“Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when You come to Your Kingdom.’ – Luke 23:42 (NIV)
Beloved, it was the penitent thief on the cross who recognised that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. It was the thief who knew that Jesus Christ is the King and is the ruler of the heavenly Kingdom, not the High Priest, Caiaphas; it was the thief who knew that Jesus Christ was innocent of the charge of blasphemy, while the High Priest believed that He (Jesus) was guilty and was deserving of crucifixion. It was the thief, who had a reverential fear of God, not the High Priest.
Imagine the mindset of the thief: he believed that Jesus is the Saviour King with a heavenly Kingdom. He believed that Jesus was able to take him to His heavenly Kingdom despite the fact that there is no record in history that any King was ever crucified on the cross, and still had a Kingdom after his death. One can deduce from the foregoing that the penitent thief believed in the resurrection power of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The account in Luke 23:39-43 (NIV) chronicled one of the unruly thieves on the cross, hurling insults at Jesus, saying, “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and save us!” But the penitent thief rebuked him, and said: “Don’t you fear God…since you are under the same sentence? We are being 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.” Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
It is important to note that Caiaphas was the High Priest of the Sanhedrin, who presided over the religious trial of Jesus in his own hometown. In all of the Gospels, he was described as the primary organiser of the plot to kill Jesus. Never once did Caiaphas allow himself to see with his spiritual eyes.
Remember, Salvation is the gift of God’s grace, brethren, that we receive through faith and not by works (Ephesians 2: 8-9). His mercy is undeserved forgiveness. The penitent thief had no time to repay those he had stolen from, no time to attend convert class, be baptised or attend discipleship classes, but he was saved because he satisfied the basic criteria that is found in Acts 16:30-31 (NIV), “…Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.”
All of us are qualified; accept Him in your heart today.
Read: John 1:12; Revelation 3:20
Bible Reading Guide: Psalm 51:10-19; Luke 24:1-35; Joshua 11; Joshua 12