There are two great issues we have before us. One is our relationship with God that we come to Christ (our vertical relationship) and we go for Christ in our relationship with others (our horizontal relationship). This is what scripture tells us are of the upmost important – to love God with all your heart (action), with all your soul (being), and with all your mind (thoughts). This forms the cross, our love for God and our love for others.
Jesus said unless you are born again you cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. It is fascinating that the book of Isaiah outlines the science of the steps of conversion (salvation).
Isaiah 6:1-8 King James Version (KJV)
6 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. He sees God, he sees Him on His throne. He sees the Lord in the year that his king died. That’s interesting, the good King Uzziah.
2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. What would you do if you saw something like was described? Isaiah saw the glory and holiness of God and he was overwhelmed.
5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Isaiah repents and confesses his sins because he sees the goodness of God and the power of God.
6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. What a beautiful story, as soon as he sees God Isaiah confesses, repents, his iniquity is taken away and his sins are purged. After his sins are cleansed, it says in verse 8:
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. When one comes to the Lord, repents and the cleansing comes – you are able to hear God speak in a different way. It’s like when Christ came out of the water, God’s voice could be heard. God speaks to us and guides us into a new way through His Spirit. This starts with Isaiah seeing the Lord and ends with going for the Lord. Salvation really begins with us seeing God. The Bible tells us the goodness of God leads us to repentance.
It is summed up in that first Isaiah saw the Lord, and not only did he see the Lord, the Bible tells us he saw the Lord in the year his king died. You know, it is at the cross we see the Lord the best, 2000 years ago Jesus successfully culminated the plan of salvation by living a sinless life and dying on our behalf. When we see what God has really done for us it has transformational power. God so loved us that He allowed His sinless Son to go through that we might be redeemed. That is the key to revival of the heart. Let’s go to that scene.
There are really only two options, life or death. When Jesus was crucified, He was crucified between two thieves. Those two thieves represent all of humanity.
Luke 23:39-56:
39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
This story of the 11th hour conversion gives a lot of people hope. I don’t recommend that anyone waits until the 11th hour before they make the decision to come to the Lord. There is only one example of an 11th hour conversion in the Bible so nobody needs to lose hope, but keep in mind there is ONLY ONE example of an 11th hour conversion – so nobody dare presume. People who plan to wait until the 11th hour of their life before they surrender their life to the Lord usually doesn’t work out that way. We don’t know when we might die or die suddenly. It is better to give the best to the Lord now and it’s better to live the Christian life versus taking a chance on waiting and then (if you reach then) offer the Lord your leftovers before you drop-off in the grave. There are people that have accepted Jesus on their death bed and I’m sure they will be in the kingdom, but you don’t want to plan your life that way.
The conversion of the one thief takes place at the cross. One of the great passages, Galatians 2:20: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” There were only a couple of people crucified with Christ literally…two thieves…and one was saved.
These two thieves represent all that have ever lived. They are guilty of rebellion and murder. They are called rebels and malfactors (murderers). They worked with an accomplice named Barabbas. Barabbas was like a counterfeit messiah, he was going to deliver the people of Israel with violence. He may have belonged to a group of zealots, kind of like a local Robin Hood attacking the Romans and robbing from them and trying to be a hero with the people.
You know, we are all rebels like both of those thieves that were crucified. All of us have rebelled against God and like sheep have gone astray, turning our own way. The story also tells us the thieves were robbers, we’re guilty of robbery too. We rob God of the time, life, and gifts He has given us and squander them selfishly. It is interesting, right around the scene of the cross there was a self-identified apostle and he pretended to be a righteous apostle (Barabbas) – but it turned out he was a thief and he was lost. Then hanging next to Jesus was a thief and he becomes a disciple through the words he spoke of Christ, and he is saved.
These two thieves were also guilty of murder. We are told by Jesus if anyone is angry at his brother without a cause – he is then guilty of murder. We can have homicide in our hearts, so it can be an attitude that we have. We also learn from this story that they could do nothing to save themselves. Here they are, they are under a death sentence like all of us. They are guilty of robbery, murder, and taking His name in vain. Jesus was on the cross for 6 hours alive and one hour dead, for a total of 7 hours. Very interesting. The last hour on the cross He was resting. During the hours prior to His death the thieves engage Him to use His powers to save them, but as the hours went on something changed in the heart of one of the thieves. What happened to that thief that changed him? He did five things:
- he beheld the evidences. Just like when Isaiah saw the Lord, we are lifted up…something changes. We are drawn to Christ. Just as Moses was instructed to make a bronze serpent to hold up in the midst of the Israelites (who had been bitten by poisonous snakes) and those who looked up in faith that God would heal them – were healed. Jesus said as Moses lifted up the serpent, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. Just as John the Baptist said, behold the Son of God…something just happens to us when we see Him – our eyes are opened in a special way. Isaiah was converted when he saw the Lord, and Paul on the road to Damascus was converted when he saw the Lord. Zacchaeus wanted to see the Lord and when he did was converted. When we see God in His goodness, then that leads to repentance and other steps in the process. The thief was lifted up in the year he saw his King die. The thief beheld the evidence and saw a contrast between Christ and Barabbas. That thief was a witness to the trial of Jesus before Pilot. There were three crosses prepared that day, and Barabbas was supposed to die on one of them. Pilate thought he could get Jesus set free. Pilot didn’t want to have Him crucified. Pilot’s wife warned him not to do anything against that just man (referring to Christ). Pilate thought by taking the hardened criminal Barabbas and set him next to Jesus who had already been beaten, the people would have empathy and let Jesus go…but it didn’t work that way. He heard Pilate say, “I don’t find any fault with Him.” Well, this thief was watching all these events unfold before his eyes. He witnessed the actions of the religious leaders in their demand for Barabbas; and as a result of that it made an impression on him. He saw the title above Jesus’ head, The Kind of the Jews. He saw the darkness of the day. He heard Jesus say, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” He heard Jesus say, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?” These events caused the thief to have an epiphany and affected his mind and heart.
