The Seven Words From The Cross

This ancient prophecy was fulfilled quite literally when Jesus was crucified in the company of two thieves, obviously known to each other. Something of the way that Jesus conducted himself must have convicted one thief of his own vileness when contrasted with the righteousness of Jesus, visible to all who had eyes to see it. It soon dawned on his understanding that he was witnessing something not of this earth. Instead of curses from the lips of Jesus as the soldiers hammered in the nails, it was a prayer of forgiveness for his torturers. It seems likely that he had known of the life of Jesus for when the other thief was casting abuse at Jesus, this fellow tried to restrain him and told him that, although they were receiving the just reward of their misdeeds Jesus had done nothing amiss. Evil man though he was, he feared God and that was the beginning of his repentance.

No man is beyond hope of redemption in whose soul still lingers some fear of God. And as he spoke, faith rose in his soul and he blurted out his appeal, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." It was a plea that did not fall on deaf ears. The response was immediate, "Truly, I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise." The word "Paradise" is a Persian word meaning "a walled garden". When a Persian king wished to do one of his subjects a very special honour he made him a “companion of the garden” and he was chosen to walk in the royal garden with the king. It was more than immortality that Jesus promised the penitent thief. He promised the honoured place of a companion of the garden in the courts of heaven. "You will be with me" said Jesus.

This word from the cross teaches some wonderful truths. It illustrates that the way of salvation is wondrously simple. The devil has blinded the eyes of men and women to thinking that it is hard to be saved, difficult to come to Christ and to become a Christian. But this clearly isn’t true. The man was saved simply by asking the Lord to save him. In the words of his request, there’s the implication that he felt and confessed his need of salvation; he believed the Lord could and would save him and he committed himself to the Lord and trusted him to save him (Romans 10:13).

This Word from the Cross reminds us that the worst sinner may be saved. There can be no doubt that the man was a criminal. He had broken the laws of the land and he was crucified for that reason, but the measure of his sin didn’t alter his chance of being saved one little bit. Let no one despair in thinking they are too bad to be saved, as the hymn writer put it, "the vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives."

Another important lesson to learn from the personal encounter of the dying thief with Jesus is that salvation doesn’t depend on religious ceremonies, good deeds or any contribution from man. There was no time for any of these things to take place. I once read that "salvation is free yet costly; the entrance fee into the kingdom of heaven is nothing at all, but once you are in, the annual subscription is all you have got."