Hebrews 11 is called The Faith Chapter. It listed people in the Bible, who displayed great faith in their lives. I agree with that list but are there others as well? I can think of people whose name should be right there with these giants of faith.
Luke 23: 39-43 tells about the thief who hung on the cross with Jesus and said, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.”Now don’t just read on past this statement. Think about how much faith this took. Here is a man who has been placed on a cross to die. He knows that he will not see another sunrise. This dead man turns to Jesus, who is another person that will be dead before the day is out. This is one condemned man talking to another condemned man about a future beyond that day.
Not only is he talking to Jesus about a future, but he is talking about Jesus as if he is a king. The thief just watched Jesus’s earthly possessions being divided up between the Roman guards and his robe gambled off to one of them. Jesus is hanging naked because he owns nothing now except the crown of thorns on his head. His followers are all scattered. He is the butt of everyone’s joke. The thief on the other side of Jesus sneers. “If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.”
The thief looks past the bloody, naked body of Jesus to his fellow thief. He has heard about Jesus. He knows what his teaching is and how blameless he is. Anger stirs within him and a sense of injustice pours forth. “Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.” Looking to the beaten face of Jesus, he says, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.”
Even the men who had followed Jesus for the last three years did not have the faith of this man. He knew that not only was there a future for Jesus, but that his future was as a King. He reached out to Jesus, his king, and asked to be remembered. Jesus honored this man’s faith.
Lord, give me such faith as to believe you for the impossible. You are the God of the impossible.
Photo Credit: Via Crucis 2010-5 by jj.figueroa
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I had never thought of the thief's faith before, but you're right, he was a man full of faith.
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