There were three crosses at Calvary. On either side of the central cross was a victim. Luke calls them “malefactors” or criminals. Matthew and Mark call them “thieves.” John speaks of them simply as “two others.” Tradition has called them Dismas and Gesmas. Dismas was the one who rebuked Gesmas and to whom Christ spoke a word of assurance. He is worth looking at closely.
It is entirely probable that Dismas and Gesmas had been Zealot patriots, who looked for a Messiah like a Maccabean warrior-prince. All Zealots sought a kingdom that was utterly different from the existing society of the day. Such men were misguided patriots who hated Rome. Their goal was to overturn the institutions that were maintained by both the political and religious institutions at the time.
The second fascinating possibility about Dismas is that he may have known Jesus before they kept their tragic rendezvous on Golgotha. He declared the innocence of Jesus, for he said, “This man has done nothing amiss.” How did he know that? And why was he so certain that it was true? More striking still, he is the only person mentioned in the four Gospels who called Jesus by His first name. It was when he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into your kingdom.”
What kind of kingdom did Dismas believe Jesus would build? Had he at some earlier time listened to Jesus and heard Him talking about the Kingdom of God? If so, had he turned away from listening to Jesus, as Judas Iscariot did at the end? I think that is a strong possibility. He could not see how all this talk about love and good will would ever drive the hated Roman tyrants into the sea. He wanted action. Then, as he turns his head, he sees the words attached to the cross next to his own: “Jesus . . . the King of the Jews.”
Gesmas, his companion on the other side of the cross of Jesus, had hoped against hope for clemency. He knew full well that according to the custom of the day that one condemned man would be released at the Passover festival – but the mob had already chosen Barabbas to be set free. Both Dismas and Gesmas hated not only their foreign executioners but their own countrymen who had ignored them. They heard the multitude railing at Jesus: “Aha! You were going to build the Temple in three days.” “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is so clever.” “What about a miracle now, Miracle Man?”
As Christians around the world celebrate another Easter, we look again at those three crosses. Something special happened to Dismas. He no doubt began to realize that violence and plotting and bloodshed could never usher in the realm of God. It was the rule of God that he wanted. A new revolution began to take place in his soul. And he cried out, “Jesus, remember me when You come into your Kingdom” (Luke 23:42). He knew that the three of them were going to die, but believed that Jesus would go on.
Jesus replied to Dismas by saying, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.” What a fantastic promise! Look at Christ’s promise in this way: “Today . . . . Paradise . . . . with Me.” We learn from this that God cares for the least and the lowest and the lost. He will never forget even one of His children.
How do we know this to be true? Three days later the Sabbath the tomb where Jesus had been buried was empty. “Up from the grave He arose, with a mighty triumph o’er His foes; He arose a victor from the dark domain, and He lives forever with His saints to reign. He arose! He arose! Hallelujah, Christ arose!”
That, my friends, is what Easter is all about. And it is why Christians celebrate!
The Paper Pulpit 
Leave a Reply