By
Sheila L Jackson
Imagine finding yourself in a life-or-death situation and you are next to the person who could save your life? However, due to your prejudices or religious differences, you would rather die than to accept help. Now let us go back to when the two thieves found themselves, some would say, in the worst predicament that a person could be in. But was it? For one, yes.
When reading this passage in churches, we, in our own self-righteousness, often scoff at or call the unrepentant thief a fool for his remarks. We, in our sanctified voices with our chest stuck out, would have the audacity to say, "If that was me, I would have known that it was Jesus and would have asked for mercy." Would we really have known that he was the Savior? How could we know if we are full of the world and spiritually blind?
Both Thieves Mocked
Two
rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those
who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and
saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three
days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of
God!” In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law
and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save
himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross,
and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now
if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” In the
same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on
him, Matthew 27:38-44, NIV.
And with him they crucify two thieves;
the one on his right hand, and the other on his left. And the scripture was
fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors. And they
that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that
destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, Save thyself, and
come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among
themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. Let
Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and
believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him, Mark 15:27-32, KJV.
The criminals must have heard something about Jesus and him performing miracles throughout the region. While nailed to the cross they had no excuse of not knowing who he was. He preached for three and a half years, unfortunately, like us, chose to ignore the word. The chief priest, teachers of the law, and elders were all there mocking Jesus as he was dying on the cross, which gave the thieves a brief time to turn and change their hearts and minds. Instead, they both mimicked the behavior of the religious leaders (church folks) and spoke insulting words at Jesus.
A Change of Heart
In the meantime, something happened amid their taunting. One of the thieves developed a conscience and realized that Jesus was innocent of his crimes. This tells us that the thieves had heard of Jesus. How did he know that Jesus was innocent? He 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," Luke 23:40-41, KJV. Praise God for the repentant thief change of heart because it was a matter of spiritual life or death. One thief changed/turned from his wicked ways while the other perished in his.
What about us? Are we any different from the unrepentant thief? We say that we believe in Jesus and have seen him work miracles in our own lives. Yet, when we are around unbelievers, our behavior speaks differently than our mouth. We mock Jesus when we say, we are Christian but our actions mimic that of the devil. We cheat, lie, steal, bear false witness against coworkers to move up the corporate ladder, and turn around and call the promotion a blessing from the Lord. When we are committing acts of sin, no matter what it is, that small, still voice that we hear urges us to come out of our sins. He gives us warnings before it leads to eternal damnation. Call on Jesus before it is too late.
Call On Jesus
We all have our own versions of, " if that was me hanging next to Jesus', sermons." Would we have been like the repentant thief, asking Jesus to remember us? If we are unable to recognize him now with the old and new testaments that speak about the coming Savior. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap,” Galatian 6:7, KJV. When we find ourselves in situations that we brought upon ourselves, we have the audacity to tell God; “I will believe in you, if you deliver me from my troubles. However, like the unrepentant thief, God knows our hearts and knows that it is far from him. When the repentant thief called on Jesus, he heard his heart and stepped into action while dying on the cross to not just save him but to give him a promise as well. Psalms 145:18, KJV, says, “The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth." The repentant thief acknowledged that he deserved his punishment.
Right Place. Right Time
He was in the right place at the right time. You ask, how I can say this? The thief could have lost his life while committing a crime, leaving him to die in his sins and his soul lost forever. Whereas, on the last day of his life, he hung near a man that changed the course of his eternal destination. Moments earlier he was on his way to hell and in the next, he put his faith and trust in what he had heard (faith comes by hearing) about Jesus, when he asked, "Remember me when thou, comest into thy kingdom. “Jesus accepted him just as he was. He did not mention his past mistakes or what he had done to get himself in that situation. He already knew why he was there. The only words Jesus uttered to the thief was, “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." How amazing is that? This thief was given the opportunity to live a life beyond what he had known on earth. I can only imagine his reaction when he entered heaven with Jesus. A man who once was a criminal, now living in a mansion on the other side of time, while the other criminal opened his eyes in hell.
Missed Opportunity
The unrepentant
thief continued his mocking, knowing that he was about to die. He had the same
opportunity as the other but wasted it for one last laugh. Let us not find
ourselves in this predicament, where we miss the opportunity of salvation.
Romans 10:8, KJV, says, "But what saith it?
The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word
of faith, which we preach." Who is the word? Jesus. He is as
near to us today, just as he was with the thieves on the cross. Will you
recognize him or be like the unrepentant thief, saying, "If thou be
the Christ," not realizing the collision course his eternal soul was
on that day. One criminal went to paradise while the other perished. All joking
aside, which will it be, heaven or hell?
