13/05/2026
Part 1
The Two Thieves on the Cross
An Expository Sermon on Luke 23:39–43
Main Text: Luke 23:39–43
Supporting Texts: Matthew 27:38–44; Mark 15:27–32; John 19:18–22; Matthew 28:19–20; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:1–4; Hebrews 3:15; James 2:19; 1 John 1:9
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Introduction
One of the most commonly used Bible stories in discussions about salvation is the thief on the cross.
Many people say:
“The thief on the cross was saved without baptism, therefore baptism is not necessary.”
But when we examine the passage carefully, we must ask:
Does the Bible actually say that the thief was never baptized?
Does the Bible actually say he had never believed before?
Does the Bible actually say obedience no longer matters?
Or are people building a whole doctrine from what the text does not say?
This sermon is not about denying grace. In fact, this passage powerfully reveals grace. But grace must be understood the way the Bible teaches it, not the way human assumption reshapes it.
The thief on the cross is not a story that destroys obedience. It is a story that magnifies Christ’s mercy, exposes the human heart, and warns us that being close to Jesus outwardly is not the same as surrendering to Him inwardly.
There were not only one thief beside Jesus.
There were two.
Both were close to Christ.
Both heard Him.
Both saw Him suffer.
Both were dying.
Both were guilty.
Both had the same opportunity in that final hour.
Yet one hardened his heart.
The other humbled himself.
That contrast is the heart of the sermon.
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1. The Scene at Calvary
Luke 23:33 says:
“And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.”
Jesus was crucified between two criminals.
This itself was a fulfilment of Isaiah 53:12:
“He was numbered with the transgressors.”
The innocent Christ was placed between guilty men.
The sinless One was crucified among sinners.
That picture alone is powerful.
Jesus did not die far away from sinners.
He died in the middle of sinners.
He was not distant from the guilty.
He was placed right between the guilty.
This is the Gospel in picture form.
Christ came into the world not because humanity was righteous, but because humanity was lost.
He came near to the condemned.
He came near to the broken.
He came near to the guilty.
He came near to those who could not save themselves.
But the important truth is this:
Being near Jesus physically did not save both thieves.
One was saved.
One was lost.
So nearness to holy things is not enough.
A person may be near the Bible, near church, near preaching, near religious people, even near the name of Jesus — and still resist Him.
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2. Both Thieves Were Guilty
Luke calls them malefactors. Matthew and Mark describe them as thieves or robbers.
They were not innocent men.
The repentant thief himself admitted this in Luke 23:41:
“And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds.”
He did not make excuses.
He did not blame society.
He did not blame Rome.
He did not blame his childhood.
He did not say, “I am not as bad as others.”
He said, in simple words:
We deserve this.
That is where repentance begins.
Repentance begins when a sinner stops defending sin.
Before a person can truly receive mercy, he must stop arguing with God about his guilt.
This is one of the clear differences between the two thieves.
The unrepentant thief wanted escape from pain.
The repentant thief wanted mercy from Christ.
There is a great difference between wanting relief and wanting repentance.
Many people want Jesus to remove consequences, but they do not want Jesus to rule the heart.
Many want Jesus as a rescue boat, but not as Lord.
But the repentant thief saw something deeper. He saw that his greatest problem was not Rome, not nails, not suffering, not even death.
His greatest problem was sin before God.
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3. The First Thief: A Hardened Heart Beside Jesus
Luke 23:39 says:
“And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.”
Notice his words:
“If thou be Christ…”
This sounds very similar to the temptation of Satan in Matthew 4:
“If thou be the Son of God…”
The thief was not speaking in humble faith. He was mocking.
He wanted Jesus to prove Himself by giving him immediate deliverance.
He was not asking for forgiveness.
He was not confessing sin.
He was not seeking the kingdom.
He was not surrendering to Christ.
He simply wanted to be saved from the cross, not saved from sin.
That is a major difference.
There are many people who only want Jesus when they are in trouble.
They want Jesus when sickness comes.
They want Jesus when money is gone.
They want Jesus when death is near.
They want Jesus when fear rises.
But they do not want Jesus to cleanse the heart, rule the life, and change the direction of the soul.
The first thief shows us that suffering alone does not automatically produce repentance.
Some people become softer through suffering.
Others become harder.
The cross did not soften this man.
Even beside Jesus, he continued to rail.
That is terrifying.
