Despite all the theories of the sociologists and psychologists, the Bible makes it clear that there are only two categories of people in the world – those who are saved by faith alone in Christ alone, and those who are lost because they reject Christ. Our Lord Himself described these two groups as the sheep and the goats, or the wheat and the tares. The two types are also represented by men such as Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, and the two criminals who were crucified with Christ on that first Good Friday.
Luke’s Gospel, alone of the four Gospels, provides us with a brief but moving account of the words exchanged between these two men and the Lord Jesus as each hung dying in the agony of crucifixion. Christ’s words to the criminal who repented (Luke 23:43) are listed as the second of His seven sayings on the cross.
These two men are described in Luke’s account as “malefactors” and in Matthew and Mark as “thieves”. We do not know their names, nor do we have details of their crimes, but they must have been serious enough to merit death by crucifixion. In several ways, these criminals had much in common. They were both sinners who had broken the law. They both knew about Jesus, and would, in all probability, have been fairly well aware of His ministry and His claims. They both faced the imminent certainty of death. In that sense, they are like many in our Province today. Not everyone in Ulster has broken the law of the land as these men clearly had, but all have broken the law of God. Every one of us is born a sinner, and no-one, no matter how hard they try, can keep God’s law perfectly. Although our land is fast casting off its Biblical foundations, most people are aware of Jesus Christ as He is presented in the Bible. Despite amazing advances in medicine and increasing life-expectancy, everyone in our land will one day face death. That is one of the few certainties of life. So, in these ways, we are just like the two criminals on the cross.
Although the two criminals had much in common, we see that they differed fundamentally in their response to Jesus Christ. In the account given to us by Luke, we have a solemn and moving presentation of eternal truths. One man hardened his heart and rejected Christ, one man repented and accepted Christ, and Christ responded to the latter in a way which touches the heart, and takes us to the very core of the Gospel.
I. A MAN WHO REJECTED JESUS CHRIST
One of the thieves showed no remorse for his crime nor any sign of repentance. He was, in modern parlance, a “hardened criminal”. He was suffering great pain, and soon he would face eternal pain in hell (about which he may well have heard Jesus speak), but he was filled only with self-pity and anger. In that anger and fear, he railed (hurled insults) at Christ and cried out to Him in words similar to those who mocked from the ground. He was in the near physical presence of Jesus Christ, the eternal God, the only Saviour of sinners, the One who is the way, the truth, the life, but all he could do was attack him. “If you’re really God”, he said, “do something to save yourself and us!” He had no concern whatever for Christ, but only for his own plight. And in his self-pity and rejection of Christ, he entered a lost eternity.
In Ulster today, despite ongoing secularisation, many people come face to face with Christ at some time during their life. They will not meet with Him physically, of course, but they are aware of Him. They have heard of Him in church, Sunday School, children’s meetings, missions etc. Christian friends have witnessed to them and handed them Gospel tracts. On hoardings and buses, and outside churches, they will read verses from the Bible. They are without excuse. But, like the hardened criminal, they reject the Christ of Scripture. They are angry with those who proclaim the Gospel. How dare anyone tell them that they are sinners. But the Bible makes it clear that all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God. If you reject Christ and His Gospel, then you will be lost forever.
II A MAN WHO RECEIVED JESUS CHRIST
As we consider the other criminal, let us note that, initially, he too had attacked and insulted Jesus, for in Mark 15:32 we read “they that were crucified with him reviled him”. But, on the cross, he underwent a fundamental change of attitude. Under the gracious working of the Holy Spirit, his heart was softened. He rebuked his erstwhile partner in crime (v40), and his own attacks on Jesus were now replaced by a growing respect for Him and an annoyance at what the other criminal was saying about Him. At one point there had been no beauty in Christ that he should desire Him, but now he saw Him very differently. It is very significant that he asked the other man why he did not fear God (v40). That word “fear” signifies frightened, alarmed, in awe of, showing reverence towards. Hebrews 10:31 states, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”. Fear of God is what is missing in a hardened heart. Paul says of the unsaved in Romans 3:18, “There is no fear of God before their eyes”. However, when a soul is awakened, there is a fear of God. In Proverbs 9:10 we read that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”.
This criminal, awakened to a much clearer understanding of the holiness of God, admitted his own guilt (vv40-41). He realised that he was a sinner who fully deserved punishment for his deeds. By contrast, he saw Christ as sinless and holy (v41b), and looked to him for salvation (v42). He acknowledged Christ as “Lord”, and, although his theology was a bit woolly, he had simple, humble, genuine - and saving - faith. He asked Jesus to remember him in His kingdom. He didn’t ask for a place of honour, but just to be remembered. What faith is displayed here! Two things should be noted at this point. First, the conversion of this thief in the last moments of his life should not be used as an excuse to delay accepting Christ. Death can come suddenly and unexpectedly. How do you know how long you have left, and whether you will have a chance? Secondly, his conversion proves that salvation is not of works, but is by faith alone in Christ alone.
III. A SAVIOUR WHO RECEIVES SINNERS
In verse 43, we read our dying Saviour’s wonderfully tender and reassuring response to this poor penitent sinner—”
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise”. What comfort we find here! This poor man cried to Jesus, and Jesus saved him. Jesus begins by saying “verily”. He often prefixed some of His most important and authoritative utterances with that little word - a word signifying firm, trustworthy, surely, certainly - and it is important to note that He used it here. He told this man that he was going to Paradise, or Heaven. If we are trusting in Christ alone for salvation, we know for certain that we will go to Heaven when we die. Before I was saved, I used to resent the certainty with which evangelicals would speak of how they were going to heaven, but now, like the penitent thief, I am able to share that joyful assurance. When men die, they do not spend time in Purgatory, nor do their souls sleep in the grave, but they go immediately to one of two places - Heaven or Hell. Jesus told this man that he would be with Him in Heaven “today”. The Apostle Paul says that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8). Death for the believer means the immediate presence of Christ. Further, note that Jesus told him that he would be with Him. Those who reject Christ on earth would not be happy to be in Heaven because Christ is there. By contrast, that is why believers long to be there for, as the old hymn states, “the Lamb is all the glory of Emmanuel’s land”. Paul could say that to depart this life and to be with Christ would be far better (Philippians 1:23).
Are you saved today? It doesn’t matter what religion, if any, you are. The key question is whether you are trusting Christ. If you are not yet saved, don’t delay. Come to Christ today, and you will be able to say with the hymn-writer
The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.