The Thief on the Cross
How much did the thief on the cross know about Jesus and salvation? What was the content of his belief in Jesus? Some appeal to the thief as support for modern evangelistic methods and messages that proclaim a person is saved based only on such limited evidence as the person repeating a prayer and/or 'asking Jesus to come into one's heart'. These appeals are often stated this way, "A person has to know only what the thief on the cross knew about Jesus". Without other Scripture passages, this passage (Lu 23:40-43) cannot be used as a definitive statement for what one needs to know in order to believe. This is because we cannot determine all that the thief knew and what he did not know. There are, however, descriptive verses that tell us what a person needs to know so he can believe in Jesus for salvation. By going to those passages for instruction on what one must believe to be saved, we avoid the mistake of determining theology by Biblical stories. In doing so we can allow Scriptural prescriptions to explain those stories.
So, can any information be assigned to the thief's knowledge about Jesus? Our acquaintance with the thief is limited to when he was being crucified. However, during this time, he was in a position to have learned much about Jesus. If he listened to the conversations that took place while he was on the cross, the following are some things he knew:
- The thief knew Jesus wanted those who put Him on the cross to be forgiven - Jesus had prayed for their salvation (Lu 23:34).
- He heard about Jesus' claim to rebuild the temple in three days (Matt 27:40; Mk 15:29).
- He heard Jesus was known to have performed miracles in the lives of others (Mt 27:42; Mk 15:30-31; Lu 23:35).
- He knew God is to be feared by sinners (Lu 23:40).
- He knew Jesus had said He was the Son of God (Matt 27:43).
- He knew there was a claim that Jesus is the King of the Jews (Mt 27:29; Mk 15:26; Lu 23:38), the King of Israel (Mt 27:42; Mk 15:32), and the Christ (Messiah) (Mk 15:32; Lu 23:39).
Besides the above things, we know the following about the thief:
- The thief acknowledged himself as a sinner (Lu 23:41).
- The thief knew Jesus had not committed a crime (Lu 23:41).
- He knew and believed Jesus was a ruler and had a spiritual kingdom (Lu 23:42).
- He knew and believed Jesus would rise from death and could influence his eternity (Lu 23:42-43).
Based on this, we conclude the thief had some knowledge of who Jesus is. His resulting faith in Jesus was based on this knowledge as well as any other things he had learned about Jesus while on the cross and before being put on a cross along side of where Jesus was being crucified.
Apart from other things that may be indicated in these passages, we can only speculate what else the thief knew; but to speculate is contrary to our purpose of going to the Word of God to see what it says about salvation and evangelism. Though we cannot determine all the thief knew or did not know, we can be confident the thief had knowledge of all that was necessary for him to believe in order to be saved. Since salvation is the same for all people of all ages, we can be certain that the thief knew all that the prescriptive passages teach is necessary for a person to know and believe.
To read how a person can be saved, go to How to Go to Perfect Peace.
