The Best 3 Hours of His Life

Christ’s Innocent Suffering and the Thief on the Cross

Jesus is hanging on a cross, dying a criminal's death, when He is an innocent man. He is the most innocent man who has ever lived. And He's hanging between two other criminals. And in Luke 23 -39 it says, one of the criminals hanging there was blaspheming Him, saying, Are you not the Christ?

Save yourself and us. Probably not with that much energy. But the other criminal answered and rebuked Him. And said, Do you not fear God? Since you are under the same sentence of condemnation. We indeed are suffering justly.

For we are receiving what we deserve. And for what we have done. This is not a man who's hanging there on his cross going, I'm innocent. Get me down. I didn't do it. I'm being framed. He's there admitting.

We did wicked. We're getting what we deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong. And then in Luke 23 -42 He said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus said to him, Truly I say to you, this day you will be with me in paradise.

The Best Three Hours of the Criminal’s Life

Now we don't know anything about this man. We don't even know his name. We don't know his backstory. We don't know if he was a career criminal or if he committed one stupid act and now he was being judged by Rome because of this one crime that he had done.

We don't know. But what we do know is this, no matter where he had been and what he had done for the rest of his life, the three hours that he was hanging on a cross next to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords were the best three hours of his life.

Finding Joy in Trials and Longing for God’s Presence

And my brothers and sisters, can you say of the trial and the circumstance that you go through, that this is good and I rejoice in this because it's bringing me closer to God. Better is one day in the courts of God than a thousand days in the richest palaces of the world.