The inscription placed above the Crucified One by the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate was meant to provoke the Jews: “This is the King of the Jews” (Luke 23:38).
The soldiers and rulers read the insciption aloud sarcastically as a way mocking Jesus.
Then we encounter a figure who takes the inscription seriously.
One of those crucified next to Jesus, turns to Jesus and speaks simply and humbly: “Remember me when you come into your Kingdom” (v. 42).
Suddenly the inscription tacked to the Cross of Christ results in the Kingdom of God being understood for the very first time as the Kingdom of Christ.
The least likely of figures in the scene knows that this King Jesus had the power to help him and that was enough. That is, he knew the King Jesus had the power to help a poor, convicted, dying man and merely acknowledged as much.
In this most unlikely of ways by means of the most unlikely of characters, the universal reach and supreme power of Christ’s Kingship is proclaimed for all time.
