In Scripture, numbers often have meaning. And God in His sovereignty orchestrates things around those numbers to
what He is saying.
It is no accident there were three being crucified that day. It shouts about the
of what Jesus did. (Jn. 19:30)
Following Jesus is about
, not
.
The second criminal asks Jesus for
. Now, he doesn’t use that word, but his words are the definition of it.
If we’re not careful, we can
from this situation is that all I need to do is to say the nine magic words, the magical incantation that makes me right with God through Jesus.
This criminal, unlike everyone else around him,
to Jesus instead of demanding Jesus do things on his terms.
Even our obedience is about receiving. The good things we do – the way we are to live as we follow Him – are
. (Eph. 2:8-10)
Our obedience shows that we really do love Him – that we
enough to do what He says, to avoid what He prohibits, to go where He leads, to think as He thinks. (Jn. 14:21)
Obedience unlocks more of Jesus. Obedience is the way I continue to receive more and more
. (Jn. 14:21)
Jesus took what we
so we can have what He
.