So there was this guy named Neil (let’s suppose), and he was a criminal…

Unfortunately for him, he lived in Judea in the days of the Roman empire.

Fortunately for him, he lived in the days when the Son of God Himself walked the earth.

Unfortunately for him, he didn’t get to meet Jesus until he was nailed to a cross next to him.

Fortunately for him, he realized the unique opportunity available to speak to His Messiah, despite the circumstances surrounding their meeting…

  And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

Luke 23:42

A lot of debate has been waged about this poor fellow Neil (again, let’s suppose that’s his name). People have used him to teach false doctrine, have held him up as a model to emulate and have practically deified the person. When really, there’s nothing in the Bible that invites us to hold this person up as a great example, certainly not when the Man Himself is five feet to his left. If anything, this so-called “thief on the cross” is an avatar for all of us. He’s not a special person, he’s a perfectly ordinary person in a special circumstance. His life is like ours: marred by sin and in need of a Savior. How remarkable are his circumstances that he was privileged to personally speak to the One who would die for him WHILE dying for him?

When people say to me they want to be saved like the thief on the cross, I wonder if they realize the irony in that statement.

After all, were are ALL sinners. In that sense we are all THIEVES. And we are all invited by Christ to take up our cross and follow Him.

Doesn’t that make all of us thieves on the cross?

The circumstances may change but our condition is the same: lost and in need of salvation.