Luke 23:40-42 40But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. 42And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
Of course, we have all read and remembered, to some degree, of the faith of the thief on the cross. We have expressly related this story to those who have little hope for their loved ones as they grow old or near death in sickness. We remind them that even at the last hour a vile sinner can repent and be saved. That's all true and amen.
But have you ever noticed the FAITH of the thief on the cross?! Think about it. Even after the resurrection and Jesus's appearance to some, the disciples on the road to Emmaus have a hard time believing. They say, 'but we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel." You see, they thought it WAS he. They HAD faith but the faith was gone. Becuase Jesus died, they no longer believed that Jesus would redeem Israel. Their faith died with Jesus on the cross.
How much more glorious the faith of the thief? He was dying on the cross with Jesus dying on the cross. What does he say? Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom!
For most (all?) of the other disciples, Jesus was loosing every opportunity at coming into His kingdom by dying on the cross. But for thief dying on the cross, Jesus was coming into His kingdom. He embraced Christ and thus, while dying, was made to live. What FAITH!
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