We marvel at the Holy Ghost's great work of faith in the penitent thief, who trusted in the Savior even as He hung in shame and suffering on the cross! All the disciples had lost hope in a dying Messiah, but the thief called upon the name of the Lord!
The thief's request was so meek. He didn't demand that Christ save him from death, but only that he be remembered in pity by the Savior when He came into His kingdom.
No doubt the thief's confidence that Christ would still rule over His kingdom enraged the Jewish scoffers at the foot of the cross! They had put Him to death to stop just such an event, for they would not have Christ to rule over them!
Of course, the prophets had foretold Christ's exaltation after His humiliation. The thief somehow knew that Christ's death was no bar at all to His ruling in His kingdom one day, and so he testified that the suffering servant was still the King of Glory!
Christ did the thief one better: you'll not have to await My kingdom, but today you will be with Me in Paradise!
The thief could never have dreamt of going to Paradise, for it was reserved for the righteous, while he could only expect the torment reserved for the wicked.
But Jesus' promise of Paradise was an implicit announcement that Christ had justified the thief! He has the power to forgive sin, and to change the place of abode after death from torment to comfort and joy!
Not only so, but the thief would be WITH CHRIST today! He would not have to wait to be remembered by Jesus in the kingdom, but TODAY, he became Christ's loved, protected, and guarded one!
Praise God, the thief has forever been with Jesus since the moment he died!
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John Pittman Hey was born in 1961 in Jackson, Mississippi, to Godly parents who from the beginning raised him in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. With child-like faith he came to Christ on his fourth birthday at his mother's knee. He received his education at church...
#18 - Top Played Sermon (48-Hours) on 11/1/2015
