The Triune God: The Son IX

Little did Thief A know of His preaching,
Or His miracles, ere this day of pain;
He had always scoffed at divine teaching,
Living off fruits of his ill-gotten gain!
But watching Jesus drag His heavy cross,
Whipped when He fell, yet mute, upward He toiled;
The thieves spat on, cursed, insults they did toss
At their guards; not He, though newly blood-soiled!
Huge nails pierced Him---there was still no outcry;
Thief A thought, This must be that Peomised One,
The rabbi said was coming down from On High,
Ne's my only chance, or my life is done!
"Jesus!" he cried, "Please remember me, pray!"
"You'll be with me in Paradise today!"

A lot of critics have ridiculed the story of the thief who died with Jesus on the cross, the one who asked the Son to remember him. Some say he couldn't be saved because he wasn't baptized. Some have said that the word "Paradise" does not refer to heaven. Some say he has done no good works. None of these is valid. The sole requirement for salvation is to believe sincerely in Jesus as being who He said He was---the Son of God. Baptism and other "works" are not required; besides, this man's story has been told millions of times through the years to dying people, many of whom have been saved by it; I don't believe there is any greater good deed than that. Some have tried to debunk his salvation on the grounds that a person in his no-hope situation will snatch at any thread to save their lives, that he wasn't sincere, Well, if Jesus is who He claimed to be, He knew the man's heart; when He answered him affirmatively, you can be sure the thief was sincere.

Finally, some have criticized the redemption on the grounds that he couldn't have known Him well enough to have faith in Him. Imagine having such a rinside seat as his, watching Jesus labor up the steep hill with His own cross, receiving scourging, without complaining; the thief had a wonderful education in the character of a man undergoing such treatment.

It is a dubious honor at best---to be crucified alongside the Savior of the world ---but these two thieves were very lucky, perhaps the luckiest men who ever lived. By having the companion in horror that they had, both had the opportunity to achieve eternal life; that one did is remarkable indeed.

One final note: When we say that Jesus "died on the cross", we don't mean that God died; we mean that His human flesh died, as ours will also die physically. By His resurrection, though, we mean that His physical flesh came back to life in a perfect body, so that we have the same hope. Each of us has a soul that does not die; it leaves the body at death and goes immediately to heaven to be with Jesus; it will be reunited with its new body when Jesus returns to earth/