The Penitent Thief
It should give us all a great deal of hope and comfort that Jesus
saved such a man as the penitent thief just before He went back to
heaven. Every one who is not a Christian ought to be interested in
this case, to know how he was converted. Any one who does not
believe in sudden conversions ought to look into it. If conversions
are gradual, if it takes six months, or six weeks, or six days to
convert a man, there was n
chance for this thief. If a man who has
lived a good, consistent life cannot be converted suddenly, how much
less chance for him! Turn to the 23d chapter of Luke, and see how
the Lord dealt with him. He was a thief, and the worst kind of a
thief, or else they would not have punished him by crucifixion. Yet
Christ not only saved him, but took him up with Himself into glory.
Let us look at Christ hanging on the cross between the two thieves.
The Scribes and Pharisees wagged their heads, and jeered at Him. His
disciples had fled. Only His mother and one or two other women
remained in sight to cheer Him with their presence among all the
crowd of enemies. Hear those spiteful Pharisees mocking among
themselves: "He saved others; Himself He cannot save." The account
also says that the two thieves "cast the same in his teeth."