When looketh upon it, they all lived

 

Jesus is the gift of God

If a student studies hard and receives a scholarship, that is not a gift but the reward for their efforts. However, if a school gives out computers for free to all students, that is a gift to them. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries provided free financial support to their citizens. Since anyone from those countries could receive it, it was a grace and gift given by the government to the citizens. Likewise, for a gift to truly be a gift, it must be given freely without any conditions. Just as the Bible says, “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.” (Romans 4:4), what we earn through our labor and efforts is simply the due reward and cannot be considered grace or a gift.

Jesus died on the cross for our sins. If Jesus had died only for good and humble people or specific churchgoers, He could not be a gift to all people. However, God gave Jesus on the cross for our sins while we were still sinners, separated from Him and living in evil. This clearly shows that Jesus is a gift of God’s grace to us, regardless of our actions. The Bible says, “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.” (Romans 11:6).

The Bible also says, “Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed” (Romans 4:16). A gift is something that, once received, becomes yours. Likewise, anyone who believes in Jesus, the gift of God, will become a child of God and inherit the kingdom of heaven.

The Thief on the Cross Who Was Saved Just Before His Death

The Bible contains many stories of people being saved by believing in Jesus. One such story is of a thief who was dying on the cross alongside Jesus. He was someone who could never be saved by his own actions. Not only had he committed evil worthy of death, but he also mocked Jesus while on the cross. The Bible says:

“Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left. And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God. The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.” (Matthew 27:38-44)

As we can see in this passage, both thieves initially mocked Jesus while they were on the cross. However, one thief continued to mock Him, while the other changed and believed in Jesus, receiving the promise of paradise. His words proves this:

“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, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43)

The one thief did not fear God even though he committed sin worthy of death sentence, but the other thief feared God because of the sin he committed. While the Bible does not specifically record this, we can infer that during Jesus’ suffering on the cross, He preached the gospel to the thief who feared God. It would have been impossible for the thief who had been mocking Jesus to suddenly understand and accept the gospel on his own in such a short time. As the thief that feared God heard Jesus’ words, he realized that everything Jesus had done was right and that Jesus was innocent. He came to understand that Jesus was dying on the cross because of their sins.

The thief did nothing to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. His hands and feet were nailed to the cross, so he could not perform any good deeds. All he did was listen to and believe the gospel that Jesus preached. Therefore, for him, Jesus was more than enough to be God’s gift.

Salvation is Instantaneous

The time it took for the thief on the cross to receive salvation was less than six hours, because it took Jesus six hours from being nailed to the cross until He died. This shows that salvation does not require a long period of time. Some people believe that salvation is not something that happens instantly, but that even though they believed in Jesus, it happens gradually through their own efforts. However, this is not true. According to God’s promise recorded in the Bible, anyone who believes in Jesus receives salvation. By looking at how Cornelius and those with him were saved, we can understand that salvation happens at the moment one believes in Jesus.

An angel of God appeared to Cornelius in a vision, telling him to send men to Joppa to bring Peter. Cornelius then invited Peter to his house, where he and his relatives and close friends heard the message Peter preached. Peter proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ to them.

“And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.” (Acts 10:39-44)

When Cornelius and those with him heard Peter’s words, “that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins,” the Holy Ghost came upon them. The Bible says, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 2:38). When they realized that Jesus had forgiven all their sins, they received the Holy Ghost as a gift.

As we can see from the scripture, “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,” (Ephesians 1:13), the Holy Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. Therefore, regardless of the sins someone may have committed, the moment they believe in Jesus, who died for the sins of all people, they receive the Holy Spirit as a gift and become children of God. Thus, salvation is instantaneous.

Faith Is Not For Everyone

Although anyone who believes in Jesus Christ can be saved, not everyone is saved. This is because Satan hinders people from believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Bible says: “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Satan made Adam and Eve aware of their nakedness after they had the knowledge of good and evil and made them fear God. Likewise today, Satan still deceives us, causing us to focus on our sinful nature instead of looking at the crucified Jesus, leading us to condemn ourselves under the law of good and evil and make us fear God.

The reason people fear God is because they do not know His love. The Bible says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18). Just as ice melts and disappears when warmed by the sunlight on a cold winter day, when God’s love shines into a person’s heart, the fear of punishment due to sin completely disappears.

There Is No Fear In Love

As the Bible says, “love covereth all sins” (Proverbs 10:12), love has no sin that it cannot forgive. Therefore, a person experiences true freedom in love.

Joseph’s brothers feared God’s punishment because they did not only tried to kill him but sold him to Ishmaelite merchants for twenty pieces of silver. When a famine struck and they came to Egypt to buy grain, they were accused of being spies. They said, “We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us” (Genesis 42:21). Even Reuben, the oldest brother, said, “Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? Therefore, behold, also his blood is required” (Genesis 42:21). From this, we can see that they feared God’s punishment because of the sin they committed against Joseph.

Joseph, who became the governor of Egypt, wanted to bring his family from Canaan to Egypt so that they could share in the glory he was experiencing. However, Joseph knew that his brothers would be afraid to come to him because of the evil they had done to him, fearing that he might kill them. Therefore, Joseph needed to show them his love above all else. To do this, Joseph made his brothers into guilty sinners, adding sin upon sin, to the point where they could not say anything if he decided to kill them.