He was as close to the Saviour as a dying man could be, yet his heart remained far from Him.
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4. Exposure to Jesus Does Not Automatically Save
Both thieves had exposure to Jesus.
Both heard the crowd mocking:
“He saved others; let him save himself.”
Both likely heard Jesus pray:
“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
Both saw His patience.
Both saw His innocence.
Both saw the sign above His head:
“This is the King of the Jews.”
Both were under the shadow of the same cross.
Yet one believed and one mocked.
This teaches a very serious point:
Exposure to truth does not automatically save.
A person can hear sermons and still be lost.
A person can read Scripture and still resist God.
A person can be raised in religious surroundings and still harden the heart.
A person can know about Jesus and still not surrender to Jesus.
James 2:19 says:
“Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.”
So mere knowledge is not saving faith.
Even demons know truth.
Even demons know who Jesus is.
But they do not surrender in loving obedience.
This is why the two thieves are so important.
They show two responses to the same Christ.
One heart became humble.
The other remained proud.
One man saw a dying criminal.
The other saw a coming King.
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5. Could Both Thieves Have Known About Jesus Before?
This is an important point.
Many people assume the repentant thief had no previous knowledge of Jesus.
But the Bible does not say that.
The Bible does not say:
* he had never heard Jesus preach,
* he had never seen Jesus before,
* he had never heard of His miracles,
* he had never heard John the Baptist,
* he had never been baptized,
* he had never been a believer,
* he had never fallen from a better spiritual condition.
The text is silent on those matters.
Therefore, it is dangerous to build doctrine from silence.
By the time Jesus was crucified, His ministry was widely known.
He had preached openly.
He had healed publicly.
Crowds had followed Him.
His fame had spread.
John the Baptist had already preached repentance and baptism.
Many people from Judea and Jerusalem had gone out to John.
So it is entirely possible the thief had some previous exposure to truth.
It is possible he had heard Jesus.
It is possible he had heard of Jesus.
It is possible he had once responded to John’s message.
It is possible he had once believed, then fallen into sin.
We cannot prove these things.
But that is exactly the point.
Neither can someone prove he had never been baptized.
Neither can someone prove he was never a believer before.
If one side says, “He was definitely never baptized,” that is not exegesis. That is assumption.
The Bible does not reveal that detail.
So the safest interpretation is not to use the thief as proof against baptism, because the passage was never written for that purpose.
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6. Being a Thief Does Not Prove He Was Never a Believer
Some may say:
“But he was a thief, so surely he was not a believer.”
That argument is weak.
The Bible clearly shows that people who know God can still fall into serious sin.
David committed adultery and arranged the death of Uriah.
Peter denied Christ three times.
Solomon fell into idolatry.
Samson lived in compromise.
Jonah ran from the command of God.
The Corinthian church had many serious problems, yet Paul still called them to repentance as people who had received the Gospel.
So a person committing real sin does not automatically prove that he never had prior faith.
This does not excuse sin.
This does not make sin small.
This does not say believers can live carelessly and still be safe.
But it does show that sin in a person’s life does not automatically prove they never had any previous relationship with truth.
The thief may have been a hardened sinner hearing Christ for the first time.
Or he may have been a man who had once known better and fallen badly.
The Bible does not tell us which.
Therefore we must not go beyond what is written.
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7. The Ministry of John the Baptist Must Be Considered
Before Jesus’ crucifixion, John the Baptist had already preached:
“Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
— Matthew 3:2
Matthew 3:5–6 says:
“Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, and were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.”
This means many people in that region had already been exposed to repentance and baptism.
Was the thief among them?
We do not know.
But again, the possibility exists.
Therefore, the claim that the thief was certainly unbaptized is not a biblical statement. It is an assumption.
This matters because people often use this story to say:
“See, baptism is unnecessary.”
But if the Bible never tells us whether he was baptized or not, then the passage cannot be used honestly as a clear argument against baptism.
The thief may have been unbaptized.
He may have been baptized.
He may have heard John.
He may have heard Jesus.
He may have been previously convicted.
He may have hardened himself for years.
He may have returned to faith at the end.
The point is: Scripture does not say.
Therefore we should not use silence as a weapon against clear commands.
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8. The Repentant Thief Rebuked the Other
Luke 23:40 says:
“But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?”
This is the first evidence of his spiritual awakening.
He says:
“Dost not thou fear God?”
