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

I mentioned yesterday how people say they want to be saved like the thief on the cross. What they mean is “I want to be saved without having to be baptized.”

But who says the thief wasn’t baptized?

Everyone in Judea was commanded to be baptized and only the pompous Pharisees seemed to have a problem with it, and they could have been told to drink a glass of water and they would have argued. People get all up in arms about it today, but in the first century, no one minded being commanded to be baptized (and people were commanded…Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, Acts 10:48) because it was already a command they’d heard of. Ceremonial washings and immersions and such were common place. John the Baptizer (guess how he got that nickname) commanded people in the days preceding Jesus’ ministry to be baptized. And people all over Judea obeyed it.

Who says the thief wasn‘t one of them? He certainly knew a little something about the message of John and Jesus (the kingdom).

Now, I don’t know that he was, but as we’ll notice tomorrow…it doesn’t matter anyway…