Note: Jesus didn’t think he was forsaken by the Father, He was not discouraged. Jesus was quoting a Messianic psalm in Psalms 22:1, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” The high priest would read one of these psalms during the Passover. Jesus was not only the Passover Lamb, He was the Passover Priest and He recited this Messianic psalm. Let’s look at what it says later on it the psalm. Verses 7-8: All who see me sneer at me;
They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying,
8 “Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him;
Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”
Picking up at verse 12: For dogs have surrounded me;
[n]A band of evildoers has encompassed me;
[o]They pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones.
They look, they stare at me;
18 They divide my garments among them,
And for my clothing they cast lots.
- he believes the evidence. The thief acts upon the evidence before him and asks Jesus for help. He settles the faith in his mind. You may ask, what separated this thief from the other…both need to be saved. The other thief said, “If you are the Savior, save yourself and us.” The key word is “if”, he really didn’t believe. What did the Devil say to Jesus in the wilderness, “if” you are the Son of God… Just like Jesus told the father that brought his son before Him who was possessed by a demon that was thrashing him around said, “if you can do anything”; but Jesus stopped him and said “all things are possible if YOU believe”. The father said, “I believe, help my unbelief.” We can say that same prayer. Remember, God can work with the faith of a mustard seed.
- he broadcast the evidence. The thief took courage and spoke up and said something about it. This thief responded to the other thief and said, Luke 23:40-41, “40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. So the thief confessed his true condition. Romans 10:10 says, “10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. The thief overcame that day and gave testimony to Jesus with his words. Revelation 12:11 says, “11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
- he beseeched Christ. The thief declared Jesus to be Lord and King, when he asked Jesus to remember him. Luke 23:42 says, “42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. Just like the thief, we must accept Jesus as our Lord and King, and let him reign in our life. Paul said “let not sin reign”. Once a person surrenders their heart to the Lord, sin will no longer reign, but Jesus does. Paul also said “don’t let sin have dominion over you” which is kingly language. We only have two kingdoms in this world, we either serve Jesus or the enemy. There is no other option, Jesus said you are with me or you are against me. Jesus also said we cannot serve two masters. The thief did not ask for relief from his present earthly circumstances, rather he asked Jesus to change his eternal circumstances. The thief recognized his greater need then any temporary comfort. What is a monumental point, it that just prior to the cross – Jesus told his disciples that they would all forsake Him and flee…and they all in fact stood afar off and even denied knowing him. The long testimony of Jesus’ divinity from the cross came from this thief. How marvelous is that, how courageous is that, how much faith did that take? Did Jesus look like a King, Lord, Savior, with His beaten body hanging on the cross, a criminal declaration above His head, hands/feet nailed to the cross? And yet, this thief recognizes in Christ all of them…King, Lord and Savior.
- he became. The thief embraced Christ and became a changed person. He wasn’t saved by any good deed…that was impossible for he was also hanging on a cross. He was saved because he became a new creature with his faith in Christ. That was demonstrated by his interaction with Jesus as we spoke of. Jesus LOOKS like He is at His most helpless point in life, He is hanging on a cross suspended between heaven and earth, He is imprisoned on the cross; and the Devil thinks he’s got Jesus where he finally wants him. You see, every other time in Jesus’ life (when the crowd tried to stone Him, when they tried to toss Him of the cliff in Nazareth, etc.) the Father protected Jesus. From the time of Gethsemane, the Father withdrew His protection. However, nothing stopped Jesus from saving that thief, for we are told he came to save the lost.
Note: The last one to engage Jesus was a thief. The first one at the tomb, was a prostitute. Jesus is telling us that there is hope for every sinner, no matter what your sins are.
- AND THEN he was blessed. 43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee Today, shalt thou be with me in paradise. What a promise. Jesus declared and promised that day, that the thief at that moment, he was saved. You can go through anything when you know of the promise that lies ahead. In the final moments of Jesus’ life in this world, He saved a thief. Don’t you want to be with Christ in paradise? The cross will lead you home.
This thief goes through conversion on the cross. We can for sure apply these principles to our heart, asking God to help us through these steps, RECEIVE the blessing and secure your salvation.