That is a powerful question.
He did not say:
“Do you not fear Rome?”
He did not say:
“Do you not fear death?”
He said:
“Do you not fear God?”
This means his mind had moved beyond earthly suffering.
He was thinking about judgment.
He was thinking about accountability.
He was thinking about God.
The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.
A person who has no fear of God will mock even at the edge of eternity.
That is what the first thief did.
But the repentant thief recognised:
We are dying, but after death we must face God.
This is where true repentance begins.
Not merely fear of pain.
Not merely fear of consequences.
Not merely fear of death.
But fear of God.
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9. The Repentant Thief Confessed His Guilt
Luke 23:41 says:
“And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds.”
He did not claim innocence.
He confessed justice.
This is important.
True repentance does not accuse God of unfairness.
True repentance says:
God is right, and I am wrong.
That is why confession is part of genuine repentance.
1 John 1:9 says:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.”
Confession is not informing God of something He does not know.
Confession is agreeing with God about what He already knows.
The thief agreed with God.
He admitted:
I am guilty.
I deserve judgment.
My deeds brought me here.
This is not salvation by works.
This is not self-righteousness.
This is brokenness.
Before Christ lifted him with promise, the thief first bowed in confession.
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10. The Repentant Thief Defended Christ’s Innocence
Luke 23:41 continues:
“But this man hath done nothing amiss.”
This is astonishing.
While almost everyone around Christ was mocking, this dying criminal defended Him.
The religious leaders mocked Him.
The soldiers mocked Him.
The crowd mocked Him.
The other thief mocked Him.
But this man said:
He has done nothing wrong.
That confession is powerful.
He saw what others refused to see.
He saw innocence in the crucified Christ.
And more than innocence, he saw kingship.
This is faith.
Faith does not merely look at outward appearance.
Outwardly, Jesus looked defeated.
Outwardly, He looked powerless.
Outwardly, He looked rejected.
Outwardly, He looked like a dying man.
But faith saw more.
Faith saw the righteous One.
Faith saw the King.
Faith saw hope beyond death.
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11. The Repentant Thief Believed in Christ’s Kingdom
Luke 23:42 says:
“And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.”
This is one of the most remarkable statements of faith in the Bible.
Jesus was nailed to a cross.
He was bleeding.
He was mocked.
He was dying.
He had no visible throne.
No army was defending Him.
His disciples had scattered.
The leaders had condemned Him.
Rome had crucified Him.
Yet the thief said:
“When thou comest into thy kingdom.”
He believed Jesus had a kingdom beyond the cross.
This is not shallow belief.
This man saw through humiliation and recognised glory.
He saw through death and recognised life.
He saw through apparent defeat and recognised kingship.
Many saw Jesus raise the dead and still did not believe.
This man saw Jesus dying and believed He would reign.
That is remarkable faith.
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12. “Lord, Remember Me”
The thief did not demand.
He did not say:
“You owe me salvation.”
He did not say:
“I deserve paradise.”
He simply said:
“Lord, remember me.”
That is the cry of mercy.
He knew he had nothing to bring.
No time to repair his life.
No opportunity to prove himself.
No chance to climb down from the cross and do great works.
He had only one hope:
Christ.
This shows that salvation is never earned by human merit.
No sinner can pay for his own sin.
No amount of good works can erase guilt.
No religious act has power apart from Christ.
The thief was saved by Christ’s mercy.
But we must also understand this correctly.
The fact that he had no opportunity for future obedience does not mean obedience is unnecessary for those who do have opportunity.
A dying man on a cross is an extraordinary case.
We must not turn an extraordinary case into the ordinary rule.
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13. Jesus’ Answer: Grace From the King
Luke 23:43 says:
“And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
What mercy.
Jesus was suffering, yet He still saved.
Jesus was being mocked, yet He still gave hope.
Jesus was dying, yet He spoke life.
This shows that Christ has authority to save.
The thief did not appeal to the priests.
He did not appeal to Rome.
He did not appeal to his own works.
He appealed to Jesus.
And Jesus answered him directly.
This is the beauty of the passage.
The thief’s salvation rested in Christ alone.
Not in human praise.
Not in religious reputation.
Not in earthly achievements.
Not in a clean criminal record.
In Christ.
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14. What This Passage Teaches About Grace
This passage beautifully teaches grace.
Grace reaches the guilty.
Grace reaches the condemned.
