(Joni sings)
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
In my weaker moments, I’ve wondered if the Lord’s disciples had as tough a time believing as we do. I mean, they had the benefit of rubbing shoulders with Jesus everyday for almost three years. They were eyewitnesses to the Lord’s biggest miracles.
When it comes to the issue of faith, I have to admit that the disciples aren’t the ones I identify with most. But there is someone in Scripture who believed in a most extraordinary way. It was the criminal on the cross.... the thief who was crucified next to Jesus.... the one who said, “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
True, it was noteworthy for the disciples to believe in Jesus. With the exception of Judas, those guys stuck with the Lord through the golden days of glory, all the way through the storm-darkened days leading to the cross.
But to me, it was an even greater display of faith for the dying thief to put his trust in Jesus. He never had the benefit of seeing up-close-and-personal all the mighty miracles that flabbergasted the disciples. The thief never had the benefit of the teaching and instruction... he had never shared in those quiet talks around the evening campfires.
No. The thief on the cross saw only Jesus in agony and in weakness. He saw Him deserted, mocked, naked, and despised. There was no grandiose display of power there on the hill of Golgotha... and yet this thief placed his trust in Christ.
Whatever this story says about the faith of a penitent thief, it says more about Jesus. Bishop Ryle has said, “The Lord Jesus never gave so complete a proof of His power and will to save as He did upon that occasion. In the day when He seemed most weak, He showed that He was a strong deliverer. In the hour when the Lord’s body was racked with pain, He showed that He could feel tenderly for others. At the time when He Himself was dying, He conferred on a wicked criminal eternal life.”
Boy, doesn’t that say something about our Lord? Because if there was ever a time when Jesus deserved to think a little about His own comfort, don’t you think it should have been on the cross?! Yet even there, His thoughts were toward others.
That encounter between those two crosses, on that dark day, is a story of wonder. And I tell you what – that same Savior would reach down the centuries to save you and me – that He would do that is more wonderful still.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
© Joni and Friends