Why was Jesus Willing to Justify the Thief on the Cross?

The events surrounding Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection are especially powerful and worthy of our consideration. One such account is that of the thief on the cross. He went from a disbeliever to a believer in a very short time, shortly before his own death. What happened as he was hanging on a cross beside Jesus that caused the Lord to show him mercy? And what can we learn from it?

In the hours before the crucifixion, the energy level in the crowd was very, very high. Luke records several instances of the crowds yelling at Pilate, demanding that Jesus be crucified, hurling accusations at the Lord, and people lamenting when He was on His way to Golgotha. Apparently both thieves who were crucified with Him got caught up in the frenzy because Matthew records that they both yelled at him just as the crowds did: “And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way” (Matthew 27:44).

But at some point during the six hours that Jesus was dying on the cross, one of the thieves had a change of heart. Luke records the conversation between the two criminals and the Son of God in chapter 23:

39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Interestingly, both criminals seem to be interested in the same thing: salvation. The impenitent man begins the conversation by demanding that Jesus save both Himself and them. But the other man recognizes this request, not as an appeal to God for a good conscience, but as a mocking request from the disbelieving heart of a man who was singularly focused on escaping the punishment of the cross. There was no godly sorry from the first man.

The penitent criminal had a different type of salvation in mind. He knew that he had only a short time to live, perhaps only minutes and certainly no more than a few hours. And whether he knew John’s teaching (“whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36)) or he was simply considering the warnings in Moses’ law, he had a fearful expectation of the judgement that awaited him.

The fundamental difference between these two men seems to be the second man’s recognition that they were both guilty before God. That understanding is what caused his fear. There would be no rationalizing his sins before God; there would simply be punishment.

He then observes that Jesus was innocent. The gospels do not tell us how he knew this, but somehow he understood that the Lord was being unjustly punished.

Finally, he confessed that Jesus was the Son of God, crying out for mercy as he did so. He had faith that Jesus was going to receive a kingdom, and he understood that He had the authority to grant him mercy.

This man, rapidly nearing the end of his life, finally saw the wages that he had earned as a result of the life that he had lived: he recognized that he was impoverished, had nothing of value to pay his debt, and cried out for mercy.

And Jesus forgave him! Declared him just! Praise God for His grace and His mercy! But why? What was it about the state of that man that Jesus would choose to bear the punishment for his sins after a single eleventh hour request?

This man was the embodiment of the first beatitude: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). Being poor in spirit means understanding that we are in abject poverty before God. Being poor in spirit means that we have only one thing of value to God, and that is our hearts. Being poor in spirit leaves a person crying out for mercy. The Lord is looking for the poor in spirit, and when this man recognized Jesus, he recognized how poor he truly was, and Jesus met him there.

What can we learn from this account? That God responds to the person who appeals to him for justification, not because of that person’s righteousness, but because of God’s grace, His mercy, and His desire to forgive. Peter writes about this in 1 Peter 3, explaining that baptism saves in the exact same way that the thief was saved: by appealing directly to God. “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21). Baptism saves because that is how we appeal to God for mercy. It is an acknowledgement that we cannot save ourselves, but instead that we are completely reliant on Him.

Do you recognize your poverty before God? Or are you living in arrogant denial of His authority over you and the debt that you have accumulated? Submit yourself and appeal to Him for a clean conscience through baptism and enjoy the same promise of rest that the penitent thief received.