Luke 23:32-43 - The Thief - March 30, 2022

Something’s always bothered me about this thief on the cross: why do people look up to him? Have you ever urged someone to repent, to return to church, to return to their confirmation vow and had them appeal to the thief on the cross? Especially delinquent or lapsed Christians seem to be strangely drawn to this thief – almost as a role model. Why is that? Does it soothe our guilty consciences to know that while we have sinned – at least we haven’t been sentenced to death? Is it because his example gives us the delusional hope that there will always be time later to repent and believe – so that we don’t have to do it now? There are two very good reasons why no one should idolize this thief. 1) First, he’s nailed to a cross – meaning: he must have committed and been convicted of some heinous crime to be executed in such a cruel fashion. 2) Second, and more importantly, Matthew tells us that even the criminals (both of them) who were crucified with him kept insulting him (Matthew 27:44), joining in with the taunt of the crowds, if you are the Son of God, come down from the cross (Matthew 27:43). This taunt relates to our theme for this year’s Lenten services: If Jesus is really the Son of God, why doesn’t he use his divine power to save himself – and, while he’s at it, us too? Don’t thoughts like that often run through our minds when we’re sitting at the kitchen table staring at a pile of bills we can’t pay; when we are struggling with some difficult or painful decision; when we are sick and suffering or when we are standing at the grave of someone we love? How can Jesus be the Son of God if all he can do is hang helplessly on a cross – and, if he can’t even save himself, how can he save us?

Proverbs says there is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it is the road to death (Proverbs 14:12). The cry if you are the Son of God, come down from the cross is a distillation, a summary of humanity’s natural religion; it’s the way we naturally think about God. The crowds, the chief priests and elders, even the crucified thieves rejected Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God because he didn’t fit their template of what God should be and do. They expected the Son of God, the Messiah to reveal himself in big, powerful, spectacular ways – not to hang helplessly on a cross. And didn’t they have every reason to expect that from Jesus? After all, he had given glimpses of his glory throughout his ministry. Even the thieves might have heard that Jesus had turned water into wine (John 2:1-11); cleansed lepers (Luke 17:11-19), cast out demons (Luke 11:14-26), calmed storms (Luke 8:22-25) and even raised the dead – not just once, but at least three times (Luke 7:11-17; Luke 8:40-56; John 11:1-44). Didn’t they have every reason to expect that if this guy really was the Son of God he could not only save himself from an agonizing death on a cross but them too?

But what did they see instead? A pitiful, pathetic excuse for a man hanging limply from a tree; his hands and feet bleeding just like ours would if someone drove nails through them. A man whose closest friends had abandoned him. A man who had been condemned by both the religious establishment and the governing authorities. A man who was mocked and ridiculed by perfect strangers passing by on the road. A man who appeared to be under God’s curse. Can you blame them for rejecting his claims? What reasonable person would accept that this convict hanging from a tree could possibly be the Son of God?

Here's the thing: while the way that is reasonable and rational might seem right – as Solomon declared, it ends only in death. With regard to Jesus, especially Jesus hanging on a cross, reason and logic will always be wrong. The thieves wanted Jesus to prove that he was God’s Son by coming down from the cross; Jesus proved that he was God’s Son by staying on it. Jesus shows us that God doesn’t do things our way. In fact, this is without question the biggest hurdle that must be crossed to go from the darkness of unbelief to the light of faith: the foolishness of the cross. That pitiful figure on the cross is concrete proof of the truth Paul spelled out in his letter to the Corinthians: God chose the foolish things of the world to put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world to put to shame the things that are strong, and God chose the lowly things of the world and the despised things, and the things that are not, to do away with the things that are, so that no one may boast before God (1 Corinthians 1:27-29). Or as the only disciple who had the courage to stand at the foot of the cross, John, later wrote: this is the one who came by water and blood: Jesus Christ…this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son (1 John 5:6, 11).

