From Passion to Post-Resurrection: The Penitent Thief

March 1989 embraces much on the church calendar: Passion (March 1–24), Prayer Day (March 8), Good Friday (March 24), Easter (March 26), and Post-Resurrection (March 27–31).

At first, March appears breathtaking; for a preacher, overwhelming. As a forebear once said, “The problem is not that there is so little to preach, but so much.”

Experientially too, March seems foreboding. What needs we have! How much is essential to worship God aright in March 1989! How far short our corrupt natures will surely come!

God’s people often fear that they shall stain the church’s festival occasions by offering unto the Lord no more than polluted bread, the blind, lame, and sick (Mal. 1:7–8) rather than the first-fruits of their heart.

Our first tendency is to be engulfed by our own impossibility. “Lord,” we sigh, “I would be most humbled and gratified if I might taste only one of March’s commemorative calls to worship by experientially:

• entering into Thy unfathomable sufferings as Substitute (Passion);

• praying in my prayers (Prayer Day);

• finding my life in Thy death (Good Friday);

• tasting my death in Thy life (Resurrection);

• experiencing the weaning of living by fleshly sight in order to live by spiritual faith (Post-Resurrection).

But to move experientally from Passion, through Prayer Day and Good Friday, to embrace Easter and Post-Resurrection — how shall it ever transpire?” How? From your side, never. You feel it already in the first days of March: You cannot enter into the sufferings and death of the precious Mediator as you would. Cannot pray as you would. Cannot bring yourself to experientially realize your need for Him as exalted, risen, and living Lord.

But with God all things are possible. He can do everything in one moment. The thief on the cross is a remarkable example. Experientially, the Lord moved him from passion to post-resurrection in far less than a month — indeed, in a matter of a few hours.

Passion

Early on Jesus’ dying day, the two thieves/murderers — one on His either side — cast accusations into His teeth. There was no substantial difference between them. They had committed the same crimes. Placed themselves in the same circumstances. Had the same wicked hearts that we all have by nature — oblivious to the law, hardened to the gospel.

The difference, the separation between these two thieves must be traced back to eternity. God is glorified both in the election of sinners and the reprobation of the ungodly. The sovereign, good pleasure of the almighty, triune God is the only sufficient explanation why that while one thief could not cease to blaspheme, the other could not continue speaking out against Christ. Simeon’s prophesy is vividly fleshed out in these two thieves: “Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel” (Lk. 2:34b).

Sovereignly, unconditionally, irresistibly, the Holy Spirit came to convict one thief of sin, righteousness, and judgment (Jn. 16:8–11). Sin became sin. “We receive,” he said to his partner in crime, “the due reward of our deeds” (Lk. 23:41b). Our deeds — everything came back: stolen goods; murders; blasphemies. Our deeds — he owned them all as his fault. He could say with David, “my transgressions,” and “against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned” (Ps. 51:1b, 4a). Our deeds — these two simple words became a summary of his whole life. Self and sin became the same thing within.

Righteousness became righteousness. He condemned himself (“we indeed justly” v. 41a) and justified Christ (“but this Man hath done nothing amiss,” v. 41c). Everything was right with Christ and wrong with himself. That’s the fruit of grace. Have you ever become a God-justifier and self-condemner simultaneously?

judgment became judgment. “Dost thou not fear God,” he states to his partner in crime, “seeing thou art in the same condemnation?” (v. 40b). He came before the tribunal of God as a lost sinner, stripped of all his righteousness, and felt himself worthy of death and hell. God’s tribunal became more solemn and weighty for him than the earthly court which had just sentenced him to death.

Convinced of sin, be became a lost sinner. Convinced of judgment, he became a wretched sinner. Convinced of righteousness, he became a condemned sinner. Death was written across all self-help methods. Everything of himself was nailed to the cross.

Sin, righteousness, judgment — shall not this make room for passion in a poor, convicted sinner’s heart? Oh, my friend, have parallel convictions made room in your heart for a suffering Messiah?

