A Weird Form of Justice

Oh, you should check out Jonathan if you have a minute. He’s a great writer.

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So, in the spirit of the season, we re-watched The Passion, and a few things stood out for me. Normally when I watch movies about the death of Jesus, I only notice the suffering (and try not to pay too much attention to it, lest I turn on the water works), but this time I paid attention to some of those involved in the journey between Gethsemane and Golgotha.

I’ll talk about three of them.

1 Malchus

‘And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.’ – Luke 22:50-51.

Malchus was part of the crowd that went to grab Jesus. John’s gospel is the only one that mentions his name (18:10). It shouldn’t be so noteworthy that Jesus heals him, right? Throughout the gospels there are countless stories of Jesus healing people. Except, consider the circumstance. Malchus was part of the crowd that came to arrest Jesus. He may have been a bandwagoner, following along because many were people moving in that direction and he was bloodthirsty by nature. Or maybe his master sent him, and he was eager to prove himself deserving of his wages. Whichever the case, Jesus at that moment was not his best friend, and certainly not a person he’d think would help him if his back was to the ground.

But what did Jesus do? Heal him. Straight up. After rebuking Peter, whose knife had struck the blow to the servant, Jesus healed Malchus. It was the reverse of justice. Peter did what he thought he could to protect his friend and master Jesus. The servant got what was coming to him. But Jesus healed him. What is the sense in that? Imagine the effect this had on Malchus. Imagine you were going to throw boiling water at someone, you tripped, fell and cut your arm, and that someone, well aware of what you were about to do to him, came to you and helped dress your wound. Imagine the shame that would course through you, and fear, and then shame again, and then guilt, then awe. Because, why would anyone show mercy to a man who came to get him so he would be killed?

2 Barabbas

‘But the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!” (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)’ – Luke 23:18.

That’s all we know about Barabbas, but it’s enough to tell that he’s a bona fide bad guy. Here was a man who caused a riot and took another person’s life. But he was the guy the Israelites decided should be released, so Jesus would take his place. Jesus took his place. See, this was it. The religious leaders thought they were punishing Jesus for only they knew what. They didn’t know that by calling for Barabbas, God could work His purpose out, and Jesus would take the sinner’s place. Because, that’s what Barabbas was, a sinner deserving death. But who took it in his stead? Jesus. Jesus wasn’t even dead yet, but he’d already given his life for one sinner. And Barabbas was free to walk away, no cloud of punishment hanging over his head.

3 The Thief on the Cross

‘But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”’ – Luke 23:40-43

This guy is one of two who were crucified on either side of Jesus. He was a thief, so, yeah, punishment for him was fully deserved, as he himself acknowledged. But look. He acknowledged that Jesus had done no wrong. Now, I don’t know how he knew. Had he seen Jesus around? Was this something he inferred by observing Jesus’s demeanour? Or this was something flesh and blood did not reveal to him? Whatever it was, he asked to be remembered, and acknowledged Jesus’s lordship when he spoke about his kingdom. And look what he got. A free pass into heaven.

Yeah. Even up on the cross, the life filtering out of him, Jesus handed someone a one-way ticket into Paradise, to enjoy everlasting life with the Father. Why? Because the thief believed that Jesus is Lord. And that’s what Jesus came to do, give eternal life to those who believe in him.

Then Jesus died, and rose, and atonement for our sin was complete, and perfect.

These individuals had maybe a combined fifty-three seconds in the limelight, but that was enough time to point to the work Jesus Christ came to earth to do. He came to heal and repair our brokenness, and show us mercy when we didn’t deserve it. He came to take our punishment. The wages of sin is death, guys. But Jesus exchanged his life for ours. He took the death penalty, and we can walk free. He came to offer us eternal life, to give us a pass to our heavenly Father, and mend the rift caused by sin. And all we’ve got to do to have eternal life is believe. Like the thief, we need only acknowledge our sin, believe Jesus is the son of God, and ask Him to be our Lord.

It’s easy to be swayed by our guilt. Many have believed their sins are too many for Jesus to turn their lives around, but He came for us! He died for us, and rose for us. I can’t say why He loves us so much, but He does! And His hand is extended to you. If you haven’t already, will you believe and let him into your life?

It starts with a simple prayer. (You can always use your own words, but this is as basic as it gets.)

“Dear Lord, I am a sinner. Forgive me and cleanse me. I invite Jesus into my heart to be my Lord and Saviour. Help me to serve You, for as long as I live. In Jesus’s name I pray, amen.”

Welcome to God’s family!