Lessons from a Thief

On this Good Friday we take a break from the Psalms to learn a lesson from one of the thieves on the cross.

Luke 23:39-43 (NIV)

³⁹ One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” ⁴⁰ But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹ We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴² Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” ⁴³ Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

I am not a fan of delivering or receiving bad news. The thought of it causes me to cringe and starts my mind racing toward every possible negative scenario. I have spent far too much of my life worrying about things that I can’t control. Author Jon Acuff has a line that has helped me in these situations. He says, “Only concern yourself with things that are non-fiction, and don’t let your mind wander into what is fiction.” In other words, there are real things in life that we can concern ourselves with so there is no need to dedicate time to creating fictional scenarios to worry about.

When it comes to your life, your family, your job, let me ask you this question. What are you so worried about? I find more often than not that the things I am most worried about are the things I can’t control. I can’t control what others think about me. I can’t control when I will receive bad news. I can’t control the weather, the economy, or the world for that matter. The only thing I can control is how I respond to all those things.

I must decide if I am going to make the best out of a situation, or if I am going to make it worse and create fictional scenarios where the pain is amplified.

The story of the two thieves on the cross is a perfect example of this. We can all agree that both thieves were faced with a bad situation. They were sentenced to be executed for a crime in which they were guilty. But if there were ever a “good time” to be crucified, this would have been it. Because these two thieves were given the privilege of being crucified next to the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.

Both thieves were able to observe the mocking and jeering of the crowd, and both thieves would have noticed the special attention Jesus was receiving from the Roman soldiers. The only thing the thieves could control was how they responded to everything they were witnessing.

Thief number one looks over at Jesus and decides to join in on the hate. He lets anger and resentment build up inside and his response is to join in with the crowd and lash out at Jesus. Telling Jesus to “save himself and save us” is the same selfish approach to life that got that thief crucified in the first place. He made things worse for himself!

The second thief recognizes the gift he has been given in such a dire moment. Whenever I read his opening line, “Don’t you fear God?,” I can immediately relate to the second thief’s heartfelt appreciation for being in the right place at the right time, when death was imminent. The second thief understands the situation perfectly. “We are punished justly,” he said, “for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

The second thief knows he is faced with the worst possible situation, and his physical life will end because of it. But it’s a situation he has no control over, which presents him with a choice. He can either reject the opportunity God has given him, like the first thief, or he can take comfort in knowing that God ordained it for him to be crucified next to the Savior of the world!

He chose a future with Jesus! He said, “Lord, remember me when you enter into your Kingdom.” What a moment it must have been when Jesus looked up, made eye contact with that second thief, and pushed through the agony and pain of what he was feeling to say, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”

Even in death, the second thief chose to control what he could control, and he received victory in Jesus as a result.

Perhaps the only time in history when you can learn a life lesson from a thief.

Josh Huisman is the senior pastor of Crosswalk Church in Brentwood, TN. If you would like to support this website and make it possible for this page to stay active and these devotions to reach a wider audience, CLICK HERE

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