Christ the Wisdom and Power of God (Excerpt)

Pilate had a notice fastened to the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." Many of the Jews read this; it was in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek. Aramaic was the language of the Jews. Latin was the language of the Romans, the conquerors. Greek was the language of the common people of the empire at that time. These languages symbolize the three great areas of human life: Aramaic for religion, Latin for law, and Greek for culture and philosophy. In an amusing irony, the multilingual universal sign was actually saying "Jesus is Lord of all of these. He isn't just the King of the Jews; He's the King of everyone, of everything--the Jews, the Gentiles, the whole universe." The title speaks of universal sin, the three great civilizations of the world cooperating in His death. It also announces salvation for the world. Think about it: Remember the thief? He must've looked at it (He must have had his own title by the way). He realized during the six hours he hang there with Jesus that He is a king. He said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into Your Kingdom." What does this tell us? First, he knew Jesus was a king. Second, he knew Jesus has a kingdom beyond this world. Lastly, he humbly asked for help from Jesus. He recognized that Christ alone could save him. What do we see here? It's 1 Corinthians 1:18--Christ the wisdom of God to the Greek, the power of God to the Jew, the justice of God that fulfills His holy law. The repentant thief read the title, perhaps convicted by God, and got saved.