The Penitent Thief

In Shakespeare’s Richard III, the dying Duke of Lancaster tells the Duke of York: “O, but they say the tongues of dying men enforce attention like deep harmony: Where words are scarce, they are seldom spent in vain, for they breathe their words in pain.”

This evening, I’d like to take you to that green hill far away - the one we sing about at Easter. Today, it’s a site on a guided tour of the Holy Land, but a long time ago, it was called the Place of the Skull. That hill has been more accurately described as a stinking rock-heap, littered with bones, and crawling with vermin and reptiles.

Two thousand years ago, three men hung dying in excruciating pain, their bodies nailed between earth and sky. Their words were scarce - being crucified doesn’t lend itself to conversation. What words they did speak are worth hearing again, for the tongues of these three dying men enforce attention. I’d like to focus tonight on a few of their “words of pain”.

Why were there three crosses on Golgotha? Because three revolutionaries were to be crucified. Today we call the two men who hung on either side of Jesus “thieves” or “robbers”. But the Greek word that is used to describe them is the word “lestes”. It’s the word that was used of men who led uprisings. We’d call them revolutionaries, or freedom fighters, or terrorists. Violence was their stock in trade.

In the days when the Romans ruled Judea, the country was crawling with “lestes” - men who would just as soon put a dagger through the heart of a Roman as look at him. There was no death penalty for being a thief, but there was for being a “lestes”. The fact that three crosses had been prepared indicates that Pilate had planned to execute three rebels.

Jesus hung on the center cross. That cross was supposed to have been for Barabbas. Barabbas was the leader of the “lestes”. He and these two other men, who were probably his accomplices, had been captured by the Romans. They were sentenced to die. But in a strange twist of fate, Barabbas had been released. Another victim had been found at the last moment. Jesus of Nazareth - whom the Jews brought before Pilate on the charge of being a greater “lestes” than Barabbas. It’s funny how all of a sudden the Jewish leaders wanted to help the Romans execute freedom fighters. So Jesus was substituted on the cross that was supposed to have been for Barabbas.

Barabbas is a funny name. It means literally, “son of father”. The ancient scholar Origen tells us that he once saw a document that stated that Barabbas was a surname, and that this man’s given name was actually Jeshua, or in Greek, Jesus.

Jesus Barabbas - the son of his father - stood for revolution, while Jesus of Nazareth - the son of his father - stood for redemption.

Jesus Barabbas - the son of his father - offered a political salvation, while Jesus of Nazareth - the son of his father - offered a personal salvation.

Jesus Barabbas - the son of his father - was willing to shed the blood of others to accomplish his goals , while Jesus of Nazareth - the son of his father - offered to shed his own blood.

Jesus Barabbas - the son of his father - went free, while Jesus of Nazareth - the son of his father - died.

That’s why there were three men on crosses that Friday so long ago. A man of peace and love between two men of violence and hatred. Ancient tradition gives these two men names - Gestas and Dysmas. Legends in the early church say that these two characters actually encountered Joseph and Mary and Jesus while they were fleeing into Egypt. Jesus would have been about two years old at the time. Gestas wanted to attack and rob the holy family, but Dysmas, the kinder and gentler of the two, talked him out of it. Dysmas, according to the legend, is supposed to have been rewarded for that act of kindness by being allowed to repent of his sin while hanging on the cross beside Jesus. The only problem with this sentimental story is that for it to have been true, Gestas and Dysmas would have had to be a lot older than Jesus as they hung there together on those three crosses.

The Gospels of Matthew and Mark tell us merely that the two criminals - who are not given names - joined in mocking Jesus along with the other onlookers. But Luke, who got much of his information from Mary, who herself was an eyewitness of the crucifixion, tells us more. Luke tells us that one of the criminals had a change of heart.

The first criminal hurled his insults and epithets at Jesus through teeth clenched in agony. You have to understand that being crucified makes it barely possible to breathe, let alone talk. So this man must have felt quite strongly about what he was saying to bother saying it at all.

What were his words of pain? He said

“Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

His question “Aren’t you the Christ?” is a rhetorical question. It presumes that the answer is “yes”. So I suppose you could say that this man, in a sarcastic way, was willing to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ. But look where that belief led him. He cried out “Save yourself and us!”

He came to Jesus as Messiah and Savior, but he came on his own terms. He was looking for an escape - a way out of the excruciating situation he was in. He was saying “God, get me out of this!” There was no love, no humility, no desire to honor the Lord in his words. He was simply looking out for his own neck. Purely selfish in his motives.

And you know, people still come to Jesus like this today. “God I’ll serve you, Jesus I’ll accept you if you give me what I want.” They don’t want to be used of God, they want to use God.

It’s really ironic what the first criminal was asking Jesus to do. He was asking Jesus to save him by getting down off the cross. Save yourself first, and then save me, Jesus. He didn’t understand that if Jesus got down off that cross, He wouldn’t have been able to save anybody.

Jesus Christ hung on that cross to do battle with Satan and with the sin that enslaves all of us. He came to save us from ourselves and from the dark power that works within us. Were Jesus to have gotten down off that cross on Good Friday, it would have meant the death knell for the whole human race. Thank God he stayed up there and saw it through to the bitter end. He paid for our sin by dying in our place.

The world has always looked for its own version of salvation. And in the world’s version, there’s no cross, no shedding of blood, and nobody has to die. And that’s precisely why it doesn’t work. Because it doesn’t drive a stake through the heart of our sin the way Jesus did when he died on the cross. Satan has always offered a cross-less counterfeit plan of salvation. Tragically, criminal #1 bought into it.

