THE DYING THIEF

An address by Mr. P. G. Watts at Ebenezer Baptist Chapel, Cradley Heath, W. Midlands, on 16 March, 1985 for a meeting of the Sovereign Grace Union.

It has been said that there were three men crucified at Golgotha, the “place of a skull”. One of them, the Lord Jesus Christ, died for sin; one of them died in his sin, and one died to sin. And there as we see the distinction between the two thieves, we see God’s sovereign, distinguishing grace. Matthew’s gospel tells us that both the thieves joined in heaping accusations against Christ; both of them reviled Him; but suddenly there comes a change in one of them. He begins
to speak in a way which is completely different. He begins to rebuke his partner in crime. He begins to pray. He begins to speak words of truth, of tenderness, humility, reverence. How can it be explained? Only by the sovereign grace of God in Christ.

Let us look simply at some of the lessons which we learn at the Cross, in this exchange of words between the dying thief and the Lord Jesus.

The Shame and Suffering of Christ

The first lesson is of the great shame and suffering endured by Christ. Here the prophecy is fulfilled: “He was numbered with the transgressors”. Think of what that meant to Him, He who was, and is, the eternal Son of God. Think of the events of the last few hours leading up to this point in history. There He is in the garden of Gethsemane, and a mob with lanterns, and torches, and cudgels, and weapons, comes to arrest Him as if He was some common criminal. He who had taught publicly is arrested in the darkness and under suspicion and threat. He is taken and subjected to the mockery of a rigged, unjust, and irregular trial. He is accused of blasphemy; He! who is the Son of God. He is pushed about from the High Priest to Pontius Pilate, and from Pontius Pilate to Herod, and then back to Pontius Pilate again. He is questioned, and throughout it all He fulfils the words of prophecy: “He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth”. He is accused and convicted. He hears the cry of an angry crowd. We have seen some ugly scenes in our industrial life recently. We have seen some of the effects of the threatenings of a crowd. The Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, was subjected to that sort of antagonism. They cried out •’Away with him, away with him, crucify him, crucify him”. They preferred a murderer, Barabbas, to Him! One who had been guilty of terrorism, sedition; one who had been guilty of murder itself! But they mocked Jesus, they beat Him, they spit upon Him. He was brought out of the city. He who was the fulfilment of all that the city of Jerusalem stood for, and all the sacrifices that were going on in the temple; the One who had stood up on the last great day of the Feast of Tabernacles and said “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink”. He was turned out of the city; He suffered without the camp, without the gate, in the place of shame, in the place of reproach. He was stripped of His clothing. We need to beware of the danger of becoming sentimental about the cross of Christ. Almost two thousand years of history now separate us and the cross, and sometimes in the way in which we think about it we can lack realism. Let us remember that here is a Man, I believe a strong Man in the prime of life; here He is suffering, real suffering, real anguish
‘of body, and of mind, and of soul. There was something gruesome about Golgotha; there was something terrible, something unspeakably awful about the sufferings of Christ. And here we see an evidence of it, that He is numbered with the transgressors. He takes His place with them, He is crucified between two thieves, two common criminals. That is how man estimates Him! That is where He is placed in man’s estimation! He is crucified as a criminal, between two thieves. Who can estimate the reproach which broke His heart, the shame of that place? On the eve of the solemn Passover festival, when the devout Jews would be preparing for a religious ceremony, the Lord of glory was taken by wicked hands, crucified and slain. Let us bear that lesson firmly in our minds.

