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From Heaven With Love
divinity, was silent. No testimony in His favor was heard. Alone He
suffered.
“If Thou be the Son of God,” they said, “come down from the
cross.” “Let Him save Himself, if He be Christ, the chosen of God.”
Satan and his angels, in human form, were present at the cross,
cooperating with the priests and rulers, confederated in a satanic
frenzy.
Jesus heard the priests declare, “He saved others; Himself He
cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the
cross, that we may see and believe.” Christ could have come down
from the cross. But because He would not save Himself, the sinner
has hope of pardon and favor with God.
One Crucified Thief Believes
To Jesus on the cross there came one gleam of comfort—the
prayer of the penitent thief. Both men crucified with Jesus at first
railed on Him; and one under his suffering only became more des-
perate and defiant. But his companion was not a hardened criminal;
he was less guilty than many who stood beside the cross reviling
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the Saviour. He had seen and heard Jesus, but had been turned away
from Him by the priests and rulers. Seeking to stifle conviction, he
had plunged into sin, until he was arrested and condemned.
On the cross he saw the great religionists ridicule Jesus. He
heard the upbraiding speech taken up by his companion in guilt:
“If Thou be Christ, save Thyself and us.” Among the passersby he
heard many repeating Jesus’ words, and telling of His works. The
conviction came back that this was the Christ. Turning to his fellow
criminal, he said, “Dost thou not fear God, seeing thou art in the
same condemnation?” The dying thieves no longer had anything to
fear from man. But on one of them pressed the conviction that there
is a God to fear, a future to cause him to tremble. And now, his life
history was about to close. “And we indeed justly; for we receive
the due reward of our deeds; but this Man hath done nothing amiss.”
When condemned for his crime, the thief had become despair-
ing, but strange, tender thoughts now sprang up. The Holy Spirit
illuminated his mind, and little by little the chain of evidence joined
together. In Jesus, mocked and hanging on the cross, he saw the