Two Thieves

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’” Matthew 16:24

Luke 23 describes two types of people. There were two thieves who hung on crosses on either side of Jesus on Calvary. One of the criminals was full of bitterness. Verse 39 says that the angry thief “hurled insults at him.” Have you ever wondered why this man reacted to Jesus the way he did? Maybe he grew up in some slum and lived in poverty most of his life. Perhaps he got involved with the wrong people and turned to thievery to make a living. The Bible doesn't say how he became a thief, but we know that he was a bad enough criminal to be put to death by the rulers of the day. He was so hardened by a life of sin that even when facing death, vulgarity began to spew out of his mouth. He had just heard Jesus pray, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do,” but yet he remained unmoved and unrepentant. He was willing to die like he had lived. 

You have to be careful because sometimes “crosses” or hardships will cause rebellion in people. They can make people angry and bitter about life. Injustices or tragedies can cause you to harden your heart towards God. Something in this man’s life had made him so bitter and full of hate that he could look into the face of Jesus Himself and not be affected. Maybe you have endured unthinkable hardships in your life. Maybe you never had parents who loved you, or maybe you endured abuse your whole childhood. Perhaps you lost a loved one so early in life, and you wonder why this happened to you. If you are not careful, these wounds can cause you to become angry with God. But this mentality will destroy your soul. 

The second thief had a different heart.

Verses 40-42 say, “But the other criminal rebuked him. ‘Don’t you fear God,’ he said, ‘since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’” Sometimes you just have to say, “Lord, I don’t understand. I don’t know why this has happened. One day, when I get to Heaven, we will sit and talk about it, but until then, I will trust you. I will trust that you have my best interest at heart. I know you are good, and I will worship and serve you anyway.” You may have gone through a terrible ordeal or even years of terrible ordeals but you cannot allow it to harden your heart. Jesus saw the decency and humility in this man. Even though he had wasted years of his life in sin, there was something about him. Jesus looked at him and spoke these sweet words, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

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