By the Spirit’s enlightenment, the penitent thief — stripped, guilty, dying, condemnable — was enabled to truly read the title above Christ’s head: “JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS”(Jn. 19:19b). His eyes were opened to the kingship and innocence of Christ. He was enlightened to see that the Man on the center cross was taking the place of more sinners than Barabbas. This Man was also God — He was King of kings!

The thief’s heart began to beat hard. The more he was allowed to meditate on Christ, the more he saw of eternal value in the passion of this King.

The inevitable thought arose: Could it be?… Possibly, remotely be?… Could He be a King, a Substitute for lost, guilty, wretched sinners like me?

No, never. Banish, suppress the thought. And yet… why was He dying so innocently? Why was God giving the innocent for the guilty?

Oh, this poor thief had nowhere else to go but to Jesus! And yet… he felt he had no right to come to Jesus, no feet to run to Him. In a word, he must have this Jesus, this King, yet he could not have Him. Justice would forbid it. Salvation became an impossible necessity and a necessary impossibility.

Have you been brought to this place where you confessed wholeheartedly: “I must be saved and I can’t be saved.” Holy necessity! Holy impossibility!

Then you can identify with this thief who came to an end of himself. You, too, like the thief, saw that you had chosen hell above heaven not only in Paradise, but also with your entire, daily life in thought, word, and action. You became what you were before God. Like the thief, you saw that you cut yourself off from God, and that justice seemed to be compelled to cut you off also.

Like the thief, only a sigh, a groan was left that Jesus might somehow take your place and remember you in mercy. Like the thief, your dire need for substitutionary-passion turned you to emergency-petition. Passion and Prayer Day became intertwined in his and your soul just as they intertwine on March’s calendar.

Prayer Day

The words burst from his heart. Nothing could keep them in — not even the enmity and mockery of the multitude: “Lord,” he cried out, “remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.”

With the simple address, “Lord,” this thief made a fourfold confession.

By faith he confessed Christ’s Godhead. “Lord” spells deity—deity when all that he had seen seemed to preach mere humanity! For the thief prayed “Lord” after Christ did not respond to the mockers’s challenge, “If Thou be the Son of God, come down…” — after he had seen Jesus nearly sink beneath the weight of the cross as He ascended the rugged heights of Golgotha — after His bleeding body was crowned with thorns, nailed to the cross and stripped of human dignity. Then too he cried “Lord” before the supernatural acts of the day — before the hours of darkness; before the loud, victorious cry, “It is finished”; before the rending of the veil, the quaking of the earth, and the confession of the centurion, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

By faith the thief proclaimed Jesus’ saviorhood. He had already claimed Jesus’ innocence. By crying out, “Lord,” this thief was confessing: “Jesus, I know that Thou art not on that center-cross for Thy own sins, for Thou art God and couldst destroy all enemies in one moment. Thou art suffering for others, Lord; oh, is it possible that Thou wouldst have one thought—just one thought of remembrance — for me? Canst and wilt Thou stoop so low, precious Savior, to remember a murderer like me?”

By faith the thief announced Jesus’ lordship. “Lord,” he prayed, as it were (and have you prayed with him?), “I know that Thou art the Savior, but I have no power to come to Thee. I have and am nothing but sin. My only hope is in Thee — ultimately in Thy supreme power, Thy lordship. Oh, almighty Lord, be Lord, be Almighty also in me and for me! Be stronger than I, stronger than sin. Lord, be Lord in me, through me, over me. Apply irresistibly as Lord what Thou art as Savior. Be both my meriting Savior and my applying Lord.”

By faith the thief asserted Jesus’ kingship. “Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.” In a few moments this thief saw more than the disciples had seen in three years. He saw Jesus as King —not of an earthly, but of a heavenly kingdom. Nor did he doubt that kingship/kingdom, as the disciples (“We trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel”). Not”if Thou comest,” but “when Thou comest,” was his confession.

