Lord, Remember Me

The Dying Thief On The Cross

And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, verily I say unto you, Today shall you be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:42,43)

The above verses are an account of a conversation between Jesus and one of the two thieves that were crucified alongside Him. The Bible tells us little about him except that after reviling Jesus along with the other thief, his opinion of the Lord completely changed. We see this with his response to the other thief’s harsh words to the Lord in the following verse:

“And one of the malefactors (one of the two) which were hanged (crucified) railed on Him (Jesus) saying, If you be the Christ, save Yourself and us.”

The repentant thief responded with this strong rebuke of the other thief:

“But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Do not you fear God, seeing that you are in the same condemnation. And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds.”

The thief is here admitting to his guilt and agreeing that he is being justly punished for his crime. He, in the spirit of true repentance, is admitting his sin and acknowledging that his punishment is just. He goes on to say this regarding Jesus:

“But this Man (Jesus) has done nothing amiss.”

This is one of the few kind words that Jesus received that day. He is realizing just who Jesus is and goes on to declare His Lordship and ask for forgiveness. He says:

“Lord, remember me when you come into Your kingdom.”

Dying on a cross for his wrongs, he now places his total faith in Jesus. A most incredible conversion. Jesus responds to his faith with the following:

“And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto you, Today shall you be with me in Paradise.”

Repentance and faith in Christ and Him crucified are the only requirements for salvation. The thief certainly could not do any works to qualify himself for the reward of Heaven. The Lord did not say that he needed to go to Purgatory or do some penance to make himself worthy of Heaven. Jesus didn’t point him to His mother Mary who was in the crowd. He simply told the thief that he would be with Him in Paradise that very day. Jesus paid the full price for our sins on the cross. Just before He died He said, “It is finished.” There is nothing we could add to His “finished” work. Just like this thief, we are saved and made ready for Heaven by faith in Jesus and His atoning work on the cross.

By the way, the thief’s stay in Paradise was a very short one. Three days after the Lord’s death on the cross, He rose from the dead and all those in Paradise, which included all the Old Testament saints, accompanied Jesus to Heaven. The price had to be paid for the sin of man before anyone could have their sins forgiven and go to Heaven. Now, after Calvary, when someone dies, the Bible says that we go directly to Heaven to be with the Lord. The Apostle Paul said this: “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body (death), and to be present with the Lord (Heaven).” He paid it all. Only believe.

“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

{See the A,B,C’s of Salvation page on this website}

https://wordpress.com/page/tqministries.com/5448

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Here I Am, Lord –Tom Quinn Ministries – TQMINISTRIES.COM – 2020