CROSS WORDS: WORD #2—THE POWER THAT DOESN’T FALTER
LUKE 23:32-43
ARE YOU ABLE TO REMEMBER,
WHEN A THIEF LIFTS UP HIS EYES,
THAT HIS PARDONED SOUL IS WORTHY
OF A PLACE IN PARADISE?
These words, composed in 1926 by the hymnist Earl Marlatt in his hymn “Are You Able,” should pierce our hearts into Christian Action this Lenten Season and challenge us in future ministry.
Criminals can be redeemed. The blood of Jesus and His grace are more than sufficient for such an amazing transformation. Jesus sets this precedent in the second word He speaks from the cross. After Easter I want to return to this same text and drama and approach the message from that stand point, for I see this as an area of ministry the Church often neglects, but today we take a different approach.
There is no sin so terrible, no crime so violent, that Jesus can not forgive the offender who truly repents and turns to Him. Luke does not record the Penitent Thief’s name, but perhaps you have heard him called by the name of Dismas, a name first applied to him in the twelfth century Apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus. Dismas is a Greek name meaning “sunset” or “death.”
In Catholic tradition he is the patron saint of prisoners, death row inmates, funeral directors, reformed thieves, and undertakers. In Christian art he is portrayed as carrying his cross immediately behind Jesus; being crucified at Jesus’ right hand; and holding his cross, sometimes with his hand over his heart, symbolic of remorse and repentance. His feast day is March 25th, traditionally the original date of the Crucifixion of our Lord.
Perhaps you know about the ministry of Dismas House, a Christian organization that furnishes initial housing and support for exoffenders upon their release from incarceration. The intended patron saint of this ministry is the Good Thief. Whatever his name may be, he is proof beyond all doubt that the blood of Jesus is omnipotent and His grace is all sufficient to forgive any and all sin, no matter how horrendous it may be. Murder, rape, robbery, terrorism, prostitution, sexual promiscuity, infidelity, whatever the crime/sin may be, as Isaiah 1:18 guarantees us:
“Come now, let us argue it out,
Says the LORD:
Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be like snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall become like wool.”
Crimson was the deepest, most permanent, red dye. Its stain was essentially impossible to remove, but the promise of I John 1:7 and 9 is absolute: “. . .the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. . . . If we confess our sins, He who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If no crime or sin is beyond the forgiving grace of Jesus, what does our Lord mean in Matthew 12:32 when He says, “. . . but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come?” Study notes in THE LIFE APPLICATION BIBLE make this observation on Matthew 12:32: “The unpardonable sin is the deliberate refusal to acknowledge God’s power in Christ.”
I’d paraphrase that somewhat: “The unpardonable is one’s continual, deliberate refusal to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour and Lord." Jesus mentions the unpardonable sin only after the Pharisees have attributed his miracle working power to Satan. The unpardonable sin is that attitude, that spirit, that continual and willful denial that God’s power abides in and works through Jesus Christ. It is a deliberate hardness of heart that continues to refuse the wooing of the Holy Spirit calling one to repent of sin, accept Jesus Christ as personal Saviour and Lord, and become a born again Christian! Now in my theology "born again Christian" is redundant terminology, for you are not a Christian at all unless you are born again.
Only those individuals who continue throughout life to say no to the Holy Spirit are guilty of the blasphemy against Him. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to draw us all to faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. Jesus makes this clear in John 16:8 when He says of the Spirit, “When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.” Paul then affirms in I Corinthians 12:3 that “no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.’”
The Holy Spirit begins His ministry in our hearts by convicting us of sin and calling us to repentance. He then gives us the power to surrender ourselves to Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour. It is our continual rejection of the Holy Spirit’s calling us to repent of sin and accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour that we blasphemy Him. If we do so through the moment of our death, then and only then can we not be forgiven, for at that point we enter eternity without knowing Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour, and that is the one sin that can never be forgiven.
