical of Roman justice. Their love of cruelty gave him more reason to hate the powers that condemned and sentenced him. Yet Jacob also knew that both he and his friend were guilty of violent crimes. Carrying his own cross was just the beginning of his punishment.
“Sure, I like to hurt people for money,” Jacob told himself. “We all need money, and besides, the rich scum had it coming!” He muttered more curses, gripped his cross tighter, and kept moving.
Ahead of Jacob, a third convict was being kicked and prodded by the guards. He kept falling down, so the guards forced a bystander to carry his cross. The weakened man was the main target for the guards’ abuse, but he just accepted whatever they did to him. Jacob watched him and thought, “How strange. All that abuse, and he doesn’t curse.”
Jacob had never seen this man but heard what others were saying. They said he healed people and even raised the dead. Some said he was the Messiah, coming to build his kingdom. Jacob wondered, “Now where is his kingdom? He doesn’t look like the Christ; he’s probably just another pretender.” If this Jesus were the Christ, he would be strong and save himself! Jacob looked at the stumbling convict with disgust and joined the guards in mocking him. “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” (Mark 15:32).
Three crosses were raised to the sky for all to see. There they hung, two angry men and one named Jesus between them.
For all his rage and resistance, Jacob was body-slammed onto his cross and roughly nailed there by his hands and feet. Three crosses were raised to the sky for all to see. There they hung, two angry men and one named Jesus between them. Agonizing pain filled Jacob’s body as he looked down at the crowd of onlookers. The reality of his crucifixion finally hit him. “This is where my whole life was taking me. What a waste!”
The priests and leaders stood by in their long robes, leading the crowd in mocking Jesus. Through all his pain, Jacob looked over at the man hanging next to him and wondered. During those awful hours of agony, something happened to Jacob. Looking at Jesus, he saw the sign they had placed over his head, “Jesus, king of the Jews.” Jacob suddenly realized that Jesus not only accepted the abuse and the cross without complaint; he asked his Father to forgive them. Even in suffering, he was kind and wise to everyone. He was definitely not a criminal, but what sort of man is this?
Jacob remembered his Jewish parents teaching him Scripture and the prophecies. Messiah was to come and set up a kingdom of righteousness and peace. Jacob wondered, “Here we are, two of the worst men getting what we deserve, but why this innocent man? Whoever he is, he is no pretender.”
A final turning point came for Jacob when his friend let out another volley of abuse, mocking Jesus’ claim to save. Through the pain Jacob’s mind was clear:
“But the other answered, and rebuking him said, ‘Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong’” (Luke 23:40-41).
Jacob’s rebuke of his fellow criminal reveals an amazing transformation. He was now deeply aware of his own desperate, sinful condition. He knew that God is righteous and judges sin, and that he deserved wrath. The sky had now grown eerily dark, surely a sign from God. His execution was the worst judgment that man can give, and yet, he feared that God wasn’t done with him. Indeed, Jesus had told the crowds:
“I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. “But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!” (Luke 12:4-5).
Jacob knew that death wouldn’t end his dealings with a righteous God. Jews at that time knew that after death, souls met their reward in Hades (Matthew Emerson, He Descended to the Dead, p. 28). For him, this prospect was truly frightening. Fighting waves of despair, he looked over at Jesus on his cross. There was no anger on his face, only pain and sorrow. Did this King of the Jews bring hope, even for men like him? He would make his desperate plea:
“Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!”
Jesus turned and looked into Jacob’s eyes.
“Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:42-43).
Jacob believed. For the first time in his life, he had hope. Bleeding and dying there on that cross, light and faith entered his soul. For all the fury of the guards and the Pharisees, a power vastly greater than all of Satan’s forces was at work. The Spirit was quietly moving on hard hearts and showing the beauty of the man on the middle cross. The Father was drawing a hopeless sinner to His Son, making him alive with faith and love.
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:44).
This convicted criminal was given amazing clarity on his real spiritual condition. He had been taught that he could reach salvation by good works by obeying the law, by avoiding certain foods, and keeping days holy. Yet he knew he was a lawbreaker and deserved what he was getting. He utterly despaired of himself.
As pastor John MacArthur observes, this man knows he has nothing but failure to offer God. More than that, he now fears God and His judgment much more than man’s. When he hears Jesus say, “Father, forgive them, ” hope springs up. Even he can be forgiven! (https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/42-287/the-king-crucified-conversion-at-calvary)
Dying, Yet Alive
Though struggling to breathe, Jacob was alive as never before. He had a divine appointment with life Himself. Old things in his life had passed away; he was now a new man (2 Corinthians 5:17). Gone was his mocking and cursing, his self-righteous rage and blame. His life was not over, for he was fully, spiritually alive.
How can we account for the radical transformation in the soul of this life-long criminal? Did the pain and punishment of crucifixion suddenly make him wiser?
No; we have the answer from Jesus:
“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).
Without a miracle, the hardest criminal cannot understand his own dire spiritual condition, and neither can we. The greatness and beauty of Jesus are invisible to our dead souls without God’s light shining into our dark hearts. Only by divinely given light can we see the glorious face of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6). Spiritual life begins when we realize our lost condition, and see that we can trust in the purity and forgiveness of Jesus. Do we understand what a miracle our own faith is? Consider this thought experiment. When we see violent gangsters come to Christ we are amazed and say, “What a miracle of God’s power!” However, are we equally amazed when we see nice, law-abiding, respectable people who don’t seem like sinners, repent and come to genuine faith in Christ? Jesus said,
“It is not those who are well who need of a physician, but those who are sick (Luke 5:31).
