The Dying Thief

             Whose Fault? (Sonnet 21)
Our Lord was brought to face the angry crowd,
And Pilate said, “I find no fault in Him.”
Not satisfied, they cried with voices loud
And made demands to pass a sentence grim.
No fault in Him at all - His life was pure.
Though tempted sore, He would not yield to sin.
Without a flaw, His innocence is sure,
A guilty charge impossible to win.
Why die condemned when Jesus had no fault?
He died for faults, ‘tis true, but they were mine.
Incapable of meeting sin’s assault,
With frequency I broke the law divine.
Though I’ve offended with transgressions rife,
He shed His sinless blood to give me life.

"Pilate came out again and said to them, 'Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.'" John 19:4 (NASB)

"But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed." Isaiah 53:5 (NASB)

I am thankful for my loving Savior who suffered and paid the price for my sin, and rejoicing in the resurrection through which He conquered sin and death for me. In recent days my mind has gone often to the second stanza of William Cowper's hymn "There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood":

The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
And there may I, though vile as he,
Wash all my sins away.