The Thief on the Cross

There were three crosses, and there were three men. Two were of the baser sort and the other of heavenly origin. The first two were dying for the sins they had committed, while the latter for the sins of others. One carried a grudge, another a troubled conscience, and the last the sins of the whole world. One cursed, the other rebuked him, and the middle one prayed; not for himself, but for those who crucified Him. One mocked, the other asked for mercy, and the man in the middle granted his request. There was no time to apologize for the wrongs he had done, just a simple acknowledgement of the justness of his sentence, and admission of guilt.

We often associate restitution with repentance. However, this thief had no time for such things before his life was snuffed out. He recognized there was something different in the man Jesus. His response to suffering, and attitude towards those who had crucified Him set him apart from the rest. The thief knew that this unselfish man dying alongside them was not earthly, but heavenly. His power was beyond normal mankind which bore testimony to the fact that this man was indeed the Son of God.

One thief railed saying if Jesus was who He said He was, He should get them down from the cross. The other accepted by faith that Jesus was who He said He was and requested that he be remembered when Christ came into paradise. That sincere request spoke to the heart of Jesus. “Today thou shalt be with me in paradise,” were the words Jesus said. See Luke 23:39-43. No fanfare, no restitution of wrong, just a confession that Jesus was the Son of God. What mercy, what love and understanding. How amazing that even in His own death, His life spoke to the souls of men, seeking to save them from sin.

We have another example in the account of Zacchaeus. In his desire to see Jesus, He climbed a sycamore tree. The fact that he did not mind looking foolish in order to see Jesus, bore witness of his heart. Jesus looked up and told Zacchaeus to come down because he was coming to his house. This caused Zacchaeus to confess his unworthiness, acknowledge his sin and promise restitution. This all transpired before he had done any work of restitution. The Bible does not record any further events about Zacchaeus, but we can assume he followed through with his commitment. See Luke 19:1.

This does not mean we should not confess our sins but speaks of the power and mercy of Christ. He looks at the deep desires of our heart, rather than outward works to prove our sincerity. I believe that had time remained and the thief had come down from the cross and lived; he surely would have confessed his sin and made restitution for his crimes. However, restitution would have been the fruit of his change of heart, rather than the salvation of his soul.

There are religions of the world which rely on works as the saving power of their salvation. They hope if they have done enough good to outweigh the bad, it will secure their place in heaven at the end of life. How sad it will be when they get to heaven and realize that it is not their good works that saves them, but the unmerited favor and love of Jesus Christ. Salvation is a free gift through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for our sins; not to be earned because the price for our sin has already been paid for. His death is the atonement for our sins.

There will also be those on the last day who have put all their stock in faith, saying that works have no part because salvation is only of faith. These also will be disappointed. Faith without the fruits of a change of heart are not enough to make it to heaven. The works and fruit of our lives bear testimony of our faith. Our faith is proven by the power of the gospel in our lives. A man that says he is sorry for lying then goes on lying, proves he is no different than before. His lack of change means that his words are only empty promises. However, when people see that he no longer lies, it bears witness of his change of heart. His words are proven true by his actions.

When a man says he loves the Lord, and the fruit of his live bears witness of a Christ-like spirit, we can be assured he is walking in truth. This witness may be more apparent to others than he himself. The peace of God that radiates from his heart bears testimony that Christ dwells there. This man has a hope of eternal life.

See James 2:14-26.