(Luk) 23:39-43 CJB “One of the criminals hanging there hurled insults at him. “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other one spoke up and rebuked the first, saying, “Have you no fear of God? You’re getting the same punishment as he is. Ours is only fair; we’re getting what we deserve for what we did. But this man did nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Yeshua, remember me when you come as King.” Yeshua said to him, “Yes! I promise that you will be with me today in Gan-‘Eden.”
One of the most powerful pictures of salvation in the entire Bible comes from a dying criminal.
The thief on the cross should give hope to every person alive because in him we see ourselves.
This man had nothing to offer God. His life of crime had finally caught up with him. He was condemned by the justice of men and hanging on a cross awaiting death. There was no opportunity left for good deeds, religious activity, or moral reform.
He was completely helpless.
Yet in that moment of helplessness, something remarkable happened—faith intervened.
The thief represents humanity at its most honest moment. He acknowledged what many of us try to avoid admitting.
“We’re getting what we deserve.”
He did not argue his innocence. He did not blame others. He recognized his guilt before both men and God.
That humility prepared his heart for faith.
He then turned to Jesus and made a simple request:
“Yeshua, remember me when you come as King.”
This dying man believed something extraordinary about the man hanging beside him. He believed that Jesus was more than a victim of Roman execution. He believed Jesus was a King with a kingdom still to come.
That faith changed everything.
The two criminals crucified beside Jesus represent the two responses every person ultimately makes toward Christ.
One thief mocked Jesus.
He demanded that Jesus prove Himself by saving them physically. His focus was temporary relief, not eternal truth.
The other thief recognized his sin and trusted Jesus for mercy.
Humanity still divides along those same two responses today. People either deny Jesus or believe in Him.
There is no third category.
The thief’s story powerfully demonstrates one of the central truths of the gospel: salvation comes through faith alone in Christ alone.
This man performed no works of righteousness. He was not baptized, did not join a church, and had no opportunity to correct his past mistakes.
Yet Jesus gave him the greatest promise imaginable:
“Today you will be with me in paradise.”
Why?
Because Jesus was at that very moment paying for the sins of the world. His death on the cross would serve as the substitutionary sacrifice for humanity’s rebellion against God.
Only the perfect life of Jesus could pardon sinful people.
Our works cannot save us.
Our morality cannot justify us.
Our religious efforts cannot reconcile us to God.
Only Jesus can.
Those who place their faith in Jesus experience a transformation. We are not saved by works, but genuine salvation always produces a changed life.
We were once dead in our sins, but now we are alive to God.
We were once deniers of Christ, but now we become proclaimers of Christ.
Unlike the thief on the cross, most of us are given another day.
Another opportunity.
Another moment of mercy.
God gives us today so we can point other dying thieves—people still hanging on the cross of their sin—toward the hope found in Jesus.
Run Today’s Play:
Answer the same question the thieves answered: What will you do with Jesus?
Will you reject Him like the mocking criminal?
Or will you humble yourself like the repentant thief and trust Him as King?
If you have already received His mercy, then remember this: today is another opportunity to help someone else find the same pardon you received.
There are many men around you who are still hanging on the cross of their sin.
Tell them about Jesus.