“Lord” — Godhead, saviorhood, lordship, kingship. The thief already had prayer day in the first word of his prayer! Do you know prayer times that you could not get beyond this one word? Times when the word Lord was in itself a prayer day for you? Many who cry out, “Lord, Lord,” shall not enter in, but poor beggars who have no pleading grounds but “Lord, Lord,” shall enter in.

Good Friday

In his prayer, the thief had to die to himself in order to find life in a dying Jesus. Experientially, this alone enables us to call Jesus’ death day, Good Friday. When true prayer days lead to authentic Good Fridays our prayers become like the thief’s: humble, submissive, personal, brief, urgent.

Humble. “Remember me.” As it were, “Just one thought, Lord. I don’t pray, ‘Take me from the cross; choose me; bring me to heaven; give me a place in Thy kingdom.’ This is all far too much to ask. I only beg for one thought —one thought when Thou art in heaven and I am in hell. One thought is all I dare to request, but one thought from Thee shall be sufficient for time and eternity. Lord, grant one crumb from the Master’s table to this Gentile dog and I shall be satisfied.”

Submissive. “Remember me. Thou art King. My rights are finished. I have no ground, no ability, no right to pray. I have forfeited everything. But if Thou wilt just be my Intercessor to Thy Father in heaven with one thought, I shall be sufficed. Be Thou my Intercessor. Take up and take over my impossible case, Lord. Oh, to have Thee as my praying and thanking High Priest!”

Personal. “Remember me.” Now the thief loses his partner in crime and the multitude. The whole world in that sacred moment of prayerful prayer revolves around Jesus and himself. There is no one else. Everything is eminently personal, sacred, intimate.

Brevity. “Lord, remember me.” Three words said everything. Three words joined heaven (“Lord”) to need (“remember”) and the object of need (“me”). The thief asked for little, but nothing was missing. Have you, too, discovered that your shortest prayers are often your best — the ones which gain most contact with God Almighty? Oh, the short cries of God’s publicans, Bartimaeuses, Canaanitish women, and Phillipian jailors are worth more than the mountains of wordy, hypocritical petitionings we are so prone to offer!

Urgency. “Remember.” Time was running out. The request must be answered. The case was desperate. In a few hours he would be in eternity.

Waiting sinner, keep courage. God shall answer humble, submissive, personal, brief, and urgent petitioners who learn by grace to pin all their hope to Calvary’s cross.

Resurrection / Post- Resurrection

“Verily, I say unto thee, Today thou shalt be with Me in paradise” (v. 43).

Amazing grace! Astonishing proclamation! Every word of Jesus’

reply has divine authority. Each phrase is replete with meaning.

Today… in paradise! Jesus proclaims, as it were: “Thief, you ask for a thought, but I am promising you heaven. Heaven today! I hang here so that you may enter into glory with me. I shall die, arise, and see in you the travail of My soul and be satisfied (Is. 53:11). My death, resurrection, and post-resurrection precedes yours. I shall come to paradise, and so shall you. By faith and grace, you shall be buried with Me, rise with Me, and enter paradise as one of the elect Church whom I carry in My loins into the presence of My holy Father. My grace is sufficient for you.”

Sacred, unforgettable moment for the penitent thief! In the experiential realization of Jesus’ incredible words, his soul embraced by promise that which had not yet historically transpired: resurrection and ascension in and through Christ for an unworthy, murderous thief! By faith this thief may experience Israel’s shout of victory in Christ before the walls of Jericho fall. Before he dies literally, he experientially dies, rises, and ascends by way of embraced promise with Jesus. Nailed to the cross of death, it becomes Easter, yes, Post-Easter in his soul!

‘Thou… with Me!” With Christ — forever and ever. Oh, to be for an eternal “today” with Christ! That is paradise for the thief and for the true believer! To be with God and Christ in divine favor is everything.

Whom have I, Lord in heav’n but Thee,

To whom my thoughts aspire?

And, having Thee, on earth is nought

That I can yet desire.

