Remember Me

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

Matthew 5:4

As he was led out of Jerusalem to the place of the skull where he would die in the place of sinners, Jesus was very quiet. But if there had been a soundtrack of what he heard around him that day, you would find it was hardly silent.

First, there were the people. Jerusalem was teeming with pilgrims who had come to the city to celebrate the Passover. The historian Josephus estimated the city’s population swelled to over two million people, twenty times the normal population, during Passover. Many of those people were glad for the entertainment of an execution. They ridiculed Jesus, believing he would save himself if he really was the Son of God.

Then there were the priests. The very people who had arranged for Jesus’s death followed along to make sure he died. As they waited beneath the cross, they mocked him for not saving himself.

Finally, there were the prisoners. Two others were crucified that day along with Jesus. Even as they hung dying, these two men taunted Jesus to prove his identity by saving himself and them.

That is until one of them had a change of heart. He realized that while he was dying as a just punishment of his actions, Jesus had done nothing wrong. In that moment he mourned his sin and sought the comfort only Jesus could give. What he sought he received: Jesus remembered him when he came into his kingdom.

Father, I am a sinner and deserve death. Have mercy on me and give  me life through your Son, Jesus Christ.