Grace reaches the broken.
Grace reaches even at the final hour.
No one should say:
“I have sinned too much for Christ to save me.”
The thief proves otherwise.
But we must never twist grace into permission for rebellion.
The repentant thief did not continue mocking.
He did not defend his sin.
He did not say obedience did not matter.
He did not say, “I can remain as I am.”
His heart changed.
Even though he could not climb down and live a long obedient life, the direction of his heart turned toward Christ.
That is important.
If he had been taken down alive, true faith would have followed Christ.
True faith always moves in the direction of obedience when opportunity is given.
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15. What This Passage Does Not Teach
This passage does not teach that baptism is meaningless.
It does not teach that repentance is optional.
It does not teach that obedience is unnecessary.
It does not teach that a person can knowingly reject Christ’s commands and still claim the thief as an excuse.
It does not teach that last-minute repentance is something to gamble on.
It does not teach that all exposure to Jesus results in salvation.
It does not teach that religious knowledge alone saves.
It teaches that Christ saves the repentant sinner who truly turns to Him.
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16. The Baptism Question
Now we must deal directly with baptism.
Some say:
“The thief was saved without baptism, therefore baptism is not necessary.”
But that statement contains assumptions.
First, the Bible does not say he was never baptized.
Second, the Bible does not say he never heard John the Baptist.
Third, the Bible does not say he never followed truth before falling into sin.
Fourth, the Bible does not say this story was given to cancel Christ’s command to baptize.
Jesus clearly commanded baptism in Matthew 28:19–20:
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them…”
Peter preached in Acts 2:38:
“Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ…”
Romans 6:3–4 shows baptism as the symbol of death, burial, and resurrection with Christ.
So baptism is clearly part of the Christian response of faith.
But we must also say this carefully:
Water itself does not save apart from Christ.
Baptism is not magic.
Baptism without repentance is empty.
Baptism without faith is just getting wet.
Baptism does not replace Christ.
But neither should Christ’s command be treated as optional by those who have opportunity to obey.
The thief on the cross had no opportunity to be baptized after his appeal to Christ.
A person today who has opportunity and refuses baptism is not in the same position as a dying man nailed to a cross.
There is a great difference between inability and rebellion.
God understands inability.
God does not approve willful rejection.
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17. Extraordinary Circumstances Do Not Cancel Ordinary Commands
This is one of the most important principles.
The thief was in an extraordinary situation.
He was dying.
He was nailed.
He could not come down.
He could not walk to baptism.
He could not join the disciples.
He could not repair the damage of his past.
So Christ saved him where he was.
But for those who are not nailed to a cross, the command remains:
Follow Me.
Repent.
Believe.
Be baptized.
Walk in newness of life.
Keep My commandments.
Abide in Me.
We must not use the thief’s limitation as an excuse for our disobedience.
If a man is trapped in a burning house and cries to God, God can save him.
But that does not mean healthy people should refuse the clear path of obedience.
Mercy for the unable is not permission for the unwilling.
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18. The Other Thief Strengthens the Point
Now let us return to the other thief.
His presence is essential.
If we only speak about the repentant thief, we may miss half the sermon.
There were two thieves.
Both were dying.
Both were suffering.
Both were guilty.
Both were near Jesus.
Both had exposure.
Both heard truth.
Both saw the same Christ.
Yet they ended differently.
This shows that the issue is not merely exposure.
The issue is the response of the heart.
The unrepentant thief had Jesus beside him, but not within him.
He had the Saviour near his body, but not ruling his heart.
That is a warning.
A person can sit close to holy things and still be lost.
A person can hear truth and still mock.
A person can be near the cross and still resist the blood of the cross.
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19. Prior Belief and Hardened Resistance
Important thought:
What if the other thief also had prior exposure to Jesus?
What if he too had heard truth before?
What if he had once been convicted?
What if he had resisted the Spirit again and again until his heart became hard?
The Bible does not tell us his past.
But the principle is biblical.
A person can receive light and resist it.
A person can know truth and harden against it.
A person can be convicted today and delay until the heart becomes less sensitive tomorrow.
Hebrews 3:15 says:
“Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”
The warning is not imaginary.
The heart can harden.
Every rejected conviction makes the next surrender harder.
Every excuse strengthens rebellion.
Every delay trains the soul to resist God.
This is not because God becomes unwilling to forgive.
God is merciful.
