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39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” ~ Luke 23:39-43
Today, we return to the cross of the Lord Jesus at Calvary on that Passover Friday in the spring of A.D. 30. Different from the other Gospel writers, Luke includes the story of the one thief who shows remorse for his sin. What results is none other than a major miracle. The miraculous conversion of this thief hanging on a cross next to the Lord Jesus is the center piece of today's text.
In v.39 we read, "One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!" This first thief implored the Lord Jesus to do what the religious leaders and the people who were standing around the cross had asked the Lord Jesus to do ... "to save yourself."
This request goes to the heart of all sin, the preservation and the proliferation of self. No matter how much we do for ourselves, we find ourselves miserable when we do. The reason is: we were not created to put self on the throne of our hearts. We are best defined when the Lord Jesus is on the throne of our hearts defining us. This is in line with the God-created order we find in His word.
Here is the One who gives life, who is life, who is about to physically die, so that those who are spiritually dead might be made alive to God. In not saving Himself, the Lord Jesus was able to save others, exactly opposite their assumption that He couldn’t save anybody because He couldn’t even save Himself. Life comes out of death. Knowledge comes out of ignorance. Light dispels the darkness.
In v.40-41 we read, "40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."
What a contrast between these two. The first is a great host for sin and the other has been broken by his sin. As the hours passed on the cross, one of the two once devoted to violent robbery, changes his tune. All of a sudden, he turns to his friend and rebukes him for speaking out against the Lord Jesus. He then openly acknowledges his own sin. Then he confesses the sinlessness of the Lord Jesus, affirming His claim as the Son of Man.
In v.41, like the prodigal, this man once ruled by sin came to his senses. This is where true repentance begins, when we come to our senses. He’s guilty, he’s aware of his sinfulness, he’s saying I am a sinner. This is the picture of true repentance. He’s not blaming the evil influences in his life. And, he had no way of bridging the gap between he and God. He needed mercy and grace and he knew it.
In v.42 we read, "Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." The thief was begging for forgiveness from the only One who could give it. This man had just heard the Lord Jesus pray, “Father, forgive them.” He knew enough about God to know that God was a forgiving God and now that he is clear on who the Lord Jesus is as the promised Messiah, he begged for forgiveness. He recognizes Jesus as the source of forgiveness and grace and mercy. The lure of self is strong, but the forgiveness of God is strongest.
Then, in v.43 we read, "Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise." Like the father running and kissing his prodigal son, the Lord Jesus guaranteed this man full reconciliation, full acceptance as a son of God. This thief hanging on this tool of condemnation was liberated by it for it was not until he hung on that cross that he entertained the most important question of all. This is where all prodigals ultimately end up, the fork between the Lord and self. That day this man encountered God for the first time in his life and it resulted in "today you will be with me in paradise." What a promise!
This was a man whose whole existence qualified him for hell. And, we are no different than he. I know, I know. We have not acted on our sinfulness in the same ways that he did, but we have the same corruption within. Like this man, in one moment the sovereign God swept down and gave us complete clarity on our wretched condition, and by the power of the Holy Spirit rescued us from ourselves and His divine judgment. The only way the Lord Jesus could save sinners like us was not to save himself.