The Sinfulness of Sin

The second lesson that we must learn here is the sinfulness of sin or, to put it in doctrinal terms, the total depravity of man. Do you want proof of that doctrine? How does this doctrine of the total depravity of man affect you personally? Is it merely a tenet you would agree with if questioned about it, or is it something you know in your own experience? See it here at Calvary! See it here in the sufferings of the Son of God! See it here in the behaviour of the people towards the Lord Jesus, in the cry of the crowd against Him! See it in the behaviour of these two thieves on the cross: two men dying justly, two law breakers facing eternity, and they cast accusations at the Son of God. Now that is the predicament, the state of man. He is fallen. If you want the clearest evidence that man is a fallen creature, look and see what he has done to the Lord of glory. Have you ever seen yourself at Calvary? Have you ever seen your own attitudes there, your own antipathy and opposition to Jesus Christ? Yes, we have had the privileges of a Christian upbringing, but the basic natural disposition of our hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ is this: “We will not have this man to reign over us”. We don’t want Him, we are against Him. In our cowardice, our ignorance, our folly, we too would join with those thieves as they reviled Him. They gazed upon Him, dignified in all His sufferings, yet they joined in accusing Him. They would rather curse God and die. The hymn writer felt personally implicated in the death of Jesus:

The soldier pierced his side, ’tis true,

But we have pierced him thro’ and thro’.

There were people who were listening to Peter on the day of Pentecost who were actually physically implicated in the death of Jesus, and as Peter preached, arrows of conviction entered into their souls and they became convinced that they were sinners, they became convinced of the guilt of the attitude of their hearts towards Jesus Christ. Have you and I been convinced of our sin, the basic
attitude of our hearts to Jesus Christ? Then we will not quarrel with the verdict of the Word of God that the human heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. We will not shrink from doctrine like that. We will recognize the truth of it, and fall under it. We will say “Yes, that is true, that describes me; that is where I am, apart from sovereign grace”. We need to learn the lesson of the sinfulness of sin.

The Helplessness of the Dying Thief

The third lesson that we must learn here is of the complete helplessness of the one who was saved. Here he is, his hands and his feet nailed to a cross. As he looks back over his past life, what can he see? Here is a man who has shown respect neither for the law of man, nor for the law of God. He cannot bring any works, he cannot bring anything which is going to please God. He cannot offer anything for the future – he is dying, he is utterly helpless. He can do no works with his hands or his feet because they are nailed to the cross. He is in an absolutely helpless, dying condition. If ever we can see clearly that a man can contribute nothing whatsoever towards his own salvation, we see it in the case of this one who was so wonderfully, so marvellously saved by the grace of God in Christ. If he is to be saved, then it must be on that same ground of which Toplady speaks in the hymn:

Nothing in my hand I bring;

Simply to thy cross I cling;

Naked, come to thee for dress;

Helpless, look to thee for grace;

Foul, I to the fountain fly;

Wash me. Saviour, or I die.

If we see the absolute helplessness of the one who was saved, then surely we also see the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation. These thieves were in the same predicament. Both had lived lives of crime and ignorance and folly. Both were nailed to a cross. They both had the same evidence and witness; both were within sight and earshot of the suffering Saviour. They had both heard that first utterance of His from the cross: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do”. Both could clearly see the inscription that was written over the cross in the three languages: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”. You could almost say that this was the First gospel tract ever written. It is wonderful to see in the Scriptures, how opponents of Jesus Christ often unwittingly state gospel truth – like the Pharisees, who said “This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them”. Such words were spoken in contempt, but they express the very kernel of the gospel. And here Pilate has to say “What I have written, I have written”. Both thieves
see that inscription, pointing to His kingship, pointing to Him as the Messiah. They both hear the mockings and the accusations of the ungodly crowd. “He saved others” they said. What a word! What a truth! “He saved others”. Was there some stirring within the heart of one here dying on the cross? “He saved others”. “He may save me; He may help me if I call upon Him. I will not despair”. “He saved others”. You see, they both hear the same words, they both see the same spectacle, but in the heart of one there comes a change, and we see here nothing other than God’s sovereign, discriminating, distinguishing grace in the salvation of one, the dying thief.

The Beginnings of a Work of Grace

Then we must learn as we look at this episode of the nature of the beginnings of a work of grace in a sinner’s heart. There is much instruction here. The dying thief learned so much in so short a space of time! He learned so much of doctrine, of truth, of real, spiritual understanding! There is only one explanation for it – the secret, powerful, convicting work of the Holy Spirit. Do we want to learn more about Jesus? Do we want to learn more about the doctrines of the gospel? The place to learn is at the foot of the cross. The dying thief learned his theology in the presence of a crucified Saviour. That is the place for you and for me to learn our theology, in the presence of the crucified Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. What an insight is given here into the nature of a work of grace in a sinner’s heart!

