"The Man on the Middle Cross Said I Could Come"

It's Good Friday.   The Christian's life is lived between the span of the cross on Friday and the empty tomb on Sunday.  We look to Christ's finished work on the cross for assurance that our sin was put to death, that Jesus paid our debt, and he faced the full-strength, total-wrath of God's justice poured out against our sin in our place so we could be saved.  It was the only way and Jesus was obedient to the Father's will, even to death on a criminal's cross.   

And we look to the empty grave to know that we too will be raised to the newness of life with Christ and be with our Savior forever.  That empty tomb serves as the constant reminder that death has no power, no sting, and no hold over those who are in Christ Jesus!  

What must we do to be saved?  It's an important question but totally meaningless if we don't understand what Jesus already did.  

Take two minutes to watch this powerful, unforgettable gospel illustration by Alistair Begg.  It is worth every second, even two or three times again. 

I remember when my friend, Doug, called me and said he had cancer.  He had real bad cancer that already had an overwhelming head start on him.   There was no question.  Doug was going to die.   

The criminal on the cross next to Jesus knew his time was very limited.  He too was going to die.  I asked Doug on what basis he should get to go to heaven.  He started with, "I sure hope I've done enough good."  With sadness in my heart, I had to tell him that there wasn't enough good stuff to do to be enough for Doug to get into heaven, or any of us for that matter.  

Doug and I talked about the Man on the middle cross.  He listened very carefully.  Then I did what most would find unthinkable.  I told Doug he really needed to count the cost about what it means to surrender your life to Jesus.  A saved person is a person who dies to self--self control, self promotion, self identity, self pity, self righteousness, and all the other selfs.  Doug said he'd have to think about that.  We parted and he headed home. 

Eight minutes later, Doug called me sobbing like a baby.  He had to pull the truck over because he couldn't see through his tears.  He said it was as if God just showed him that this is it.  This is what he needed to do, and this is how he would be saved.  

We watched as Doug's demeanor became a joy-filled love of Jesus.  He brought his unbelieving adult children to church.  I was warned ahead of time and Doug said to me,"tell them all that stuff you told me because I want them to know Jesus, be saved, and go to heaven too."  

I have great confidence that when the angels saw Doug in heaven, they didn't have to ask but Doug told them anyway.  I imagine his beaming face as he said, "The man on the middle cross said I could come!"     

We're not unlike Doug and we're not unlike the criminal on that cross.  Our days our numbered.  You might have many or you might have less than one.  You might have a strange pain and get a stage-4 cancer diagnosis.  You might go in for an ordinary procedure you've had a few times and pass into glory two days later.  Stroke.  Heart attack.  Drunk driver.  Or you might live for twenty or thirty or eighty more years.  But we all face the question:  On what merits should you get into heaven?    

I hope for your sake that the Man on the middle cross doesn't say, "Depart from me, I never knew you."  Instead I hope he says "Yes, you can come. . . well done, good and faithful servant.  Enter into my joy." 

Happy Good Friday.  And happy Easter.  
Pastor Bryan Catherman

To learn more about this wonderful Gospel, please visit our “What is the Gospel?” page on this website.