But the danger is that man becomes unwilling to repent.
That is why delay is dangerous.
The first thief is not just a wicked man in the story.
He is a warning to every person who says:
“Not now.”
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20. The Same Jesus: Salvation to One, Offense to Another
The same Jesus was beside both men.
To one, Jesus became hope.
To the other, Jesus became something to mock.
This is consistent with Scripture.
The same truth softens some and hardens others.
The same sun melts wax and hardens clay.
The difference is not in the sun.
The difference is in the material.
The Gospel is life to those who receive it.
But to those who resist it, even light can become judgment.
This is why hearing truth is serious.
Every sermon matters.
Every conviction matters.
Every appeal matters.
Every moment of light matters.
Because light accepted leads to more light.
Light rejected can lead to darkness.
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21. The Difference Between the Two Thieves
Let us compare them clearly.
The unrepentant thief
He wanted deliverance from pain.
He mocked Christ.
He did not confess sin.
He did not fear God.
He did not defend righteousness.
He did not ask for mercy.
He only wanted temporary rescue.
The repentant thief
He feared God.
He confessed guilt.
He admitted justice.
He defended Christ’s innocence.
He believed in Christ’s kingdom.
He asked for mercy.
He surrendered to the King.
Both were sinners.
But only one repented.
Both were near Christ.
But only one believed.
Both were dying.
But only one found life.
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22. The Thief’s Faith Was Not Dead Faith
Some people reduce the thief’s faith to a mere mental statement.
But his faith had works, even on the cross.
He could not walk.
He could not serve.
He could not be baptized at that moment.
He could not give money.
He could not repair his crimes.
But he did what he could.
He rebuked sin.
He confessed guilt.
He honoured Christ.
He witnessed to Christ’s innocence.
He appealed to Christ’s kingdom.
His faith was active according to the opportunity he had.
This is very important.
True faith always does what it can with the opportunity given.
God does not require from a dying man what he physically cannot do.
But God does require surrender of the heart.
The thief gave that.
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23. What If the Thief Had Lived?
This is a helpful question.
If the repentant thief had been taken down from the cross and survived, would he have followed Jesus?
The answer must be yes, if his repentance was genuine.
Would he have joined the believers?
Yes.
Would he have obeyed Christ’s commands?
Yes.
Would he have submitted to baptism if he had not already been baptized?
Yes.
Why?
Because true faith does not knowingly reject the Lordship of Christ.
This is the problem with misusing the thief.
Some people say:
“The thief was saved, so I do not need to obey.”
But the thief was not refusing obedience.
He was unable to perform future obedience.
There is a big difference.
Inability is not rebellion.
The thief had no opportunity.
Many people today have opportunity but use the thief as an excuse not to obey.
That is not the same heart.
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24. Salvation From Sin, Not Salvation In Sin
This must be made clear.
Jesus saves sinners from sin.
Matthew 1:21 says:
“Thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.”
It does not say merely:
He shall save His people while they continue comfortably in their sins.
Grace does not make peace with sin.
Grace forgives sin and transforms the sinner.
The repentant thief was not saved because theft was acceptable.
He was saved because he turned to Christ.
He did not have time to live out a reformed life, but his heart turned away from rebellion.
That is the issue.
A person saved at the last moment may not have time to show a long life of fruit.
But where time and opportunity exist, true faith bears fruit.
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25. The Danger of Using the Thief as an Excuse
Some people do not love the thief’s repentance.
They love his lack of opportunity.
They say:
“He was not baptized, so I do not need baptism.”
But they often ignore:
* his confession,
* his humility,
* his fear of God,
* his public defence of Christ,
* his acceptance of guilt,
* his surrender to the kingdom.
They want his promise without his repentance.
They want paradise without the broken heart.
They want Christ’s mercy without Christ’s Lordship.
That is a dangerous misuse of the passage.
The thief is not an example of careless religion.
He is an example of desperate surrender.
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26. Christ’s Mercy Is Greater Than Our Past
Now we must not preach this only as warning.
It is also full of hope.
The repentant thief had a terrible past.
He had wasted his life.
He had committed crimes.
He was under condemnation.
He had no way to fix his record.
Yet one honest cry to Christ received a royal answer.
This tells every sinner:
You are not too far if you will truly come.
Your past is not stronger than Christ’s grace.
Your sins are not greater than His blood.
Your failure is not beyond His mercy.
