Luke 23:39-47
And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.

Jesus had been condemned to death, crucified like a common criminal. But in the midst of the events and chaos of that day, two very different people were able to see that Jesus was not a criminal, but a righteous man. Imagine the experience of the thief crucified next to Jesus. He had committed a crime and deserved to be punished for it. He faced the prospect of this very cruel and painful death himself. He, too, had had nails hammered into his hands and feet. He, too, hung from a cross bleeding and in pain. He, too, struggled to breathe and felt his life draining away. And it is in that condition that he has a profound revelation.

When he looks at himself, he sees a guilty man justly condemned, but when he looks at Jesus, he sees someone who had done nothing wrong, someone innocent who was not worthy of death. He was able to consider all the facts and reach the conclusion that Jesus was the King of the Jews, that He was of God, and that, if so, He could save him, too—not from the cross and this physical death, as the other thief had asked for, but from an eternal punishment by a perfect, just, and holy God.

The second unlikely witness is the centurion who stood beholding all that occurred that day, a Roman soldier, a Gentile who oppressed the Jews and occupied their land. Surely he had seen many criminals put to death in the course of his duties. Surely he had heard all the excuses as guilty people claimed their innocence. But he saw something different in Jesus, and he, of all people, glorified God that day by recognizing the righteousness of Jesus in the midst of all the mocking and false claims made about Him.

The greatest truth in the history of the world is that Jesus Christ, the innocent, righteous, sinless Son of God, gave His life on a cross, shed His blood to pay for the sins of every single person who ever lived and who ever will live. Many choose to ignore it. Many choose not to believe it or accept it. But if we choose to believe, if we can see the glaringly obvious truth right in front of us, we, too, can be saved and one day go to be with Jesus where He is.