— Psalter 203, stanza 3

“Thou with Me” — three simple words sum the whole of experiential longing (born through Spirit-worked misery), the whole of experiential embracing (born through Spirit-worked deliverance), the whole of experiential living (born through Spirit-worked gratitude). And that gratitude endures to all eternity!

“Thou with Me” — nothing is lacking

here. Not even assurance. For Jesus said, “Verily.” Verily means irrevocably; it is Jesus’ “Amen,” yes, ultimately the triune God’s “Amen” of justifying resurrection (Rom. 4:25) through His Son who is Himself “the Amen” of God. Whatever doubts may have entered the thief’s mind between the death of Jesus and his own death (and about these we can only speculate, for Scripture is silent), they were secondary to Christ’s verily.

“Thou with Me” — this envelops all true desire, all true possession, all true experiential preaching. In a word, “Thou with Me” is heaven. “Christ,” said Rabbi John Duncan, “is heaven’s heaven.” “Christ,” said another, “is the centerpiece of heaven.” And Samuel Rutherford said with reverence, “I would rather be in hell with Christ, were it possible, than to be without Him in heaven.” Simply put, he meant to say that where Christ is becomes heaven for the true believer.

Recently, I visited a widow who was settled comfortably in a well-decorated home. But when she commented on her home, she told me: “Despite the beauty of my home, every room is empty without my husband.” Dear friend, can you say that if Christ were not in heaven, you would have no desire to be there for all the mansions would be empty without Him? Is Christ heaven also for you? Do you long to be with Him as the crowning passion of your life? Are there moments where you may unite your prayer to Paul’s desire: “I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better”?

Oh, Christ is “far better” than the world! Far better than the best of yourself! Far better than all your ambitions, plans, hopes, and expectations!

“Thou with Me.” The nails of the thief were forgotten for a moment. And so were the nails of Jesus. He saw the travail of His soul and was satisfied! Heaven was tasted by both dying on the cross.

Dear child of God, pray that the Lord God may move you experientially this March from passion to post-resurrection as He did the thief on the cross. Bring your impossibilities to Him. Seek grace to carry your crosses (Mt. 16:24) and to cast your cares upon Him (1 Pet. 5:7), rather than our sinful nature’s tendency of casting our crosses away and carrying our cares.

If you look for true worship in yourself this March, you shall face guaranteed disappointment. There is nothing in you worthy of worshiping. God alone must be worshiped. He is worthy. Indeed, the very word “worship” is a shortened form of “worth-ship.” We are unworthy — radically, totally, condemnably unworthy. But God is worth (worthy of) everything — your heart, soul, mind, and strength. May you and I receive bowing, surrendering grace to give and leave all in divine hands through the suffering (Passion), praying (Prayer Day), dying (Good Friday), living (Easter), peace-applying (Post-Resurrection) Mediator. Blessed are they who can end nowhere else than in Christ for every church commemoration, and through Him, in God Triune!

Finally, let us not forget the warning also embedded in Jesus’ answer to the thief: “Today.” Today is a solemn word. The thief petitioned on the last day of his life. It was almost too late. For his partner in crime, it soon became too late.

God forbid that we trifle with our souls for eternity. Oh, my friends, young and old, “Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts” (Heb. 4:7b). Tomorrow may well be too late. Tomorrow’s faith is simply today’s unbelief. The word “yesterday” has slain its thousands, who assumed that they had sinned too much in the past for God to show mercy, but “tomorrow” has slain its tens of thousands, who intended to repent like trembling Felix, and yet procrastinated: “When I have a convenient season, I will call for thee” (Acts 24:25b). Luther said bluntly, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

Do not delay your need to seek for the grace of repentance. Do not wait, young people, until you are older. Bear in mind the well-known saying of an ancient church father, “One thief was saved that no sinner might despair; but only one, that no sinner might presume.”

“Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near” (Isaiah 55:6)

Dear friend, I wish you Godspeed experientially in Christ Jesus this March, 1989, for Jehovah’s Name sake.

Dr. J.R. Beeke is pastor of the Netherlands Reformed Congregation of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen