Lesley D. Weatherhead, in his book, A Plain Man Looks at the Cross, begins with a question: “How can the death of a man two thousand years ago have anything to do with my sins today, and the sins I have not yet committed?” He also uncovers the thin theology with which we have attempted to answer that question.
A thoughtful businessman told him: I have “put down all my sins at the foot of the Cross.” When Dr. Weatherhead asked him exactly what that meant, the man became, in Weatherhead’s words, “vague and woolly,” and said he just had faith. But it was a faith he couldn’t defend.
The question arises: Is there a truth in Jesus’ crucifi xion between two criminals that sheds light on our salvation? To begin with, we can say this: The saving Cross is a gift; but it is also a choice.
Edwin Thomas was a master of the stage. During the latter half of the 1800s, this small man with a huge voice had few rivals. He debuted in Richard III at the age of fifteen. His brother, John, was also an actor and in 1863 they performed together in Julius Caesar. It is ironic that John took the role of the assassin, Brutus.
Two years later, in 1865, John reprised his role as assassin in Ford’s Theater, firing a bullet into t he head of Abraham Lincoln. Edwin’s shame, because of his brother, drove him into retirement and he might never have returned to the stage except for a twist of fate at a New Jersey train station.
Edwin was awaiting his coach when a well-dressed young man lost his footing and fell between the platform and a moving train. Without hesitation, Edwin locked a leg around a railing, grabbed the man, and pulled him to safety.
Weeks later, Edwin received a letter that he carried in his pocket to the grave. A letter from General Adams Badeau, chief secretary to General Ulysses S. Grant. A letter thanking Edwin Booth for saving the life of the child of an American hero. The boy Edwin yanked to safety? Robert Todd Lincoln, the son of Abraham Lincoln.
Edwin and John Booth. One chose death; the other chose life. Abel and Cain. Abel chose peace. Cain chose murder. Abraham and Lot. Lot chose Sodom. Abraham chose God. David and Saul. Saul chose power. David chose devotion. Peter and Judas, both deny their Lord. Judas seeks death. Peter seeks mercy. Two criminals crucified on either side of Jesus. One chose to ridicule. The other chose prayer.
There is something quite unique in what the one criminal prayed: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. It is a “mirror” of Jesus’ words at the Last Supper. Jesus word, “Remember me,” is a desire on Christ’s part to maintain a personal, intimate relationship with those he loves. For us to ask of Jesus, “Remember me,” is the same desire— that we be able to maintain a personal, intimate relationship with God.
Jesus’ love—God’s love— does not depend on what we do. You have value simply because you are God’s. Remember that the next time you feel crucified. How can the cross of Jesus two thousand years ago save me today? Dr. Weatherhead’s answer: “It is not what God once was, or what Christ once did, that can save us; but the worth that Christ declares is ours, and the cross that rises before us, is the sacrament and visible pledge to us of what Jesus is and does forever and shows us the God with whom we have to do.”
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