Daily Devotional
What Do You Have in Common with a Thief?

March 23, 2024

Ponder This

I want you to imagine a scene: They took Jesus and nailed Him to the cross. There were two thieves, one on each side. But those crosses were put up for three thieves: the two thieves who were crucified, and Barabbas. It was Barabbas’s cross. Imagine the soldier, with a torch, goes down a narrow corridor in a dingy Roman jail. He comes to a certain cell. The guard stops and says, “You are free to go. Barabbas, you’re not going to die. Do you see those three crosses? See the middle cross? That cross was made for you. But Pilate says you’re going to go free. That man up there is dying in your place.” I don’t know what came of Barabbas, but isn’t it wonderful how God arranges the whole thing so we can learn and see the lesson of substitution?

You say, “Christ died for me.” That’s true, but may I ask you to tweak it just a little bit? Instead, say this to yourself today: “Christ died instead of me.” That’s what it is. The purpose of the cross is one of substitution. Barabbas was a thief; we’re thieves. We are supposed to have been God’s stewards and we failed. Barabbas was a rebel. We’re meant to be God’s servants, and we’ve rejected Him. Barabbas was a murderer, and we are responsible for the death of God’s Son. Barabbas was a prisoner, and we have been bound with sin. He represents us all.

• How easily do you recognize your sin as deserving of death? Why does this matter?
• Why is understanding that Christ died “instead of me” important in our faith?

Practice This

Write down the statement “Christ died instead of me” and put it up somewhere you will be regularly reminded of this truth.