Perspectives on Jesus have been offered from all over the world, but the voice of the man closest to the cross of Christ has rarely been heard. “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). How could this thief view a beaten, bloodied, and crucified criminal as one who rules over a kingdom? Maybe he was confused by the title “King of the Jews” on Jesus’ cross or by the crown of thorns on his head. Or perhaps, as Jesus’ response indicates, this man rightly saw the kingdom of God in the crucified Christ.
Unfortunately today, many Christians either cling to the cross or champion the kingdom, usually one to the exclusion of the other. Countless books on the kingdom hardly mention Christ’s cross. Volumes on the cross ignore Jesus’ message of the kingdom. The polarization of these two biblical themes leads to divergent approaches: cross-centered theology that focuses on the salvation of sinners or kingdom-minded activism that seeks to change the world. Whole churches or movements are built on one idea or the other. It’s as if we are left with a choice between either a kingdom without a cross or a cross without a kingdom; this false dichotomy truncates the gospel
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