Luke 23:32-43
The account of Jesus’ interaction with the thieves crucified on either side of Him is provided in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. If you read all three, you’ll notice some interesting consistencies between Matthew and Mark, while Luke provides a more detailed insight that happens to be the one referred to most often.
Various translations of scripture refer to these men as robbers, thieves, or rebels. Their crimes had to have been extremely serious for them to be crucified. Mark’s Gospel was the first one written and is more than likely a transcript of what Peter witnessed that day. We know that all the apostles witnessed Jesus’ death from a distance. Matthew, being an apostle – Mark was not – almost assuredly witnessed the crucifixion but he clearly relies on Mark’s Gospel as his source for what took place that day.
Mark and Matthew tell us that these thieves joined onlookers in taunting and insulting Jesus. Luke however goes a somewhat different way.
Luke has been called by God to provide a detailed account of Jesus’ life. He sought out eyewitnesses and interviewed them at length to paint as clear and objective a picture of Jesus’ ministry as possible. Here’s how he describes this profound moment between Jesus and one of the two thieves.
One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!”
But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”
And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:39-43
One thief derides Jesus right up to his last breath. The other seems to have undergone a change of heart. So, what exactly happened here?
Theories abound, but the one that would seem to make the most sense is that over the course of the six hours these men struggled on the cross, it occurs to this one thief that Jesus has done nothing wrong.
He confesses that he and his cohort deserve to be where they are, but that Jesus, whether He had the power to rescue them from the cross or not had clearly done nothing wrong. And at that moment, with what had to be near to his dying breath, his heart softens. He decides that it would be better to die in the light of this innocent man than is in the bitterness brought about by a lifetime of sin. At that last possible moment, he surrenders Himself to Jesus and looks at the response he gets.
Jesus assures him that on that very day, they will enter the gates of Heaven together. This common thief was to be the very first person whose sin would be washed away by the precious blood. This may be the most beautiful depiction of Jesus’ grace and mercy that we find in the entire Bible. And it should serve as a reminder to all of us that there’s never a moment when Jesus isn’t ready and able to deliver us from death resulting from sin.
With that though comes a word of caution. Some folks read this passage from Luke and become more emboldened in their sin, believing that they can continue to sin it up until that very last moment. Then, with their dying breath they’ll tell Jesus how sorry they are, and just like this thief, they’ll stroll into Heaven. The only problem with that is that death can come without notice and if that moment comes before you’ve established Jesus as your Lord and Savior, well, you can’t know His grace if you don’t know Him. Here’s a great quote from a commentary I came across.
This – the thief on the cross – is a rare case of last-minute salvation. There is only this one “deathbed” conversion in the Bible, and it’s there so that no one would despair, but there is only one such conversion so that no one would presume.
Don’t presume that you’re going to have the ability to surrender to Jesus on your deathbed. Do it now. Today. In doing that, you save yourself from having to hang a cross created by your ongoing rebellion and disobedience. Get right with Jesus today while you’re upright and healthy. Then you can experience the joy of knowing how in His perfect timing Jesus will without hesitation welcome you into paradise too.