Jesus and the Repentant Thief

In the image above by Scott the Painter, we see Jesus’ pierced hand reaching out to the pierced hand of the repentant thief. It reminds me of the Michelangelo painting ‘The Creation of Adam’ in which God is reaching His hand out to Adam. In Scott’s image, I see that same action.

This moment with the repentant thief is a re-creation moment. Jesus is the new Adam and in this moment is becoming The Way, helping us do the same, something we can’t do on our own.

In this story we see a foil of responses. One thief mocks Jesus just as the soldiers had, even as he hangs on a cross beside Jesus. He is hard-hearted and self-protecting. The repentant thief, on the other hand, sees the reality of what is happening and his response is one of honesty. In Luke 23:41 he says, “We are suffering justly, because we are getting what we deserve for what we have done; but this man has done nothing wrong.” He is honest about his actions and seems to know Jesus is innocent. This confession borne out of honesty allows him to ask in verse 42: “Jesus, remember me when you come into Your kingdom!” and Jesus answers him in verse 43: “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

What?! The religious leaders and scholars of the day were spending unending hours working to please God and get into heaven, to get it right with literally hundreds of rules they kept to. How is it that, in his last moments of life, Jesus promises this thief paradise? I think his confession (saying what he believed) and his trust in Jesus (as evidenced by his request) allow him to receive this invitation. He believed Jesus was the king going to His kingdom and he wanted to be WITH Him.

How does this speak into our own lives? We are also invited by Jesus. He is waiting for our ‘yes’.

Where in your life are you self-promoting or self-protecting? Where are you working so hard to achieve out of your own energy or hiding due to fear? All our striving (or doing for God) isn’t the same as being WITH Him. Hiding due to fear is keeping Him at arm’s length. Neither of these result in transformation. God wants you to be the new Adam--it’s why Jesus came. He unlocked the power (the Holy Spirit) and it’s available to all. We can allow this transformation by confessing those places we are keeping Him out of and inviting Him in. It may be that God is inviting you into doing less and instead being with Him more. It may be that He wants to walk you out of fear and into trust of Him. Whatever the invitation is, it always leads deeper in relationship with Him.

The repentant thief was welcomed into paradise with Jesus because he wanted to go. Do you?