Are You a Righty or a Lefty?

The question I pose today is a simple one, “Are you the righty or the lefty?” Immediately, most people think of which hand is their predominate one. They will then either say they are right handed or left handed. That is not the question I am asking. Instead, I am asking whether you are the man crucified on the right side of Jesus, or are you the man crucified on the left side of Jesus? Before you answer this question, let us take a look at the passage in the Bible.

Luke 23:32, 33, 39-43 says, "Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. . . . One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” 

So there are two criminals that were executed with Jesus. I have often wondered why Jesus was not crucified alone. Why were there two others there with Him if not for a reason? I imagine there is something for us to take away from the exchange between Jesus and the other two men, or it would not have been written about. What is it that we can take from the exchange that would apply to our lives?

For starters, we see the differences between the man who was saved and the man who was not! One belittled and bullied while the other displayed reverence. One spoke out of arrogance, the other showed humility. Finally, the man on the left of Jesus displayed disbelief while the man on the right side showed faith.  This is much like the world. When presented with the message of salvation through Christ, some mock and belittle while others display humility and faith.  

Next we need to take a good look at both of these men. They were being crucified, which was not your average way to kill someone back then. It was reserved for the worst criminals, as well as slaves and non-Roman citizens. Those who were considered to be less than or had done horrific things, that is who was executed by crucifixion. In a way, that is what Christians are today. We are not truly citizens of this world. We also are looked at as less than by some members of this world. We are not as intelligent as they are due to our belief and faith.

Much like the criminal on the right, most Christians realize what we are. We are sinners, we have done horrible things and we are aware that we are not worthy of a better life. Yet, as we wallow in our sin we reach out to the one whom we know can redeem us. This is akin to the dying criminal reached out to Jesus and asking that Christ remember him when He came to His kingdom.  

So to be the man on the right we must recognize and accept that we are sinners and as such deserve death. We must in all humility take credit for what we have done, not trying to blame our sins on others. Next comes faith, for we must acknowledge that through God’s mercy and grace all we have done can be forgiven. Finally, we must show our complete reverence to the King of Kings. We must also respect our fellow man yet at the same time not be afraid or ashamed to speak out when it is needed.  

We tend to focus on the middle cross, since Jesus was crucified there. The middle cross represents Christ, our Redeemer and the sacrifice He made so our sins could be forgiven. What Christ did when he was crucified was the greatest act of kindness ever done for man.  Lest we forget it, there were 3 crosses that day on Golgotha for a reason. We need to remember the other two crosses as well. For the cross on the left is symbolic of the nonbelievers of this world while the cross on the right those who have faith in Christ.

So again I ask, “Are you a righty or a lefty?”