1) The Fear of the Lord.

The first thing was the fear of God implanted in the soul of the dying thief. He who had only just been speaking words against Christ, now finds that there is a barrier to that, there is something different implanted within. We read in the Word of God that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”. And here is the beginning of wisdom in this man’s experience, the fear of God. What does he say? “Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?” Do you have the fear of the Lord in your heart? Do you fear God? If you really possess the fear of God, that humble, genuine, filial fear, it is the beginning of wisdom. It is an evidence of the beginning of a work of grace in your soul, and in your life. The Fear of the Lord is a rich gift. The dying thief was given it in his hour of need, in his moment of extremity, the fear of God.

2) Conviction of Sin.

He was convinced of his sin. See the elements, the vital elements of the work of grace in a person’s life. He had the fear of God, he was convinced of his sin. “We indeed justly” he says, “for we receive the true reward of our deeds”. He was not arguing now. Maybe before
he had been arguing in the way in which the natural man will argue against punishment, will argue against the sentence of the law. But not now. No, there is a different spirit, there is a different understanding, a different attitude in his heart now. He begins to see his sins – not simply as offences against society, but in the light of eternity, and under a new impression of the fear of God in his heart. He is like David – “Against thee, thee only have I sinned and done his evil in thy sight”. “We indeed justly”. If we have been convinced of our sin, then we too will know something of this inward conviction of heart and conscience, that we deserve to die. There is a couplet in a hymn, sometimes misunderstood, but which expresses

And if my soul were sent to hell,

Thy righteous law approves it well.

“We indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man hath done nothing amiss”. The fear of God, the conviction of sin, and, then, a change of heart concerning Jesus Christ. This is absolutely essential to true conversion, to true regeneration.

3) Confession of Faith

“This man hath done nothing amiss”. Here we have a confession of faith in Christ, a testimony concerning the perfection, the purity and the holiness of the Lord Jesus. In a flash this man sees that the Lord Jesus Christ is completely innocent of those charges brought against Him. He sees the dignity of His suffering, the suffering of the holy, harmless Son of God, and he makes this confession: “This man hath done nothing amiss”. There is love to Christ in that testimony. Do you say from your heart tonight, as you look upon the Lord Jesus Christ by faith: “This man hath done nothing amiss”? Do you know it? Do you know it spiritually, that He has done nothing wrong? I was speaking recently to a lad at the school where I teach. He is fifteen years old, and doing ‘O’ level Religious Studies. I was speaking about the Christian doctrine of the perfection of Christ, the sinlessness of Christ, and he said to me: “You know, no one has ever said anything like that to me before”. Now, he is an intelligent lad, a boy who has been brought up with some contact with nominal Christianity throughout his life, but at the age of fifteen he has never heard that the Lord Jesus Christ is sinless. What a thought that is! There are many thousands of people who have that sort of ignorance – intelligent people. But we really need the Holy Spirit to be our teacher if we are to embrace this doctrine, if we are to love this doctrine, if we are to depend upon this doctrine, because if you and I are to be saved we need a perfect Jesus, we need a sinless Jesus, we need a perfect Life, we need a righteousness which is worked out, we need One to go to the end of the law for us, for
righteousness’ sake. We not only need the death, the dying of the Lord Jesus Christ, we need His living, we need His perfection, we need that robe of righteousness which He worked out in every step of His life. “This man hath done nothing amiss”. Are you glad of that? Do you believe it with all your heart, recognizing your own sin? Then you can join with all true Christians through the ages who say: “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God”. If you can say that with a true heart, then you are a believer – “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God”. “This man hath done nothing amiss”. The dying thief was a believer on Jesus; he was convinced of his sin; he realized that there was only One who could do him good, and that was the Lord Jesus Christ.

4) The Spirit of Prayer.

