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[h=3]Luke 23:32-43[/h]New International Version (NIV)
32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”
36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
38 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.
39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
[h=4]The story of the thief on the cross gets mentioned a lot on forums in order to prove or disprove certain points of view. But perhaps we should take an honest look at what it really says (or doesn't say) without jumping to conclusions. Some automatically assume that this thief believed in Christ at the very moment of hanging on the cross. But nowhere in the Bible does it say that.[/h]This story shows a few things:
1. Jesus has the power to forgive sins. This was exhibited throughout His earthly ministry, so no surprises there.
2. By his statements in vs 41 the thief must have had background knowledge of Christ, to declare that Jesus was without sin.
3. By his statements in vs 42 about Jesus coming into his kingdom, the thief must have had some background knowledge about Jesus's teachings.
4. The thief went to Paradise.. the good side of hell/Hades, where the souls of the righteous dead resided. This confirms the thief was righteous and justified.
But nowhere does it say when or how the thief believed in Jesus.
The only proof we have is that the thief made a request for Jesus to remember him coming into his kingdom.
It gives no indication whether the thief believed in that very moment, or whether he was a disciple of Christ from an earlier time.
This thief could have believed in Christ whilst still in prison awaiting trial, or even prior to that.
Perhaps Christ already knew this thief, and the thief was one who followed Jesus as a disciple or in the crowds. We already know that Jesus hung out with sinners and tax collectors, and even accepted Judas Iscariot , who was a thief, into his inner-most circle.
Perhaps the thief had already repented and believed in Christ prior to going to the cross... and Christ was only confirming his justification.
This man was receiving the Roman justice for his crimes, but we do not know if he became a believer before or during his execution.
In conclusion I see little hard evidence in these verses that this thief became a believer whilst hanging on the cross. His statements of truth in his dialogue with Christ prove that this thief had prior knowledge of Christ and his teachings, and so we cannot use this as an example of instantaneous salvation by faith alone apart from works.
We can really only use the thief on the cross as an example of Christ's mercy and promise of salvation to even the worst sinners.
32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”
36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
38 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.
39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
[h=4]The story of the thief on the cross gets mentioned a lot on forums in order to prove or disprove certain points of view. But perhaps we should take an honest look at what it really says (or doesn't say) without jumping to conclusions. Some automatically assume that this thief believed in Christ at the very moment of hanging on the cross. But nowhere in the Bible does it say that.[/h]This story shows a few things:
1. Jesus has the power to forgive sins. This was exhibited throughout His earthly ministry, so no surprises there.
2. By his statements in vs 41 the thief must have had background knowledge of Christ, to declare that Jesus was without sin.
3. By his statements in vs 42 about Jesus coming into his kingdom, the thief must have had some background knowledge about Jesus's teachings.
4. The thief went to Paradise.. the good side of hell/Hades, where the souls of the righteous dead resided. This confirms the thief was righteous and justified.
But nowhere does it say when or how the thief believed in Jesus.
The only proof we have is that the thief made a request for Jesus to remember him coming into his kingdom.
It gives no indication whether the thief believed in that very moment, or whether he was a disciple of Christ from an earlier time.
This thief could have believed in Christ whilst still in prison awaiting trial, or even prior to that.
Perhaps Christ already knew this thief, and the thief was one who followed Jesus as a disciple or in the crowds. We already know that Jesus hung out with sinners and tax collectors, and even accepted Judas Iscariot , who was a thief, into his inner-most circle.
Perhaps the thief had already repented and believed in Christ prior to going to the cross... and Christ was only confirming his justification.
This man was receiving the Roman justice for his crimes, but we do not know if he became a believer before or during his execution.
In conclusion I see little hard evidence in these verses that this thief became a believer whilst hanging on the cross. His statements of truth in his dialogue with Christ prove that this thief had prior knowledge of Christ and his teachings, and so we cannot use this as an example of instantaneous salvation by faith alone apart from works.
We can really only use the thief on the cross as an example of Christ's mercy and promise of salvation to even the worst sinners.
