THE THREE CROSSES
There upon that lonely hill outside Jerusalem stood three crosses—three answers to the presence of the Holy One who hung at the center; three responses to the same Light, the same Love, the same Lamb. Calvary has never been silent, for those beams still preach to every soul willing to hear. And if we linger there long enough, we can almost feel the wind whisper the truth: every person will stand beneath one of these crosses, and every heart must choose its place.
THE CROSS OF REBELLION
One thief railed against the Lord—angry, wounded, hardened by a lifetime of sin. Pain has a strange way of revealing what lies inside us, and his dying breath rose in defiance: “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us!” (Luke 23:39). He wanted escape, not forgiveness; a miracle without surrender; rescue without repentance.
We meet him in every age: the one who demands that God meet his terms, the one who mistakes mercy for weakness, the one who sees Jesus yet refuses Him. This man died inches from the Savior—close enough to hear Him pray, close enough to be saved by a whisper—yet he chose rebellion. The cross of rebellion is a tragedy not not because Christ cannot save, but because a sinner will not bow.
THE CROSS OF REPENTANCE
The second thief saw the same Jesus, the same blood, the same crown of thorns—yet something broke inside him, something holy and tender. With his last breaths, he confessed what every heart must confess: “We receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Then, with trembling hope, he turned: “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” (Luke 23:40–42).
There it is—the miracle greater than the splitting of seas: a broken sinner looking to Christ, and Christ looking back with grace. And the Savior answered with the sweetest promise ever carried into a dying man’s ears: “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.” (v. 43).
The cross of repentance teaches us that grace is never far from the one who calls on Jesus; that the gates of Paradise swing open wide for any soul that whispers, “Lord, remember me.”
THE CROSS OF REDEMPTION
At the center stood the Christ Himself—the only One who did not deserve a cross, yet the only One whose death could give life. His was not the cross of rebellion or repentance, but of redemption. He is the spotless Lamb who “bore our sins in His own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24). He is the One who “loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
While two thieves died for their sins, Jesus died for ours. While they hung under the curse, He became the curse (Galatians 3:13). While they paid a debt owed, He paid a debt not His own. The cross of Christ stands forever as the place where justice and mercy met, where holiness kissed compassion, where sinners—broken, weary, guilty—find life, and life eternal.
Lord Jesus, let me stand today beneath the cross of redemption, where Your blood speaks better things than my failures, where Your mercy outweighs my guilt, where Your love silences my fears. Keep my heart soft, my spirit humble, my gaze fixed on the Lamb who died and rose again. Let me never choose rebellion, but repentance; never cling to pride, but to Your pierced hands. And may the shadow of Your cross shape every step I take until I see You face to face. Amen.
BDD