But what about criminal #2? What made the difference in his life? His career had been the same as that of his partner. He shared the same fate - there they were: partners in crime, and now partners in death. Both criminals talked to Jesus while they hung there on the cross. Both of them asked Jesus a question. Both of them requested of Jesus a favor. So what made criminal #2 so different?

We don’t know why he changed his mind about Jesus. Perhaps he heard Jesus, in the midst of the pain and agony of being nailed to a cross to die say “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Whatever it was, we know that he had a change of heart about Jesus. Look at his words of pain…

Luke 23:40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

I’d like you to notice several things about what he said. First, he recognized his own sinfulness. He had come to grips with the fact that he was facing death and that he deserved it for what he had done. He knew that he stood accountable to God for the way that he had lived. Notice that he becomes aware that his partner does not realize this. So he calls over to him…

“Don’t you fear God?”

The very first step in coming to Christ is to recognize your own sinfulness. This is what the Bible calls repentance. It simply means to have a change of heart and mind. To let go of self-justification, of excuses for why I am the way I am. To recognize that there isn’t any extenuating reason why God should let you off without punishing you for your sin.

The story is told of a little boy who, while visiting a rich relative’s house, got his hand stuck in a beautiful Chinese vase. Try as they might, his parents could not get his hand out. Finally, they reluctantly decided that they would have to smash the vase. They knew that it would cost a fortune to replace. Just as they were about to do the deed, the little boy asked “Do you think it would help if I let go of the nickel that I’m holding?”

We cling to our self-righteousness just like that little boy with a nickel in his fist. We rationalize our sinfulness. We point to extenuating circumstances in our lives that make us the way we are. We blame others. We compare our sins with those of other people and conclude that we’re not so bad after all. Anything but let go of it in repentance and admit the truth. Criminal #1 wanted to escape punishment; criminal #2 knew he deserved it.

Notice something else. Criminal #2 recognized that though he was a sinner and deserved to die, Jesus was innocent.

“We are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

That terrorist saw in Jesus something different from anything that he had ever seen before. He had, I imagine, seen lots of people die. Some of them he had killed himself. He could probably still hear their screams for mercy. But he saw Jesus silent and uncomplaining in the face of death. He heard him pray for the forgiveness of the very people who were in the process of killing him. This was something he had never encountered before.

When he said this man has done nothing wrong, criminal #2 was beginning to see something of the holiness and purity and sinlessness of Jesus. And it’s only when we come to grips with the fact that Jesus is the sinless one who died for us that we really begin to understand what Good Friday is all about.

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.

The man recognized that he himself was a sinner. He recognized that Jesus was without sin. Look at what else he realized.

He said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

He believed that there on that cross, where he couldn’t move and his life was quickly ebbing away, Jesus could do something to help him. Notice that his request was so different from that of the first criminal. He didn’t curse, he didn’t snarl at Jesus in sarcastic desperation. He didn’t even ask for anything specific, just that Jesus would simply remember him when he came into his kingdom. He humbly left the specifics up to Jesus

This says several things. It says that this man believed that Jesus had power that went beyond death. That Jesus was going to be able to help him in eternity. That’s pretty amazing for a man to be able to say about anyone, much less about someone who was himself hanging on a cross dying just a few feet away from him. But criminal #2 was now looking at Jesus through the eyes of faith. He didn’t see a dying victim; he saw a king.

What’s more, his prayer to Jesus recognizes that Jesus is a king. That he has a kingdom, and that his kingdom is a spiritual kingdom - a kingdom that is not of this world. Here is the prayer of a man who sees himself as a humble servant of that king. There is submission here, there’s humility. “Jesus, remember me.” A servant addressing his master.

Luke 23:43 Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

An ordinary man trembling before a firing squad or standing on a gallows isn’t exactly in a position to grant favors, is he? But Jesus is no ordinary man! The king, though he is hanging on a cross dying, still has the power to grant favors. “Today”, he says. Today, we’re going to die. But today, you’ll be with me in paradise. These words, perhaps more than any others that Jesus said from the cross, prove his power over death. I almost like to believe that Jesus was somehow able to smile through the waves of pain as he said this to the man at his side. Today isn’t a day to be afraid of.

Death is staring us in the face. It is terrible. It is awful. It is painful. But death has no power over us, for the day we die is the day we will be with Jesus in paradise.

Is our salvation based on our good works? No. The thief on the cross had done no good works. He just repented and believed in Jesus. And even after he became a believer he could do no good works - he was nailed hand and foot to his cross.

Is our salvation based on what church we go to? No. The thief on the cross had never been to church a day in his life.

Is our salvation based on the ordinances? No. The thief on the cross had never been baptized, and never had communion.

Does our salvation require that we spend some time in purgatory working to make up for our misdeeds? No. The thief on the cross - a man who I presume had a lot to make up for - went directly to paradise to be with the Lord. All his sins were forgiven.

Among the other things we’ve learned tonight, the story of the thief on the cross is a story that tells us that it is never too late to turn to Jesus Christ. But remember that our turning must be genuine, like his was. We must never delay responding to the message of salvation with the idea that we can do it later, maybe at the last moment. That kind of thinking has a way of turning your heart into stone.

Augustine said “One thief was saved that no sinner might despair, but only one, that no sinner might presume.”

Three men shared death upon a hill,

But only one man died;

The other two -

A thief and God Himself -

Made rendezvous