He prays. Now there is a sign of spiritual life – “Behold he prays”. This was no formal prayer which the dying thief prayed – it was an urgent prayer, it was a personal prayer, it was a venturing prayer. He said unto Jesus: “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom”. This man was born again. We see the nature of God’s free, unmerited kindness in his life, as He implants in his soul the Fear of God, conviction of sin, and this conviction concerning the person of Christ, that He has done nothing wrong, that He is innocent, that He is perfect. Then he prays, and in this prayer we learn the lesson of the nature of living faith. Faith is the gift of God. This man had got it, he had been given it. And he prays; he prays because he must pray, he prays because he has spiritual life, he prays because he has no other hope. His prayer is an urgent prayer, a prayer of real need. Look at the elements of it! Look at the nature of saving faith, of living faith! He confesses the Lordship of Jesus. •’And he said unto Jesus, Lord …” Is that word “Lord” at the centre of your Christianity? Is it at the centre of your praying? Is there the recognition in your heart, in your life, that Jesus Christ is Lord? The Lord of creation, the Lord of the universe, the Lord of your life – your Lord?

5) Living Faith

He said unto him “Lord…” You see, there was a willingness now to fall under Him, there was a basic humility and reverence in the approach of the dying thief to Jesus. He said to Him, “Lord . . .” And it is of the nature of living faith to be humble, to be reverent, and to recognize the Lordship of Christ. It is the nature of living Faith to venture. You see, the dying thief ventured on Christ. He ventured because he could do nothing else. He ventured because he now believed that the Lord Jesus was the only One who could do him any good, the only One who could deliver him, the only One who could remember him. Others had witnessed the miracles of Christ, they
had seen something of His power. A crowd of five thousand witnessed a wonderful miracle. Many had been healed by Him. The dying thief had seen none of these signs. He was confronted with a dying Man. He was confronted with One in pitiful weakness, on a cross of shame. What faith he had to venture upon Christ! How real was that faith! We might think that if we had been there; then we would have believed, that faith would somehow have been easy, but believe me, faith was not easy. Faith is never easy; faith is the gift of God, and it is of the nature of faith to venture. It is of the nature of faith to confide. It would have been quite understandable if, in reasoning it out, the dying thief had come to the conclusion that the Lord Jesus, who had done nothing amiss, was now so absorbed in His own suffering and in His own passion, that it would be unreasonable to hope that He would now listen to the one who had just been reviling Him. Was it a reasonable hope? But, you see, faith is something which presses through; it clings; it confides; faith believes that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only One who can really help, who can really do us any good. And the dying thief says:
“Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom”. There may have been reasons which in his intellect would hold him back, and which would stop him from speaking these words but, you see, faith demands, faith presses, faith is urgent. “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom”. True faith is humble; true faith is venturing; true faith is courageous. Yes, there is something courageous about this man; he has a courage that is God given, he has a courage which doesn’t belong to him; he changes sides; he rebukes his partner in crime. He identifies himself as a sinner in need of the saving work of Jesus Christ. True faith is something which is courageous.

