A Life-Saving Conversation Between Jesus And A Thief

“I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” ~ Luke 5:32

A Life-Saving Conversation Between Jesus And A Thief

Two unnamed men were found guilty of theft and sentenced to a public death. On execution day, soldiers bound them to wooden crosses that were hastily dropped into two deep holes on the left and right sides of a hill outside of Jerusalem.

A third man would hang that day. His name was Jesus. He was the Messiah, God’s Son.

He was innocent of all charges, but the people did not believe Him. Because He “claimed” to be King of the Jews, and the Son of God, Jesus was convicted of treason and blasphemy.

He was spit upon, ridiculed, crowned with thorns, and severely beaten before soldiers nailed his hands and feet to a cross that was positioned between the thieves.

Death by crucifixion was brutal. Those who were crucified struggled to breathe for hours or days before dying of dehydration, shock or asphyxiation.

Still, the people stood below the three crosses watching - particularly the man in the middle.

Their leaders mocked Jesus, “He saved others; let him save himself if this is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

The soldiers also challenged Him to rescue himself from the cross.

Incredibly, even the criminals on their crosses joined the crowd, taunting Jesus.

Jesus responded by praying for His accusers, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” As demonstrated by His prayer, Jesus’ purpose was salvation, not condemnation.

The thieves witnessed Jesus’ humility on the cross. They heard Him pray for His enemies and saw Him display unconditional love over anger, vengeance.

Despite his extreme mental and physical anguish, Jesus’ character further supported his innocence.

Perhaps this was the moment that one thief had a change of heart.

In spite of Jesus’ humiliation on the cross, this thief recognized Jesus as divine.

In contrast, this thief knew he was guilty and deserved his punishment. So, he decided to unfollow the crowd and accept the consequences of his actions without speaking another word against Jesus.

Undeterred, the remorseless thief hurled yet another insult at Jesus; “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

His cohort’s continued sarcasm prompted the now repentant thief to speak truth and confess his sin before Jesus.

“Don’t you even fear God, since you are undergoing the same punishment? We are punished justly, because we’re getting back what we deserve for the things we did, but this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then, in a desperate act of repentance and faith, he spoke these memorable words. “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

The man received instant forgiveness - proof than even in our most broken final minutes of life, Jesus’ mercy is freely given.

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Easter Sunday is on April 5. Churches everywhere will have a higher attendance than usual. Those who rarely attend will make time to honor a family tradition - church, dinner and an Easter egg hunt for the littles at the home place. But Easter is so much more.

Christians celebrate Jesus every day but, on Easter Sunday, we highlight His victory over death because it is the heartbeat of Christian faith. If He isn’t alive, who is our hope?

It is humbling to know that God sent His Son down from heaven to willingly die for our sins. It is incredulous to our finite minds that He defeated death and rose again, in keeping with God’s perfect plan for us to live eternally with Jesus - where there are no more tears, no more sickness, and no more death.

We can’t get to paradise by mooching off the faith and prayers of our Christian parents or spouses, or by being a good or charitable person. The bible says it’s not by works that we are saved, but by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus.

And while we might not be criminals, the two thieves in this story represent you and me. The time clock of our lives is ticking down. We are all guilty of sin and the punishment is death. Each of us has a choice to make.

Like the repentant thief, you can confess your sins, believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and assuredly know that you will join Him in paradise.

Or, like the unrepentant thief, you can join the crowd that rejects Jesus.

It’s my prayer that you will choose Jesus.

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