THREE LESSONS FROM A THIEF
There is a minor debate among theologians and Bible historians as to why Jesus was hung between the two thieves. Some say that it was Pilate’s doing. Since Jesus took the place of Barrabas it was Pilate’s way of saying, “if were going to do this lets do it all the way.” Others say that it was done by the Jewish officials, to make an example of those who would openly disobey them. Or it could have been the Roman Centurions decision to hang the Lord between the two thieves, since Jesus had been charged with the most “serious crime” of the three men. But whoever made the decision, I believe that it was God’s plan all along, because it placed God’s answer to mans sin right between two men who were about to face judgement and eternity.
One of the most amazing things about the crucifixion are the seven statements of Christ. You see when a person was crucified they only wanted one thing, for it to be over as soon as possible. And they only thought about one person, themselves. But Jesus was more concerned with the needs of others than Himself, even in the painful death of crucifixion.
Turn with me to Luke 23:39-43 (read). Now Jesus didn’t answer the thieves’ taunts, and I’m sure that it wasn’t very pleasant listening to them. Can you imagine…? There was the pure, holy, sinless Son of God being ridiculed and mocked by a low down criminal. Jesus didn’t deserve to be there. He had never done anything worthy of that, and He surely didn’t deserve to be cussed out by a thug. In Matthews gospel we see that initially both thieves were mocking and insulting the Lord, but something happened to the second thief in those hours on the cross. First I believe that he probably saw the sign above Jesus head. Those signs were what the condemned had been charged with, and as you probably know, the sign above Jesus head read “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS” and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. I’m sure that you also remember that the Jewish leaders protested the sign, saying, “It should read that He claims to be the King of the Jews, not that He is the King of the Jews.” But Pilate had made up his mind, and again I’m sure that it was all part of the plan of our Sovereign God, and when the second thief read that sign I imagine that it got him to thinking. Secondly the thief probably noticed how Jesus handled Himself during the whole situation, and no doubt he heard the Lord pray for the forgiveness of those who had crucified Him, and that thief realized that Jesus Christ was more than just a mere man.
Let’s look at vs. 42 and 43 again (read). If ever there was a deathbed conversion, this was it. The thief cried out for salvation, and the Lord heard and answered him. The thief didn’t have to do anything. He didn’t have to work for it, or earn it, or pray in a certain way. He didn’t even have to be baptized, and I know that could upset a lot of folks but it’s the truth, and yes I believe that we should be obedient to the Lord and follow Him in baptism but it is not essential to salvation. All the thief did was receive God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
There are at least three lessons that we can learn from this passage of scripture. #1. No one is ever too far-gone to be saved. As long as they are still breathing there is still hope for them. I once heard a story about a man who was an alcoholic. He would do anything to buy his booze. Then one day his son became very sick and if he didn’t receive a certain medicine he would die. So this man begged and pleaded for money to buy his son the medicine he needed, and when he got the money, instead of buying the medicine for his son, he went out and bought liquor. His son died, and at the funeral this man stole his sons’ shoes just so he could sell them and go out and buy more liquor, but eventually he hit rock bottom and God reached down and this man received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. You may have heard of him. His name was Mel Trotter and he became a great preacher, and missionary. We should never give up on anyone. This man hanging next to Jesus was a thief and a murderer, and who knows what else. The Apostle Paul persecuted and murdered Christians, and Peter denied the Lord three times, and yet God saved them all. And God can save you. It doesn’t matter what you may have done or been in your life. Jesus Christ came to save sinners.
#2. All that God requires from us is simple faith in His Son Jesus. We can’t earn salvation, we can’t ever be good enough, we can’t work for it, and we can’t buy it. In-fact no one could ever meet the requirements that God demands for salvation. No one except for God Himself. So God came in the flesh and He fulfilled the righteous requirements of the Law, and then He paid for our sins by shedding His blood and dying on a cross two-thousand years ago, and all we have to do is believe that and put our trust in Jesus Christ. Ephesians tells us that were saved by grace, through faith, and not by works. In fact, if a person refuses to accept salvation solely on grace, what they are really doing is saying that what Jesus did was not enough to save them, that His blood is not sufficient, and that they can improve on God’s plan. Which brings me to the third lesson that I see from this passage of scripture. We should never doubt God’s willingness to instantly and eternally accept us into His family. Jesus told the thief, “today you will be with me in Paradise.” When you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you are immediately forgiven, accepted, eternally secure, and bound for heaven. Now there are a lot of humanistic, self help programs out there that really don’t like that too much. It’s just too simple and easy. But Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father, but by me.” No 12 steps required, no rituals, or mantras to chant, and no purgatory or soul sleeping, just simple faith in the Son of God, and it’s that simple faith that will determine whether you spend eternity in the smoking section or the non smoking section. It’s your choice to believe or not to believe and you have this life to make that choice, but after this life then comes the judgement, and I caution you not to put off the gift of salvation that God offers because none of us knows what tomorrow will bring, or even the next hour.
You may have lived a life as sinful as the thief on the cross, you may have lived one worse, or maybe you have lived a decent, respectable life, but how you have lived, or what you have done, weather good or bad, doesn’t matter. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but we can all be cleansed and washed clean by the blood of Jesus. I once heard the story about a young man who was about to graduate from high school. He was the valedictorian and he had a perfect 4.0 grade point average. The day before the graduation took place, the principal of the high school called the young man into his office, and said to him, “Well you’ve done it, you made valedictorian. Congratulations. So what are your plans for the future?” The young man said, “Well I plan to go on to college and get my Bachelors degree.” “Great” said the principal, “what then?” “I guess then I’ll go on to med. School and become a Dr.” “what then?” Said the principal. “Well then I plan on getting married, having children and pursuing my career”. “What then” “I guess I’ll retire” “what then?” “I would like to travel all around the world” “What then?” And the young man thought for a few seconds and said, “Well… I guess then I’ll die.” And the principal looked him right in the eyes and said, “What then?” The seventy, eighty, or ninety years you or I might live on this earth are nothing compared to eternity. Eternity is not just a very long time; it’s forever and ever. Lets just say that a bird was able to fly from here to the sun. It would take that bird several hundred thousand years just to get there. Now lets say that this bird were to pick up one grain of sand, and fly to the sun, and then fly back, pick up another grain of sand and fly to the sun, and lets say that this bird picked up every single grain of sand on this planet and flew them to the sun, one grain at a time, that still isn’t even a drop in the bucket compared to eternity. Are you prepared to step into eternity today?
If you have never received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior then I would like to invite you to do so. You can know for sure that you’re saved, and heaven bound. You can know that your sins are forgiven and that you’re eternally secure. You can have peace with God. If you would like Jesus to come into you heart and be your Lord and save you please come forward right now, don’t leave here without knowing.
