We put our hope in the Lord.
….He is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
….for we trust in his holy name.
Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord,
….for our hope is in you alone. Psalm 33:20-22 NLT

Luke 23:32-43 (<<click here to read the passage)

One of the stories my father has told me from his youth is that early on in school he struggled with reading the chalkboard. His teacher kept moving him closer to the front and finally suggested that maybe he needed corrective lenses.

Sure enough, after his parents took him to an optometrist, they discovered that he needed glasses. Shortly thereafter he got them, he stepped out on a clear night, looked up, and asked, “What are those white things in the sky?” They were stars! His vision had been bad enough that he had never seen them before!

Of all the people, good and bad, that witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion, only one could see. Blindness was rampant throughout the crowd that day. Some were blinded by hatred, others by pride, or power, or possibly fear or grief. Some gathered there had known Him from the day of his birth. Some had walked with Him day in day out for over three years. Some had regularly clashed with Him. Yet not one of them, at least at that point, perceived what one single individual saw. And of all people to see what was going on, it was one of the two thieves hanging on his own cross by Jesus’ side. Who knows if their paths had even crossed until that very day.

The one thief was blind like all the rest and kept hurling abuse at Jesus, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us [from death]!” v39 AMP

But the other thief rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? We are suffering justly, because we are getting what we deserve for what we have done; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” And he was saying, “Jesus, [please] remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” vs40-42 AMP

He saw himself for who he was, and he saw Jesus for who He was. He honestly acknowledged that he was getting what he deserved for the life he had lived. He also plainly saw that Jesus was innocent. On all counts, he saw clearly.

The note in my Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation rings true.

The dying criminal had more faith than the rest of Jesus’ followers put together. Although the disciples continued to love Jesus, their hopes for the Kingdom were shattered. Most of them had gone into hiding. As one of his followers sadly said two days later, “We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel” (Luke 24:21). By contrast, the criminal looked at the man who was dying next to him and said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” By all appearances, the Kingdom was finished. How awe-inspiring is the faith of this man who alone saw beyond the present shame to the coming glory!

Lord Jesus, open our eyes that we see ourselves for we are – criminals (sinners) guilty and deserving of death but most importantly of all may we clearly see You for who You truly are – our Lord and Savior!

Jan 12th, 2021, Tues, 9:23 pm