The Thief On The Cross

He was a bad person, and yet he was a good person. Little is known about his life. Yet, much can be learned from a few hours of his life that’s been recorded for us by the Holy Spirit. I’m referring to the man that we know as the thief on the cross. As Jesus died for our sins, we are introduced to two men who would also die on either side of Him. Like Jesus, these two men would die an excruciating death. Unlike Jesus, they died because of their sins. We read of these two unnamed sinners in the four gospels. 

I have heard sermons in the past dealing with the thief on the cross. Yet, in those sermons the biggest point that was often discussed was whether we can be saved like the thief. There’s great reason to focus on this particular aspect of the story, because there’s a lot of false teaching on how one is saved today? Is it through a sinner’s prayer? NO! Is one saved after they are baptized? NO!  Is baptism necessary to be saved? Yes! Jesus says in Mark 16:16 “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.” Peter would say the same thing in Acts 2:38! In 1 Peter 3:20-21 Peter says, “…baptism now saves you…” Anyone who uses the story of the thief on the cross to say that water baptism is not necessary for salvation is not properly handling the New Testament.

But I wonder if we have overlooked some valuable lessons from this thief. We don’t know his name, but we see the kind of character he had. As odd as it might sound, we can learn a lot from this man.

The Thief was a sinner. He is described as a robber, Matthew 27:38,44. We don’t know what he stole, but it was enough to get him on a cross. Did he know the other guy who was on the cross for robbery? Had these two worked together? We don’t know.  However, we do know something about this robber. He spent a lot of his final breaths spewing out insults towards Jesus. He was insulting Jesus like the rest of the crowds, Matthew 27:38-44. Remember, that it was the crowd who had been hurling insults at Jesus. Both thieves joined in this sinful behavior. Why was he joining in the crowd and insulting Jesus? We don’t know. This man was a sinner. While this point is obvious, it’s important and here’s why. 

This sinner had a repentant heart. He initially insulted Jesus, but would turn from his sinful behavior, Luke 23:39-41. This man would have a change of heart on his deathbed! There’s no contradiction between Matthew 27:44 where it says that both men insulted Jesus, and then what Luke said in Luke 23:39-40. Matthew simply gave us some additional details. At some point in time this thief stopped his wicked behavior. So, what caused this man to repent? He may have repented because he was so convicted by the love of Christ. Do you think his heart was convicted when he heard Jesus say, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” Luke 23:34? Whatever the reason was we see a change in this man’s heart, Luke 23:40-41.

This repentant sinner asked to be with Jesus. The thief asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom, Luke 23:42. This is fascinating isn’t it? Was it the sign that was above the head of Jesus that said, “THE KING OF THE JEWS” that convinced him that Jesus was a King and would establish His kingdom? That could be the case. Maybe it was what he heard others saying about Jesus, Matthew 27:42. His request to Jesus however is powerful. Certainly, there are questions about how much He believed in God the Father, right and wrong, and the kingdom. But he did acknowledge his wrong. He did make a request to Jesus, Luke 23:42.  Whether he had a good understanding of the kingdom or not, he wanted to be with Jesus in His kingdom.

Thinking about what this man said may come across as amazing to us. Yet, how amazed do you think this man was when Jesus told him “Yes”! Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” Despite the thief’s past, despite his present behavior toward Jesus, this man was still loved by Christ. Paradise is the place where departed souls of the saved go in the Hadean world. This man was saved! This unnamed man would have his name in the book of life.

Some Points To Take Home

In many respects, we are just like the thief on the cross! We are sinners in need of God’s grace, Romans 3:23. Like him we too deserve death! The thief believed Jesus had the power to save. We must believe in Jesus also. Like this thief, we need to repent, Luke 13:3-5. This man’s heart changed. So must ours. The thief acted before it was too late.  We need to do the same. Only Jesus could save this man. Only Jesus can save us!

Do you want to be saved? Then listen to Jesus, Mark 16:16.  We must be baptized in water for the forgiveness of sins. Yet, many disagree that baptism is necessary because the thief wasn’t baptized. We know that Jesus had power on earth to forgive sins, Mark 2:10. He had the power and authority to forgive sins on earth any way He chose. Jesus still has the power to forgive sins. Yet, He is in heaven, and while He will forgive sins, it will be according to the terms He left His apostles as He sent them out to save men, Mark 16:15-16. We will simply need to trust His terms! Why would you want to argue with Jesus?

Conclusion:

The thief followed Jesus in the last moments in his life. What will you do with this moment?

Jesus could save a thief, and Jesus can save us. Are you willing to trust in His words?