But come honestly.
Do not come defending sin.
Do not come mocking.
Do not come bargaining.
Come like the thief:
“Lord, remember me.”
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27. Christ Saves Personally
Jesus said:
“Verily I say unto thee…”
He answered the man personally.
In the middle of cosmic suffering, Jesus saw one sinner.
That is beautiful.
Christ was carrying the sins of the world, yet He did not ignore one repentant soul beside Him.
This shows the heart of Jesus.
He is not too occupied to hear a sinner’s cry.
He is not too holy to receive the broken.
He is not too wounded to show mercy.
He is the Saviour.
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28. Paradise Is Promised by Christ
Jesus promised:
“Thou shalt be with me in paradise.”
The greatest part of paradise is not merely the place.
It is being with Christ.
Jesus did not merely say:
You will enter paradise.
He said:
You will be with Me.
That is salvation.
To be with Christ.
Sin separates man from God.
Salvation restores man to God.
The thief asked to be remembered.
Jesus promised companionship.
That is grace overflowing.
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29. The Two Thieves Represent Two Classes of People
At the cross, humanity is divided.
Not by wealth.
Not by education.
Not by status.
Not by religious appearance.
But by response to Christ.
One side says:
“If You are Christ, serve my desires.”
The other says:
“Lord, remember me.”
One wants Christ to come down from the cross.
The other trusts Christ while He is on the cross.
One sees Jesus as useful only if He removes suffering.
The other sees Jesus as King even through suffering.
These are still the two responses today.
Some want Jesus only if He fixes earthly problems.
Others surrender because He is Lord.
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30. The Cross Reveals the Heart
The cross did not create the difference between the thieves.
It revealed it.
Pressure reveals what is inside the heart.
Suffering revealed one man’s bitterness.
Suffering revealed the other man’s repentance.
This is why trials are serious.
When life becomes hard, what comes out of us?
Mocking or prayer?
Excuses or confession?
Pride or humility?
Anger at God or surrender to God?
The two thieves show us that the same suffering can produce different responses depending on the heart.
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31. Last-Minute Repentance Is Possible, But Dangerous to Presume Upon
The repentant thief proves that last-minute repentance is possible.
The unrepentant thief proves that last-minute repentance is not guaranteed.
That is the balance.
One was saved at the end, so no one should despair.
One was lost at the end, so no one should presume.
Do not say:
“I will repent later.”
Later may come with a harder heart.
Later may come with a darker mind.
Later may come without desire for God.
The issue is not whether Christ will be merciful.
The issue is whether you will still want mercy after years of resisting Him.
That is why Scripture says:
“Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”
Not tomorrow.
Today.
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32. Baptism, Obedience, and the True Order
Let us set the order clearly.
We are not saved by human merit.
We are not saved because we can pay for sin.
We are not saved because baptism earns heaven.
We are not saved because obedience purchases forgiveness.
We are saved by grace through faith in Christ.
But true faith does not despise Christ’s commands.
Jesus said in John 14:15:
“If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
Baptism is not the enemy of grace.
Obedience is not the enemy of faith.
They are the fruit of a surrendered heart.
The thief had no time to show the full outward fruit of discipleship.
But he showed the inward root: repentance and faith.
Where there is time, the root produces fruit.
Where there is no time, God sees the root.
That is a balanced understanding.
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33. Do Not Use Mercy to Attack Obedience
This is one of the key lessons.
God’s mercy toward a dying man should not be used to attack God’s commandments for living men.
The thief’s cross should not become our excuse.
He was nailed.
We are not.
He had no opportunity.
We often do.
He did not refuse baptism.
Many refuse it.
He did not argue against obedience.
Many do.
He did not say, “I do not need to follow Christ.”
He said, “Lord, remember me.”
That is not rebellion.
That is surrender.
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34. The Cross Shows Both Justice and Mercy
At Calvary, justice and mercy meet.
The thieves were receiving punishment for their deeds.
Christ was suffering though He had done nothing wrong.
The guilty were dying for their own crimes.
The innocent was dying for the sins of the world.
One guilty man rejected the innocent Saviour.
One guilty man trusted the innocent Saviour.
This is the Gospel.
We are guilty.
Christ is innocent.
We deserve judgment.
Christ offers mercy.
But we must not mock Him.
We must turn to Him.
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35. The Repentant Thief Had a Theology of the Kingdom
Do not miss how deep his words were.
