(Luke 23.)

Here is a thief dying for his crimes on a cross beside our Saviour. Within a few hours of His death he judges himself and justifies the Saviour whom all the world had condemned and hanged on the cross.

This thief then turns to the Saviour, in the hour of His deepest anguish and humiliation, and confesses His Lordship and true Kingly glory, and looks on to the establishment of His kingdom here in the place of His rejection. Then he commits himself to the Lord for that day.

Only a little while before he had joined with the other thief, and with the crowd around the cross, in deriding Him and in railing against Him. But in a short time a marvelous change has taken place in him; and now when everyone is against Christ in the religious world-when men who were enemies were made friends because so perfectly united in their determination to destroy Him-when the orthodox Pharisee and the heterodox Sadducee are united in their condemnation of Him-when the chief priests and other rulers of the nation with the common people united in condemning Him-when His own disciples had fled and forsaken Him, and one of them had betrayed Him-when the secular world was against Him with its king and governor and soldiers; yea, when all the world had cast Him out and condemned Him, then in the face of everyone's judgment, on that solemn occasion was heard the voice of this thief, reversing the whole world's judgment by boldly and fully declaring before all the Saviour's absolutely spotless character, " This Man hath done nothing amiss" (ver. 41).

The perfect grace of Jesus awoke this thief to righteousness. He hears Him praying for His murderers, who, in the hours of His anguish, thinks of others and prays for them ; even thinks of His mother and makes provision for her. How high above the creature He appears in this terrible hour; in His thoughtfulness for others; in His calmness and patience!

Across this dark scene faith sees plainly written the proofs of His true Deity; and faith had begun to assert itself in the heart of this thief. In a scene where unbelief sees nothing but that which calls forth scoffing and reproach, his faith sees the outshining of Jesus' Godhead glory. He learns that if
he and his companion will spend their last hours reviling the Saviour, the Saviour will spend His last hours praying for His revilers and murderers!

Who can fathom the depths of that love and pity of God displayed in the Saviour's death on the cross? Is it not enough to break the hard heart of a railing thief, and bow him adoringly at the Saviour's feet ? Is it not enough to turn his taunting into praying ? his hatred into love ?

The last official act in Luke's account is the nailing above the Lord's head His accusation. All that man could do to insult and persecute the Son of God has been done, and the solemn time has come-those hours of darkness when God's wrath against sin comes in unto His holy soul ; when the spotless Sufferer is "made sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21)-but man could be no spectator now, so all is shrouded in deepest, darkness.
But to return a moment to the mighty change which has come over this thief:he rebuked his fellow, saying, "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."

He has changed his company, and this puts him in sympathy with the Man all the world is against. He is now the godly man rebuking the ungodly. He has the fear of God which drives out the fear of man. He is among the righteous now, and such are "bold as a lion," while " the wicked flee when no man pursueth " (Prov. 28:i). This puts him in the company of the blessed, for "Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord"; and it also makes him wise, for "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom " (Ps. 112:1; Prov. 9:10).

He says,'' We receive the due reward of our deeds " and are justly condemned.

This shows that He is in the light of God, for " that which doth make manifest is light " (Eph. 5 :13). Conscience is at work and like another before him he owns he is a man of unclean lips.

" But this Man hath done nothing amiss" (ver.41).

How wonderful and how blessed! He condemns himself and justifies the Saviour. He is one of wisdom's children; and "Wisdom is justified of all her children" (Luke 7 :35).

Moreover, " He said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom " (ver. 42).

He has just confessed His spotless humanity; but in this verse he takes another step forward. He sees in this spotless Man his Lord and King although crowned with thorns and hanging helplessly on the cross, the object of man's scorn and mockery. In faith he looks on to the time when this Man, hanging on the cross, will come in glory and establish His kingdom in this world, the scene of His humiliation. What wondrous grace in the Saviour's reply, " Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with Me in paradise! " (ver. 43).

Notice how He answers the desire rather than the expression of it. The Lord has not come in His kingdom yet. But the believing sinner does not need to wait for that, nor is there a long unconscious sleep, as some would teach, in the grave and in separation therefore from the Saviour. " Today shalt thou be with Me" is the Saviour's promise.

Here is the Good Shepherd that went after the sheep that was lost until He found it. On the cross is where He overtakes this hopeless wanderer; and He brings him back, not to man's original blessedness in innocence, but into His glory and likeness, and makes him a joint-heir with Him who is the Heir of all things.

Thus a man that was not only unfit for heaven, but unfit for earth, becomes the companion of the Son of God at once and for all. By what title ? He has confessed a title to nothing but judgment in himself. There can be no blessing for him on the ground of his works. He has none but wicked works. This he owns fully.
His exemption from judgment, and title to glory, is that the Saviour there by his side has borne his judgment. His blood becomes his title to glory as well as justification from all his guilt.

" None of the ransomed ever knew
How deep were the waters crossed,
Nor how dark was the night that, the Lord passed through,
Ere He (bund His sheep that was lost."

" And you, that were sometime1 alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight . . . Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light" (Col. i:21,22,12). Peter Van Winkle