The coversion, faith, and wisdom of a criminal

Scripture:

Luke 23:39-43

     One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, "So you're the Messiah, are you? Prove it

by saving yourself- and us, too, while you're at it!"

     But the other criminal protested, "Don't you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn't done anything wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom."

      And Jesus replied, "I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise."

Observation:

     Wow! I love this scripture because it is one of the most awesome pictures of the grace of God in all the Bible. How awesome it is that Jesus would save one of the men hanging on the cross right next to him. When I read this scripture God showed me 3 things about this criminal that was saved: Conversion, faith and wisdom.

1)The Conversion    

     If you read Matthew and Mark's account of the men who were crucified with Jesus you will notice that both men were mocking Jesus. Matthew 27:44 Even the revolutionaries who were crucified with him ridiculed him in the same way. Mark 15:32b Even the men who were crucified with Jesus ridiculed him.

     But now jump to Luke's account Luke 23:42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom." So you see something happened to one of these men while hanging on the cross with Jesus. He went from mocking Jesus to asking Jesus for salvation. And we see that Jesus promises the man salvation. He was converted!

2)The Faith

     This man was given a gift of faith. He might have been a criminal his whole life. Some translations say these men were thieves and some just call them criminals, but what blows me away is that he had enough faith to ask Jesus to save him. And this criminal had the right kind of faith, he wasn't asking to be prosperous, we wasn't asking Jesus to get him out of his situation, we wasn't looking to anything of this world, he was asking for something of eternal value. This man knew his circumstance, and he knew his sinfulness, and he knew the answer was right next to him, dying on a cross. I'm beginning to think this criminal has a lot more to teach us than we know.

3)The Wisdom

     This man had just barely met Jesus, had just barely been converted, yet he already knew exactly who Jesus was, and knew exactly where Jesus was going. Matthew 23:42 "Jesus remember me when you come into your Kingdom", He knew Jesus was going to his heavenly kingdom and that he could be a part of it. Compare this to the disciples who were hoping for an earthly kingdom and thought everything they hoped for was gone because Jesus was about to die. Listen to the disciples reaction when Jesus predicted his own death, Matthew 17:23b And the disciples were filled with grief. The same reason the disciples were filled with grief is the same reason the criminal on the cross had hope, because Jesus was on the cross paying the price for sinners. 

Application:

    There is a lot I need to learn from the criminal on the cross. He had a miraculous conversion, great faith that was dependent upon Jesus and the cross, and he was looking forward to the coming kingdom not the things of this life. I think this man is one of the most blessed men in all the Bible. I think if the romans had changed their minds and took him down before he died, he would have been an awesome man of God.

Prayer:

    Dear Lord, your grace and your mercy are so great. Thank you for saving a criminal like me. There is nothing I have done to deserve what you have given me, There is nothing I could have done. Let me learn from the criminal on the cross. Draw me closer to you everyday. Give me the boldness to stand firm for Christ, and don't let me compromise with the fear of man. In Jesus name, Amen!