He said:
“When thou comest into thy kingdom.”
This means he believed:
* Jesus would live beyond death,
* Jesus had kingly authority,
* Jesus’ kingdom was real,
* Jesus could remember him in that kingdom,
* death would not stop Christ.
That is a profound confession.
Even the disciples were confused and scattered.
But this thief, in a dark hour, saw the truth.
Sometimes the most unlikely person sees Christ clearly.
Religious leaders mocked Him.
A criminal confessed Him.
This warns religious people not to trust position.
And it comforts sinners that Christ can open the eyes of the humble.
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36. The Unrepentant Thief Had a Self-Centred View of Christ
The first thief said:
“Save thyself and us.”
His concern was not God’s kingdom.
His concern was immediate escape.
He wanted Christ’s power without Christ’s rule.
That is still common.
People say:
Jesus, fix my problem.
Jesus, heal my body.
Jesus, improve my life.
Jesus, remove my suffering.
But they do not say:
Jesus, rule my heart.
Jesus, forgive my sin.
Jesus, change my life.
Jesus, remember me in Your kingdom.
Christ is not merely a tool for earthly comfort.
He is Lord.
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37. The Repentant Thief Accepted That He Could Not Save Himself
On the cross, his hands and feet were fixed.
He could not perform religious works.
He could not run.
He could not undo his crimes.
He could not make restitution.
He could not offer sacrifices.
He could not improve his reputation.
He could only turn to Christ.
This is why the passage crushes self-righteousness.
No one can boast before the cross.
The thief brought nothing but guilt and faith.
Christ gave him mercy.
But again, this does not destroy obedience.
It destroys merit.
There is a difference.
Obedience as fruit is biblical.
Obedience as payment for sin is impossible.
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38. The Thief’s Story Is Not Against Baptism; It Is Against Boasting
If someone uses the thief to say:
“I do not need to obey Christ,”
they have missed the point.
The thief shows that salvation is not earned.
But he does not show that Christ’s commands can be ignored.
The thief removes boasting.
He does not remove discipleship.
He shows mercy for the helpless.
He does not justify rebellion among the able.
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39. What About People Who Cannot Be Baptized?
The thief gives hope for extraordinary cases.
A person may truly repent where baptism is impossible:
* on a deathbed,
* in prison without access,
* in sudden crisis,
* in physical inability,
* in circumstances beyond control.
God knows the heart.
God is not cruel.
God is not limited by human inability.
But this comfort must not be twisted by those who are able but unwilling.
The issue is not whether God can save someone who cannot be baptized.
The issue is whether a person who refuses Christ’s command truly has the same repentant heart as the thief.
That is the real question.
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40. The Final Appeal
At the cross, there are two thieves.
Which one are we?
Are we near Jesus but still resisting?
Are we hearing truth but still hardening?
Are we asking Christ only to improve our circumstances?
Or are we saying:
“Lord, I am guilty.
Lord, You are righteous.
Lord, remember me.
Lord, rule over me.”
The story of the thief is not permission to delay.
It is a call to surrender now.
The repentant thief shows that no sinner is too far gone.
The unrepentant thief shows that no religious exposure can save a hardened heart.
One thief says: do not despair.
The other says: do not presume.
Christ is near.
Mercy is available.
But the heart must not harden.
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Conclusion
The thief on the cross is a beautiful testimony of grace, but it must be handled carefully.
It does not prove that baptism is meaningless.
It does not prove that obedience is unnecessary.
It does not prove that a person may knowingly reject Christ’s commands and still claim safety.
It does prove that Christ is merciful.
It proves that repentance can happen even at the edge of death.
It proves that salvation rests in Christ, not human merit.
It proves that the heart’s response to Jesus matters more than outward nearness to holy things.
And when both thieves are considered, the message becomes even stronger:
Two men were beside Jesus.
One mocked.
One repented.
One wanted escape.
One wanted mercy.
One remained hardened.
One surrendered.
One died near Christ but lost.
One died with Christ and was promised paradise.
So the question is not merely:
Was the thief baptized?
The deeper question is:
Which thief represents my heart?
May we not be the one who is close to Jesus outwardly but hardened inwardly.
May we be the one who confesses:
“We indeed justly…”
And who cries:
“Lord, remember me…”
And may we hear, by the grace of Christ, the promise of life in Him.