It seems natural and logical that nice, respectable people are closer to believing in Jesus, because they seem to be more like Him. Without new birth by the Spirit, we are all just as lost as this robber. Repentance is a divine gift (2 Timothy 2:25), and faith is “born of God” (1John 5:4). We cannot claim any credit for either our repentance or our faith, for they are free gifts.
Faith is our empty, needy hand that brings no gifts or accomplishments to God, but grasps the accomplishments of Jesus.
Strong will and spiritual disciplines can never generate saving faith without the miraculous power of God. Faith in Jesus is vastly more than a mere decision. Faith is trust in His goodness and power to save us. Faith is our empty, needy hand that brings no gifts or accomplishments to God, but grasps the accomplishments of Jesus.
“Faith agrees with and embraces God’s verdict that we, in ourselves, are nothing and that we stand in total need of the Saviour…Gospel faith will cause us to give up our exhausting and useless efforts to do or to feel something good to encourage God to love us” (Miles McKee, The Wednesday Word).
On the last day of our lives, what can we present to God so that He will let us into His presence? Will a lifetime of devotion to God make us any more deserving of His goodness to us? Paul makes it clear that salvation is by grace alone, unmerited, unearned.
“Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith” (Romans 3:2).
Genuine faith will produce the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 6:22-26). That is both commanded and promised. On the last day of life, our spiritual fruit is not our strong foundation for hope. On that day, how shall we have peace with God?
Death Bed
A late winter snow storm had just laid a soft blanket over the yard around Emma’s nursing home room. Emma loved new snow, but she could not see it. Her vision had finally failed, and everything was dark to her. The nursing home staff tried to make her comfortable, but she was sick again and swallowing and breathing had become hard. Emma was 94 years old, and she knew the end was near. Her daughter had come to provide comfort, but Emma felt a deep unease that no treatment could help. She remembered the passages she used to read in her Bible; she prayed often and believed in the resurrection, but now, lying helpless and facing the dark, gaping doorway of death, she was afraid. She was not prepared to die.
Over the years, Emma had had a strained relationship with her daughter who had rejected many of the doctrines of the Adventist church. Emma feared for her daughter’s salvation. However, even though her daughter had many hard life struggles, she did have a strong grasp of the gospel of Christ and had faith in Him alone. Now, here they were together again for Emma’s final crisis of faith.
She turned to her daughter. “I just haven’t done enough. How can God ever accept me?”
“What do you mean, Mom?”
Emma sighed. “So many failures; I know I was never good enough.”
Emma had always been a committed, loyal Seventh-day Adventist since she was a little girl. She was loved and admired as the kind, saintly lady who wrote poems for children. Years before, Emma had lost her beloved husband Louis when he was struck by a car while ingathering. Death was no stranger to her, but now she felt alone, guilty, and afraid.
Emma thought of her life and saw inadequacies. “How can He save me? I’m not ready!”
Emma’s daughter had an answer. “Mom, you are a sinner and so am I. Jesus died for all our sins, and only He is good enough. His blood and righteousness are more than enough to cover all your sins. He said that whoever comes to Him, He will never cast out. Do you believe this?”
Many loyal, hard-working Adventists are unprepared for death. They don’t understand their own dire condition or the solution of faith in Christ alone.
I know this story is true because Emma is my grandmother and her daughter is my mom. Mom told me about Grandma’s last hours after she came home from her mom’s funeral in Canada. I was not a believer then, but Grandma’s last faith struggle left a deep impression on me. Many loyal, hard-working Adventists are unprepared for death. They don’t understand their own dire condition or the solution of faith in Christ alone. I pray that you are also blessed by their story.
My grandmother lived her entire life toiling hard to live by “the Testimonies” and by trying to please God. She was greatly admired by all for her virtues. But in her last hours, she looked at her good works and despaired. She knew she hadn’t earned salvation. My mom pointed her to the cross and told her that God would accept her, not for her good works, but only because Jesus died for her sin and became her righteousness. Mom reminded her of this text:
“But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness” (Romans 4:5).
A few hours later, my mom asked Grandma, “Mom, do you believe that Jesus’ blood and righteousness are enough for you?” Grandma lay there thinking. “Enough for me?” She lay there quietly for a moment. “Yes, I do believe.” From that moment until she breathed her last, she was at peace.
Only God knows our hearts and the reality of our faith. Genuine faith is seen when we see our own sinfulness and lack of any merit before God. Saving faith grasps hold of Christ and His perfect sacrifice for us. I am very hopeful that my grandmother gave up on her own merits and trusted in Jesus alone for her readiness for heaven. We are promised that after we die, we have another appointment before God in judgment (Hebrews 9:27).
Consider these two kinds of sinners at death’s door: the penitent robber on the cross and the sweet little old lady who tried so hard to please God. They appear to be opposites, but before God, they have a great common need. Both were hoping for salvation; both knew they must answer to God. Both knew they were unworthy sinners. Neither of them could make themselves better by doing good deeds. The robber lived his entire life committing gross sins and was judged severely by men for his crimes. My grandmother lived her whole life trying hard to please God, but at the end, judged herself a sinner, ill-prepared for Heaven. By God’s grace, she was pointed away from herself to Jesus on the cross. On our last day, what will be our plea? The text below will be true for all of us sinners who trust in Jesus:
“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death” (Romans 8:1-2). †
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This is just stunning. Thank you so much for putting this into words and for sharing.