The Man on the Middle Cross: A Good Friday Reflection
The Man on the Middle Cross
There’s a raw, unsettling power about the Good Friday scene in Luke 23. Three crosses stand out against a darkening sky. Three men, moments from death. And in that brutal moment, everything is about to shift.
Picture it. Jesus - the innocent one, the promised Messiah - is hanging between two criminals. Men guilty in every legal sense, getting what the law said they deserved. And yet it’s Jesus, not them, who draws the mockery of the crowd.
Then, something utterly unexpected happens:
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
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 23:39-43
This short exchange - culminating in Jesus’ breathtaking words, ‘Today you will be with me in paradise’ - reveals the heart of the gospel. A man with no time left, no deeds to show, no chance to make amends, receives full assurance: immediate welcome into the presence of Christ!
Eternity Is Closer Than We Think
Jesus’ words shows us what happens the moment we die. Jesus doesn’t say “eventually” or “after judgement day”. He says, “Today”. It’s immediate. Not just paradise, but “with me”. That’s the point - not clouds or harps or golden streets, but closeness. Presence. Jesus.
Theological nuances around the ‘intermediate state’ are very helpful, but let’s not allow this to dilute the intimacy of this moment. It’s a beautiful reminder that, for those in Christ, death is not the end - rather, it’s the beginning of being with Him. Paul echoes this in 2 Corinthians 5:8: “We... would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord”. Heaven is home because Christ is there.
Grace, Not Goodness
This man had no spiritual CV to commend him. No time for restitution. All he had was a desperate plea: “Remember me.” But it was enough!
Romans 10:13 says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”. Here on Good Friday is that promise - in real time. It’s the ultimate deathbed conversion. A reminder that no one is beyond grace - not because deathbed repentance is ideal, but because God's mercy runs deeper than our failure. As long as there’s breath, there’s hope! J.C. Ryle perhaps said it best: “One thief was saved that none might despair - but only one, that none might presume”.
No One Is Too Far Gone
Of all the people Jesus could have saved in that moment, He chooses a condemned criminal. A man society had given up on. This is important. It tells us Jesus doesn’t save the ‘worthy’ - He saves the willing. He meets us not after we’ve cleaned up, but in the middle of our mess. In our shame, regret, and desperation.
Romans 5:20 says, “Where sin increased, grace increased all the more”. Jesus didn’t come for the sorted, the religious, or the impressive; He came for the guilty, the shamed, and the lost. He came for the man who had nothing left to offer but a cry for mercy - and He comes for you and me in exactly the same way.
Which Side of the Cross Are You On?
There were three crosses that Friday.
One man died in his sin - hardened and unrepentant.
One man died to his sin - forgiven in his final breath.
One man died for sin - the innocent sacrifice bearing the guilt of the world.
Spiritually, each of us stands on one side of that middle cross or the other. And Good Friday confronts us with the question that matters most: how will I respond to the man in the middle?
Will we mock Him? Ignore Him? Or will we, like the second criminal, turn and say, “Jesus, remember me”?
The cross of Jesus tells us we don’t have to earn paradise. We just have to trust the one who earned it for us.
That’s the good news of Good Friday! To all who look in faith to the man on the middle cross - paradise awaits!