Dismas was a hardened criminal, a violent offender. Matthew and Mark refer to him and his partner in crime as thieves. The word they use for thieves implies they were violent in committing their crimes. They were not petty thieves, or shop lifters, they were muggers. The term thief could also be applied to insurrectionists who violently attacked government officials and Roman soldiers in an attempt to overthrow the hated Roman rule of Judea.
If Dismas and his accomplice fell into this later category, they would be in the same category as Hitler and Nazi Germany and Islamic terrorists of today. If they were only violent thieves, they would be like those who attacked the victim in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus says in Luke 10 that he “. . .fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.” Whatever the charges against them were, Dismas is correct in his confession to Jesus and before his accomplice, “. . .we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this Man (Jesus) has done nothing wrong.”
Dismas confessed his sin, and he turned to Jesus in repentance seeking forgiveness, “Jesus, remember me when you come into Your kingdom.” It is no coincidence that the first word Jesus speaks from the Cross, “Father, forgive them. . .” and this second word, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise” appear in the same passage. Dismas has heard Jesus pray for His executioners, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” Surely the One who forgave His enemies, persecutor, those who hated Him and despitefully used him could forgive Dismas as well, no matter how violent and how many his crimes had been .
Dismas did not reject the plea of the Holy Spirit upon his heart to turn to Jesus. The Spirit was leading him to say, “Jesus is Lord,” and he did as he prayed, “Jesus, remember me when you come into Your kingdom.”
Jesus assures Dismas of his eternal salvation, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Dismas places his faith in Jesus, and Jesus forgives his sins and gives him eternal life. Jesus reassures him, “The moment we die, you will be in My presence for eternity.” This is our guarantee as Christians that the moment we too die, our spirits also enter His presence for eternity. We go to heaven, we enter paradise. Our bodies return to the dust from which we were created to await our physical resurrection, but our true selves at that very moment are forever with Jesus. Our Lord did not say, “Someday you will be with Me,” but, “Today, at the moment of death, you will be with Me in paradise."
Moody Monthly carried the following story in its April 8, 1999, issue: “An officer in the army of Russian Czar Peter the Great was involved in a plot against the ruler. But though tortured terribly, the officer refused to confess. Realizing that pain would not break him, Peter went up to the man, kissed him, and promised him that if he confessed he would receive not only a full pardon but a promotion to colonel. The officer was so unnerved by Peter’s tactic that he embraced the czar and made a full confession. True to his word, Peter forgave the man and made him a colonel!
“Although this example is certainly an imperfect one, the ending is worth noting. Full confession, full pardon—and a promotion! That’s just what God has done for us.” That’s what He did for the Penitent Thief.
Dismas did not reject the Holy Spirit’s call. His companion in crime Gestus did so until the very end. Gestus committed the “unpardonable sin.” I have know several who have repented and turned to Christ near the time of death as did Dismas, I thank God that He hears those prayers, but it is always best not to postpone our eternal decision until “some more convenient day."
Dismas had the chance to turn to Christ at the moment of his death; we may not have that opportunity. The Bible says: “Now is the accepted time, this is the day of salvation.” Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the great nineteenth century Baptist pastor of London’s Metropolitan Tabernacle, reminds us so well, “It is not after the storm has arisen, or the telegraph has reported that his ship has sunk, that the merchant runs to insure his goods. He takes care of the insurance while the sun is shining and the air calm; he makes sure the insurance is in effect before the ship has cleared from the dock, or at all events, before the ship has left the river. You should do the same, you living, but dying people! Now is the accepted time, today. God is with us waiting; his invitation is still, "Whosoever will." Today you may enter into life; tomorrow the door may be shut [--Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Quotable Spurgeon, (Wheaton: Harold Shaw Publishers, Inc., 1990)].”
Jesus freely bestowed His grace, forgiveness, and eternal life upon a penitent, believing Dismas. He waits at the cross to do the same for you today as well. His personal invitation remains, “Whosoever will may come.” Full confession brings a full pardon, and a promotion for all eternity for everyone who turns to Him and prays, “Lord, remember me and bring me into Your kingdom.”
