And Then There Were Three Thieves…
Scripture Text: Luke 23:39 – 43
Introduction: Under normal circumstances, it doesn’t feel good to be taken from. It’s different when I give it to you or you have a need and I share what I have with you. It’s another thing altogether for you to see me with it, want it, but not want it to the degree that you’re willing to work like I worked for it. You just want what’s mine so you can make it yours. The message has many varying dimensions, but I looked at the text and discovered that those two thieves that were hanging next to Jesus had made a career of crime. This is just my personal opinion; thieves and robbers have needs and wants just like I do, and they’re people just like me. [But] They don’t see the need to work like we do; the mentality of a thief is that his victim will work for it, and when the hard part has been done, the thief will just take it with the intent of enjoying it even though he didn’t have to work for it. The cross of Calvary is a representation of several things happening at the same time; for instance, the old Covenant was done away with and a new one was instituted. The power of God may have come into question before when Jesus was living, but it was undeniably lucid at this point in history as He was at the point of death. I believe that the devil was actually looking at the whole scene like a nervous bookie on game day [sweating and crossing his fingers]. Not only was the old Covenant done away with, but even in the midst of laughing and mocking and humiliation and pure hatred, a new breed [a new race] of people was born at that moment the Master said, “It is finished.” [But] I beg to differ with most theologians; I wish to suggest that there were three thieves on those crosses, and they all had different characteristics. What are you talking about, Rev? Well, you’ll discover something about each of them; I found that one thing about the first thief was that THE FIRST THIEF WAS ONLY CONCERNED WITH HIS EXISTENTIAL SAFETY.
Luke 23:39 – Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”
The amazing thing about this thief is that even with him hanging next to the Master, his mind is still on himself. This first thief wants the Master to show a display of power so that the thief will not have to pay the penalty for what he actually did. “First thieves” want you to give them what they want and if they don’t get it from you, they will discount everything about you, but even in that they’re still taking from you. In actuality, this thief was no different from the devil in Matthew 4 when he tempted Jesus, because the thief wished to derail the Master’s assignment strictly for his own benefit. The first thief had a problem because he wished to manipulate Divine assistance for his own devilish agenda. I would think that this man didn’t call on God too often when he was robbing others; I would dare suggest that this man didn’t pray to God to help him reform and turn to a life of helping and serving others. This COULD’VE been the one time he talked to Jesus in his entire life, but when he opens his mouth, you’re caught speechless because you can’t believe that he would say what he said. [But] Before you put your mouth on the first thief, the truth of the matter is that there are “first thieves” who show up every Sunday who don’t pray – who don’t consult God until they get into trouble – who don’t come to the house of the Lord until there is something they have to endure for something they were actually guilty of. The first thief has not come under conviction; he is leaving it up to Jesus to get him out of the hot spot he’s in without having to repent, reform, or apologize. Let me see if I can bring it down the road to our house: the first thief wants to do what he wants to do and then challenge Jesus to get him out of the consequences that are the result of doing what you want to do. First thieves don’t want to be accountable for their decisions, because a first thief mentality is, “Let me do what I want to do and then you come and rescue me from the consequences.” [And] As a result, I’ll make a symbolic suggestion within a literal situation: THE FIRST THIEF DIED FROM THE CONDITIONS OF SIN. [But] There was also a second thief on the cross that day, and he was sentenced for the same crime that the first thief committed. [But] Something caught me that was different about this thief. Even though the first thief was concerned only for his existential safety, I’m glad that THE SECOND THIEF WAS COMMENDED FOR HIS EXPECTANT STATEMENT.
Luke 23:42 – Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom.”
