The love of Christ: the repentant thief
The Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me (Galatians 2:20).
It is difficult for us to understand the blackness of the day when a thief woke up, had he ever slept, to be led out to Calvary and nailed to a wooden cross. He would have been engulfed by the terror in his mind, the pain and agony he felt in his body, and the bitter loneliness and regret he experienced in his heart. If ever there was a man who knew what it was to be lost, it was this man. He must have been confused by the crowd’s reaction, and their wicked concentration upon the Person who occupied the centre cross so close to his. It seems that even in death he joined in with the other thief in the chorus of abuse directed at the Lord, even beginning to think that, if Jesus was the Christ, He could use his power to transform the scene and remove the judgement he was under.
The Lord never responded to the collective venom of blasphemy and mockery that the passers-by, chief priests, scribes, elders and soldiers heaped upon him. He had asked His Father to forgive, and He ensured His mother was protected and loved. His holy and quiet agony had no effect on those who hated Him, but it did affect one dying thief. His spirit was touched by the silent suffering of the Son of God. When every voice cried for Christ’s destruction, one voice bore witness to His perfection, “This Man has done nothing wrong” (Luke 23:41). The thief recognised his sin and that of his fellow criminal. He accepted his responsibility for the consequence of his actions.
At Caesarea Philippi, Peter confessed to the Lord, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:13-20). In all the darkness of Calvary and in the utter rejection that surrounded the Lord, the Father ensured there was a response to His Son in the heart of one dying man. The man expressed his deep need of the Saviour and witnessed to His glory, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (v. 42). Pilate wrote, without any spiritual understanding, a title that read, “This is Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews” (John 19:19). The thief had full understanding, and witnessed to it.
Whilst the Saviour was dying for the world, He brings one lost sheep home, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (v. 43, ESV). The Lord assured the man: “Truly, I say to you.” It was going to be soon: “Today”. And the Lord not only promised Paradise, but that he would be with his Saviour in Paradise. The Lord had prayed before Calvary, “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24).
This dying thief had no opportunity to live a life for the Lord. But his eternal witness is to the love of Christ. We have no greater picture of the distance Christ’s love removes. In this man, we see the wonder of what Paul would write years later, “The Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Through God’s grace, we have the opportunity to live for the Lord, who so loved us. The repenting thief, however, continually reminds us to respond to the love that will alone bring every one of the redeemed into the Father’s house.