A Willing Saviour

Then we also learn here the wonderful lesson of the willingness of Jesus to save. This is the most beautiful lesson, that we learn here at the Cross, in this case of the dying thief. We would perfectly understand it if the Lord Jesus Christ was so absorbed in His own conflict, in His own passion, that He had no ear for the cries of the dying thief. There were lots of voices raised against Him. Calvary was no quiet place. There were taunts, there were abuses, words were being flung at Him and spoken against Him. The Lord Jesus Christ did not react to those, He kept His counsel: but He hears the cry of the destitute. He hears the cry of the venturing sinner. He stops. He listens, and He speaks. He only spoke seven times in six hours on the Cross, and one of these times was to speak to this dying thief, to answer his prayer – “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom”. “And Jesus said unto him” – the wonder
of it! Jesus spoke to him! Jesus spoke to the very one who had been arguing against him! Jesus spoke to him, the one who was a common criminal! The one who was the very worst of sinners, the one who was now confessing his own guilt and sin! Jesus spoke to him’. Yes, the Lord Jesus Christ had time for him. This is the gospel, and there is absolutely no conflict whatsoever between the doctrine of sovereign, distinguishing, discriminating grace, and the truth that the Lord Jesus Christ welcomes sinners. The invitations of the gospel are to be preached and proclaimed today fully and freely. Jesus says “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”. He says “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink”. The gospel is for the vilest, the gospel is for the dying thief. We proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ who is willing to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by Him. Are you weary, heavy laden? Are you a thirsty sinner? Are you convinced of your sin, of the natural antipathy of your heart toward Jesus Christ? Then hear the gospel. “If any man thirst”, says the Lord Jesus Christ, “let him come unto me and drink”. “And him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out”. And the case of the dying thief is a beacon at the centre of history to prove it. “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out”. None need despair – that is the message of the answer of Christ to the dying thief: “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise”. None need despair, but none must presume. One dying thief was saved, but only one. Don’t postpone things, don’t think that by heaping up sin, as it were, grace might abound in your case. Don’t think that a deathbed repentance is a common or an easy thing. Don’t presume upon the grace of God. But how willing was Jesus to hear the cry of this destitute, dying sinner, this one who was now facing eternity, this one who needed the Lord Jesus Christ to be his own personal Saviour. How willing was Jesus to hear and to save!

A Powerful Saviour

And then this lesson. The power of Jesus to save. He is not only willing to save, He is able to save. With the word of a King there is power, and O the power that there is in the words of Christ from the cross. “Father,” He says, “forgive them; they know not what they do”. That is the first saying, the word of forgiveness. Here to this dying thief, ‘Today shalt thou be with me in paradise” – that is the second word, the word of salvation. The word of affection, and love, and provision to his own dear mother – “Woman, behold thy son!” And to the beloved disciple, “Behold thy mother!” The word of anguish and deep profound mystery – “My God, my God, why hast thou for-saken me?” The word of physical and mental suffering- “I thirst”. The word of triumph and victory – “It is finished”, and the word of contentment and consummation – “Father, into thy hands I commend
my spirit”. The word of the Lord Jesus; no man spoke as He spoke, and especially the words that He spoke on the cross. What power, what kingly authority there is in the words of this suffering Saviour. How often Christ says in His teaching, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee”. Here is the same note of authority and certainty in His reply to the dying thief – “Verily, I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise”. The Lord Jesus Christ is an able Saviour. “He is able. He is willing, doubt no more”. He and He alone has the power to bring us to paradise. Through sin, through the fall, paradise is lost. Though we attempt in our own pathetic little ways to recreate paradise, though we see people all around us trying to work towards their vision of paradise, yet it is a hopeless task without the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone has the power to save. He alone has the power to bring to heaven. He alone has the power to bring us to paradise. He had the power to say to this man in all his need, and in his extremity, “Verily, I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise”. To be with Christ; to be in Christ. “Therefore if my man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away;
all things are become new”. And so it is here.

A Loving Saviour

Finally, this lesson: the Lord Jesus Christ desires the fellowship and communion of His own, those He has purchased with His own precious blood. He wants them. It was for this joy that was set before Him, that He endured the cross, despising the shame. Yes, He counted the shame is nothing. He endured the cross that He might be with His own in paradise. Think of the great high priestly prayer of John chapter 17, and those words which He spoke as the High Priest of His people. He says ‘Father, I will that they also which thou hast given me, be with me where I am”. He had spoken words of comfort to His disciples: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also”. “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise”. This was the whole purpose of His dying, that He might secure His people unto Himself, that they might be with Him for ever. Here we have the doctrine of the final perseverance and the preservation of the saints. There is no possibility that any one of them should fall out of the covenant, because it is the Lord Jesus Christ’s accomplishment that His people should be with Him for ever in paradise. And what a testimony it is to sovereign, free grace, that the dying thief is among those. And many other guilty, vile, wretched sinners are there with Him, even now, and He will not rest until all for whom He died are with Him in paradise. Will you, and will I be with Him?