The Middle Cross
Revival Center Hesperia California
By Pst. JK Woodall
There is something deeply personal about the scene at the cross.
In the Gospel of Luke, we are given a picture of three men crucified side by side:
«“And there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left.” (Luke 23:33)»
Three crosses.
Two guilty men.
And one innocent Savior—Jesus Christ.
At first, it’s easy to focus on the crosses themselves. But the real weight of this moment isn’t in the wood or the nails—it’s in what happens between the men hanging there.
Both criminals were in the same condition. Both were guilty. Both were facing death. Yet, in the same moment, they made two very different choices.
One mocked Jesus:
«“Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” (Luke 23:39)»
The other—known as Dismas—took a different posture. He didn’t defend himself. He didn’t shift blame. Instead, he owned his guilt:
«“We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” (Luke 23:41)»
And then, with what little strength he had left, he said something that still speaks today:
«“Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42)»
He had no time to fix his past.
No chance to turn his life around.
No good works to offer.
Just faith.
And Jesus answered him:
«“Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)»
That moment is hard to ignore.
A guilty man, at the end of his life, receives a promise of paradise—not because of what he did, but because of who he believed in.
It echoes what we later read in Ephesians:
«“For by grace you have been saved through faith… not of works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9)»
This is what makes the “middle cross” so powerful.
It wasn’t the cross itself that saved him.
It wasn’t the suffering that changed his outcome.
It was Jesus.
The One in the middle had the authority to forgive, to restore, and to save—even in the final moments.
And the story doesn’t end there.
Because the same Jesus who spoke those words from the cross didn’t stay there.
«“He is not here; He has risen!” (Luke 24:6)»
The resurrection confirms that His words weren’t empty—they were backed by power.
As Romans reminds us:
«“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)»
When you step back and look at the full picture, the message becomes clear.
Dismas couldn’t come down from his cross.
But through faith, he still went into the Kingdom.
That’s the reality of the middle cross.
It’s not about having time to get everything right.
It’s not about earning your way in.
It has always been about the Man in the middle.
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