BY GREG CRUM
“And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” Luke 23:39-42
Some time ago I read through an illustrated version of the Bible. It started in Genesis and worked its way through the book of Revelation depicting the Word of God in “comic strip” form. For someone who grew up loving comic books it was a treat. Now, this illustrated Bible didn’t include all the details of our standard Bible. It wasn’t trying to be an alternate translation, but what it did attempt to do, it did well—it gave a different perspective, a literal picture, of what happened as God worked for and through the saints all those years ago. That’s what it did for me anyway, and that’s what it did during one reading session as I saw depicted the interaction of Jesus and the two thieves on the crosses of Calvary referenced in Luke 23.
Jesus and the two thieves—most of us have heard the story preached. One mocked, the other repented and went to Paradise with Jesus that day. I’ve known about this event since I was young, but that day reading through that illustrated Bible, it just hit me differently. As soon as I read the dialogue and saw the pictures, it dawned on me the ridiculousness of the faith of the repentant thief.
I mean, how crazy do you have to be to be feeling the pain and hopelessness of execution in your body and mind and then look over at a man who has been beaten beyond recognition, physically attached to wood with spikes through his hands and feet, heaving his last few breaths on this planet, and then ask him to make a place for you in the government he said he was going to set up for his followers.
Logically this was preposterous, and to beat it all, this faith wasn’t coming from one of Jesus’ closest disciples; it wasn’t coming from his mother or brothers and sisters. It was coming from a thief who was riddled with the shame of his sin! Sure, this man had to have heard something about Jesus and the truth that he was the Messiah to come, but we have no record that he followed Jesus around listening intently to his words. And we know that up to that point he wasn’t trying to follow them.
What audacious faith, what daring, what boldness!
And the reward? Paradise with Jesus!
So, what’s this to us more than a nice Bible story of one brave soul getting it right before it all went wrong? What’s the lesson? Why is it included in the Scriptures for our record today? Well, friends, we’re supposed to be people of faith, right? I mean, we can’t receive salvation without it. We can’t please God without it. We can’t WWJD without it. In fact, we can’t receive any of the provisions of the New Covenant without it, yet in practice it seems that there is a great dearth of strong faith in “believers” today.
Truth be told, few people today consistently enjoy the privileges of the sacrifice of Jesus in their lives (but they console their lack of faith with the thought that “when we all get to Heaven”). Too many Christians are depressed, sick, dissatisfied, hopeless and fearful. Why? Maybe because their faith is too watered down. It’s faith-lite, the “new” faith for today’s progressive culture! It’s low-calorie faith, like Faith-Zero. It’s a play-it-safe faith that stays in the secret places of their hearts so if it doesn’t come to pass they can save themselves and their families the embarrassment and shame.
Brothers and sisters, have we forgotten the counsel of the Scriptures? Faith-Zero is zero faith. The faith that works (pleases God, receives promises, accomplishes the impossible) is bold, daring, audacious, preposterous—it’s a ridiculous faith!
Greg Crum is the pastor of Calvary Temple in Lovely.