When his brothers came to buy grain from him, Joseph accused them of being spies, knowing they would not recognize him. He then imprisoned Simeon and demanded that they bring their youngest brother to prove they were not spies. Furthermore, he placed the money they had brought to buy grain back into their sacks, making them appear as thieves.

To avoid being misunderstood as thieves, the brothers took the money they had found in their sacks and returned to Egypt a second time to buy grain with their youngest brother, Benjamin. This time, Joseph invited them to his house, provided them with food, and made them stay for the night before sending them back home. However, this time, not only did he put the money they had brought for the grain back into their sacks, but he also placed his silver cup in Benjamin’s sack. He then instructed his steward to chase after them on their way home and find the cup in Benjamin’s sack, making the brothers appear as unforgivable sinners who repaid good with evil.

Finally, death came to the hearts of the brothers, and they returned to Joseph, feeling as though they were dead. When they stood before him once more, Joseph revealed his identity, rejoiced for his brothers, kissed and embraced them and wept. Despite knowing all their sins, the sin of selling him, stealing the money for the grain, and repaying the kindness he had shown them with evil, the brothers saw in his joyful tears that Joseph truly loved them. In that moment, they realized that all their sins were covered by Joseph’s love.

“Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20). The more the brothers’ sins added to the sin of selling Joseph, the more they saw his love for them. And in that love, they were able to be freed from the sin of having sold Joseph.

He Hath Shown

We feared God because of the sins we had committed. No amount of effort or labor on our part could free us from that fear. Therefore, God had to reveal His love to us. He confirmed His love for us by giving His only begotten Son, Jesus, to die for our sins. The Bible says, “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16). Jesus’ death on the cross was not only for our sins but also to reveal God’s love to us so that we might know it.

When we see that God had prepared Jesus for our sins before the foundation of the world, we can understand that He loved us even before He created mankind. This is like a married woman who, even before conceiving a child, already envisions and delights in the child to come, loving it with hope. However, the mankind that God created departed from Him and became slaves to the devil, bringing sorrow to God.

Just as loving parents cannot forsake their children no matter how many mistakes they make, God did not abandon us even though we departed from Him and lived in sin. He revealed His love so that we might return to Him, be reconciled, and share in His love. For this purpose, Jesus was crucified on our behalf.

The Bible declares, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). Just as east and west move in opposite directions and can never meet, Jesus has completely removed our sins so that we will never meet with sin again. By doing this, He ensured that our sins would no longer be a barrier preventing us from returning to God.

When looked upon it, they all lived

The Bible says, “We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). As this verse reveals, God loved us even before we loved Him. He proved this love by giving His Son to die for us while we were yet sinners, and He calls us to believe in that love. The Scripture declares, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:22).

When the children of Israel left Egypt and wandered in the wilderness for many years, they grew impatient when God led them around the land of Edom instead of taking a faster route to Canaan. They murmured against God and Moses. In response, God sent fiery serpents among them, and many Israelites died from snake bites. The people came to Moses, asking him to pray that God would take away the serpents. Moses interceded for them, and God commanded him, “Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live” (Numbers 21:8). Moses made a serpent of brass and lifted it upon a pole, and everyone who looked upon it lived.

The brazen serpent on the pole was a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ. That is why Jesus declared,“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:14-15).

Anyone who looks upon Jesus, who was lifted up on the cross, will realize that their sins have already been forgiven through His sacrifice. Looking to Jesus is as easy as the Israelites lifting their heads to gaze upon the brazen serpent. To receive salvation, one must turn away from looking at themselves and instead look upon Jesus on the cross. Just as those bitten by the fiery serpents could not escape death by their own efforts but received life by looking at the brazen serpent, so too can any sinner, no matter what they have done, receive eternal life by looking to Jesus Christ, who was crucified for them.

There Is No Difference

The devil makes people see only their sinful selves, preventing them from looking at Jesus. Those deceived by the devil, seeing only their own sin, think that God has no interest in them and will never love them. However, the Bible says, “Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things” (Romans 2:1). This means that there is no difference between those who judge others and those who are judged; all are the same.

When Jesus spoke to His disciples about the coming days of tribulation, He said, “And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days” (Mark 13:20). Just as all of Jesus’ disciples abandoned Him and fled when He was arrested, even the most faithful person would forsake God if faced with trials that they could not endure. No human can boast before God because all people are the same.

Since all people are the same, righteousness does not depend on human actions but on believing in Jesus Christ. Therefore, anyone who believes in Jesus becomes righteous, and there is no difference. God considers faith in Jesus as righteousness, while He considers not believing as sin. Therefore, the righteous in the Bible are not those who perform righteous acts, but those who have faith in Jesus. Therefore, sinners are not those who commit evil deeds, but those who do not believe in Jesus.

Rahab, the harlot from Jericho; the Samaritan woman who was ridiculed for living with the sixth man; and Zacchaeus, the tax collector, who was hated for collecting taxes for the Romans, were all made righteous by believing in Jesus. That is why the Bible says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). No matter how wicked a person may be, if they simply look to Jesus, they are saved and will reign forever with God in His kingdom.