The Thief on the Cross

The thief on the cross who was crucified next to Jesus has a lot to teach us. A lot of theology today is turned upside down when we look at the Lord’s work in his life.

Luke 23: 39-43,  And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

The thief didn’t spend days in the alter in prayer, he wasn’t baptized and he didn’t do any Christian works. He recognized he was a sinner and had heard about Jesus. While hanging on the cross beside the Lord, he repented of his sins and asked the Lord to remember him.

In this encounter, we see the entire Gospel as it were presented to the world. We see one man mocking and another seeing his sin and turning to the Lord. We see the Lord’s promise to the repentant sinner.

Far too often we try to complicate the Work of the Lord and make salvation an act of man instead of God’s Will. The thief on the cross shows us that we have a merciful God who is willing to hear our cry and reach out to us with His grace.