READING:
One-year plan: Luke 23-24
Two-year plan: Ezekiel 28, 1 Peter 3:1-12
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They were crucified on either side of Jesus. Criminals. Guilty ones. Rebels. Justifiably condemned. Yet, Matthew 27 and Mark 15 tell us that both rebels “heaped insults on him” as Jesus died (Mark 15:32). They joined the crowds in mocking the Son of God.
It’s only Luke who gives us the rest of the story. One of the criminals rebuked the other, saying, “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong” (Luke 23:41). In this case, he joined Pilate and the Roman centurion who declared Jesus an innocent, righteous man (Luke 23:4, 14, 22; 24, 47). The criminal pleaded with Jesus to remember him, and Jesus promised him, “Today, you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).
Maybe the demeanor of Jesus as He died struck the heart of the criminal. After all, He asked the Father to forgive His murderers (Luke 23:34). Perhaps he heard portions of the gospel in the very insults people hurled at Jesus: He was indeed God’s Messiah, the Chosen One, the king of the Jews who saved others (Luke 23:35-38). Somehow, in the hours of his own death, the criminal came to admit his wrong, see Jesus for who He was, and seek Jesus’ remembrance when He came into His kingdom.
So it should be for all of us: watching Jesus die as we read His Word should bring us to repentance and prayer. The story should cause our hearts to burn within us, just like the disciples who heard Jesus Himself open the Scriptures to them (Luke 23:31-32). Reading the story with no response should be impossible.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: How are you reading the Word today?
PRAYER: “God, thank You for Your Word—even when its stories are painful to read.”
TOMORROW’S READING:
One-year plan: John 1-3
Two-year plan: Ezekiel 29-30, 1 Peter 3:13-46
MEMORIZATION VERSE (November 1-15)
“And while he was blessing them, he left them and was carried up into heaven. After worshiping him, they returned to Jerusalem with great joy.” (Luke 24:51-52)