But something came over this thief – something caused him to change his mind about Jesus. Was it Jesus’ glorious appearance or powerful actions? No – there was none of that on Calvary. Did the thief simply decide to accept Jesus into his heart? No, it’s difficult to think of someone more hardened in unbelief than a man who will ridicule the guy on the cross next to him when he knows he’s going to be meeting his Maker in a matter of hours. So what can account for the change, for the thief’s conversion? Paul explains: faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through the word of Christ (Romans 10:17). While the thief’s eyes and brain deceived him; his ears did not. He heard Jesus look at his mockers and pray Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34). Yes, he heard Jesus cry out in the midst of his deepest agony my God, my God, why have you forsaken me (Matthew 27:46), but he never heard Jesus curse God, blame God or deny God. Just the opposite: he never lost his faith or trust in God. This is God at his absolute greatest and most glorious: hanging, dying on a cross. It’s horrible and beautiful at the same time, isn’t it? God has given us eternal life – by condemning his Son to eternal death. The thief was finally truly seeing God, not in a miraculous escape from the cross, not in power or glory – but in the form of a Suffering Servant, who came to save sinners by water and blood (1 John 5:6).

The thief had heard the truth – both from the lips of Jesus and from the lips of his enemies. And the truth is that Jesus was determined to give his life to save humanity – no matter the pain or the cost. As long as the thief judged Jesus with his reason and logic, he was not only a dying man – he was a man headed for eternal death. But when the Word entered the thief’s ears and mind and heart, he became a changed man, crying and confessing and pleading all at once: “Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same condemnation? We are punished justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for what we have done, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Proof from the lips of a condemned man that Jesus truly is the perfect Son of God. Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.” Jesus heard his confession and without hesitation announced: Amen I tell you: Today you will be with me in paradise. From hell to heaven in a matter of minutes.

Here's the point: we don’t need to look up to the thief as much as we need to see ourselves in him. 1) We too by nature reject the apparently humble, weak ways in which God works in our world and our lives. Some words spoken by a sinful man; some ordinary water, bread and wine - this is really how God reveals and applies his power and glory? These things are supposed to grant forgiveness of sins and eternal life? But just like for that thief, the Holy Spirit applied his almighty power through those humble means of grace to change us, to convert us, to carry us over the hurdle of the cross from rejection to repentance. 2) Even the thief’s words mirror our own, don’t they? He said we are punished justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for what we have done. We confessed moments ago: I confess to God Almighty, before the whole company of heaven, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned in thought, word, and deed; by my fault, by my own fault, by my own grievous fault. Whether those words are spoken by a thief from a cross or by middle class Americans in a climate-controlled sanctuary – that’s what repentance looks and sounds like. 3) Just like that thief, our only hope of escape from eternal death lies in the fact that Jesus’ prayer Father, forgive them (Luke 23:34) apply to us as well. 4) Finally, our plea isn’t so much different from his, either. He said Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom. We pleaded I pray for God Almighty to have mercy on me, forgive me all my sins and bring me to everlasting life. And, as evidence that God’s grace is beyond measure, just as Jesus promised that thief that today you will be with me in paradise, so you assured me and I assured you that the almighty and merciful Lord [has] granted you pardon, forgiveness, and remission of all your sins.

So, I guess, in the end, we can look up to that thief on the cross. No, we shouldn’t imitate his life of crime or his mockery and ridicule of Jesus. No, we shouldn’t entertain the delusion that there will always be time to repent later – because tomorrow is guaranteed to no one. Instead, we can look up to that thief as an illustration of how God has treated us. God applied the power of his Word and Sacrament on us to lead us across the void from rejection to repentance and faith. We can and we should emulate his honest, unconditional repentance; his confession of sins and his plea for mercy. And, best of all, we should receive with joyful and believing hearts the truth that because the Son of God suffered on a cross for our sins, we too will be with him in paradise. I guess I was wrong; you can learn a lot from a thief. Amen.