The second thief was not just looking at the here and now; it may have been the searing pain in his legs that made him reconsider where he now finds himself. It may have taken him hanging on a cross with his lungs near collapse [asphyxiation] for him to rethink what he had done all of his life. It may have taken him the unbearable agony of knowing that he was here at the end of his life and that it had come down to this. Something gripped me about this man, though. It was something that didn’t catch me when I listened to the first thief; the second thief catches me off guard when he calls Jesus, “Lord.” The first thief was questioning Jesus’ identity; the second thief was confirming it. Even in the midst of this thief’s sin and his rebellion and his previously selfish nature, he recognizes Jesus as “Lord.” Now, you can’t take that lightly, because this man was caught in a crime that he was guilty of and had to pay the price, but even in going through what he had to go through, he still called Jesus “Lord.” This means that somebody in this place has to be transparent, but there were some things that I was guilty of, and I was wrong and I knew I was wrong. I had [under faulty pretense] called myself repenting beforehand, because I just knew that I was going to engage willfully and conscientiously in sinful behavior. [But] When the Master got through dealing with me – after He had dealt with me severely to the point where I learned my lesson but graciously enough as to where He didn’t kill me – I had to recognize Him as “Lord.” [And] Let me preach this, because it’s one thing to acknowledge the Lord when you’re trying to live right and everything is going well and you have a nice house and you have what Bishop Joseph Walker calls “a traffic jam in your driveway” – but is He still Lord when you’re going through? Is He still Lord when you and your spouse are going through hell and high water? Is He still Lord when you’re being passed over for promotion on your job? Is He still Lord when your children wish to be grown in the house you’re paying for? Is He still Lord when church members don’t get along and people seemingly don’t care and people are grumbling and complaining but find it difficult to involve themselves? Is He still Lord when the enemy is attacking your finances, your family, and your faith all at the same time? Can you acknowledge the Master’s Lordship when everything around you seemingly contradicts that fact? I’m glad that the second thief did what the first thief was unwilling to do: he addresses his partner, because
Luke 23:40 – But the other, answering, rebuked him saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?”
Not only does he address his partner, but he also accepts his punishment when he says in
Luke 23:41 – “And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.”
So, the second thief addresses his partner, and he accepted his punishment, but he also actualizes his pardon.
Luke 23:42 – Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom.”
I mentioned earlier that the first thief died from the conditions of sin, but THE SECOND THIEF DIED TO THE CONDEMNATION OF SIN. [But] As I get ready to shut it down for now, the first thief was only concerned with his existential safety. He wanted to do what he wanted but didn’t want to pay for it. The second thief was commended for his expectant statement. When he asked the Lord to remember him, he was expecting the Lord to do something for him in the future that he couldn’t see right then. [But] There was one more thief on that cross, and even though the first thief was only concerned for his existential safety; even though the second thief was commended for his expectant statement, I’m glad that THE THIRD THIEF WAS COMMITTED TO [THE CATALYST IN] MY ESCHATOLOGICAL [ETERNAL] SECURITY.
Luke 23:43 – And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
In other words, Jesus is a thief. I’ve always believed it, and I will go to my grave believing that Jesus is a Master Teacher, but He’s also a Master Thief. He’s a thief because He specializes in “pick pocketing”. Now for those of you who are not feeling me, a pick pocket is a person who will come up to you and take something off of your person without you even knowing it’s gone. A pick pocket’s defining element, however, is that he has to be close enough to you to take it without you becoming suspicious of him. The Master is a Master Teacher, but He’s also a Master Thief; I know that people call Him a doctor in a sick room, but in order for Him to heal you, He has to take away your sickness. I know that people call Him a lawyer in a courtroom, but in order for Him to acquit you, He has to take your case. I know that we call Him a Divine optometrist [because He made the blind man see], but in order for Him to restore your sight, He has to take away your blindness. I know that He’s also a Divine podiatrist [because He made the lame man walk] but in order for Him to give you strength in your ankles and feet, He also has to take away your crutches and your wheelchair. I know that He’s a Divine caterer [because He fed multitudes of people with meager portions] but in order for Him to give you physical satisfaction, He has to take away your hunger. He’s a Master Teacher, but He’s also a Master Thief. [And] In this encounter on Calvary’s cross, He took away my sin and stole a soul in the process. The first thief died from the conditions of sin, and the second thief died to the condemnation of sin. [But] THAT THIRD THIEF DIED FOR THE CLEANSING OF SIN! I didn’t know when He did it; I just know that He did, and I’m glad that He “picked my pocket.” Jesus, I thank You for being my pick pocket!
In Conclusion...
Jesus is a different kind of pick pocket; he gives you things in return for the things He took from you. The enemy didn’t come for anything but to kill, steal, and to destroy, but what I have noticed is that Jesus came to kill, steal, and to destroy as well. When Jesus died on that tree, He killed the possibility of me being separated from Him for eternity. When He died, He stole my soul from the possession of the enemy, and when He died, He destroyed the power of sin over my life.
