Men of the Bible Part 16

Judas felt so bad over the betrayal of his Master that he went out and hanged himself; but he did not confess to G.o.d. True, he went and confessed to the priests, saying, "I have sinned in that I have betrayed innocent blood"; but it was of no use to confess to them --they could not forgive him.

How different is the case of this penitent thief! He confessed his sins, and Christ had mercy on him there and then.

The great trouble is, people are always trying to make out that they are not sinners, that they have nothing to confess. Therefore, there is no chance of reaching them with the Gospel. There is no hope for a man who folds his arms and says: "I don't think G.o.d will punish sin; I am going to take the risk." There is no hope for a man until he sees that he is under just condemnation for his sins and shortcomings. G.o.d never forgives a sinner until he confesses.

JUSTIFYING CHRIST.

The next thing, he justifies Christ: "This Man hath done nothing amiss."

When men are talking against Christ, they are a great way from becoming Christians. Now he says, "He hath done nothing amiss."

There was the world mocking him; but in the midst of it all, you can hear that thief crying out:

"This Man hath done nothing amiss."

FAITH.

The next step is faith.

Talk about faith! I think this is about the most extraordinary case of faith in the Bible. Abraham was the father of the faithful; but G.o.d had him in training for twenty-five years. Moses was a man of faith; but he saw the burning bush, and had other evidences of G.o.d.

Elijah had faith; but see what good reason he had for it. G.o.d took care of him, and fed him in time of famine. But here was a man who perhaps had never seen a miracle; who had spent his life among criminals; whose friends were thieves and outlaws; who was now in his dying agonies in the presence of a crowd who were rejecting and reviling the Son of G.o.d. His disciples, who had heard His wonderful words, and witnessed His mighty works, had forsaken Him; and perhaps the thief knew this. Peter had denied Him with oaths and cursing; and perhaps this had been told the thief. Judas had betrayed Him. He saw no glittering crown upon His brow; only the crown of thorns. He could see no sign of His kingdom. Where were His subjects? And yet, nailed to the cross, racked with pain in every nerve, overwhelmed with horror, his wicked soul in a tempest of pa.s.sion, this poor wretch managed to lay hold on Christ and trust Him for a swift salvation. The faith of this thief, how it flashes out amid the darkness of Calvary! It is one of the most astounding instances of faith in the Bible!

When I was a boy I was a poor speller. One day there came a word to the boy at the head of the cla.s.s which he couldn't spell, and none of the cla.s.s could spell it. I spelled it; by good luck; and I went from the foot of the cla.s.s to the head. So the thief on the cross pa.s.sed by Abraham, Moses and Elijah, and went to the head of the cla.s.s. He said unto Jesus:

"Lord, remember me when thou comest into Thy kingdom."

Thank G.o.d for such a faith! How refres.h.i.+ng it must have been to Christ to have one own Him as Lord, and believe in His kingdom, at that dark hour! How this thief's heart goes out to the Son of G.o.d!

How glad he would be to fall on his knees at the foot of the cross, and pour out his prayer! But this he cannot do. His hands and feet are nailed fast to the wood, but they have not nailed his eyes and his tongue and his heart. He can at least turn his head and look upon the Son of G.o.d, and his breaking heart can go out in love to that One who was dying for him and dying for you and me, and he can say:

"Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom."

WHAT A CONFESSION

of Christ that was! He called Him "Lord." A queer Lord! Nails through His hands and feet, fastened to the cross. A strange throne!

Blood trickling down His face from the scars made by the crown of thorns. But He was all the more "Lord" because of this.

Sinner, call Him "Lord" now. Take your place as a poor condemned rebel, and cry out:

"Lord, remember me!"

That isn't a very long prayer, but it will prevail. You don't have to add--"when Thou comest into Thy kingdom," because Christ is now at His Father's right hand. Three words; a chain of three golden links that will bind the sinner to his Lord.

Some people think they must have a form of prayer, a prayer-book, perhaps, if they are going to address the Throne of Grace properly; but what could that poor fellow do with a prayer-book up there, hanging on the cross, with both hands nailed fast? Suppose it had been necessary for some priest or minister to pray for him, what could he do? n.o.body is there to pray for him, and yet he is going to die in a few hours. He is out of reach of help from man, but G.o.d has laid help upon One who is mighty, and that One is close at hand. He prayed out of the heart. His prayer was short, but it brought the blessing. It came to the point: "Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom." He asked the Lord to give him, right there and then, what he wanted.

THE ANSWERED PRAYER.

Now consider the answer to his prayer. He got more than he asked, just as every one does who asks in faith. He only asked Christ to "remember" him; but Christ answered:

"To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise!"

Immediate blessing--promise of fellows.h.i.+p--eternal rest; this is the way Christ answered his prayer.

DARKNESS.

And now darkness falls upon the earth. The sun hides itself. Worse than all, the Father hides His face from His Son. What else is the meaning of that bitter cry:

"My G.o.d! my G.o.d! Why hast Thou forsaken me?"

Ah! It had been written, "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." Jesus was made a curse for us. G.o.d cannot look upon sin: and so when even His own Son was bearing our sins in His body, G.o.d could not look upon Him.

I think this is what bore heaviest upon the Savior's heart in the garden when He prayed:

"If it be possible, let this cup pa.s.s from me."

He could bear the unfaithfulness of His friends, the spite of His enemies, the pain of His crucifixion, and the shadow of death; He could bear all these; but when it came to the hiding of His Father's face, that seemed almost too much for even the Son of G.o.d to bear.

But even this He endured for our sins; and now the face of G.o.d is turned back to us, whose sins had turned it away, and looking upon Jesus, the sinless One, He sees us in Him.

In the midst of all His agony, how sweet it must have been to Christ to hear that poor thief confessing Him!

He likes to have men confess Him. Don't you remember His asking Peter, "Whom do men say that I am?" and when Peter answered, "Some people say you are Moses, some people say you are Elias, and some people say you are one of the old Prophets," He asked again, "But, Peter, whom do _you_ say I am?" When Peter said, "Thou art the Son of G.o.d," Jesus blessed him for that confession. And now this thief confesses Him--confesses Him in the darkness. Perhaps it is so dark he cannot see Him any longer; but he feels that He is there beside him. Christ wants us to confess Him in the dark as well as in the light; when it is hard as well as when it is easy. For He was not ashamed of us, but bore our sins and carried our sorrows, even unto death.

When a prominent man dies, we are anxious, to get his last words and acts.

THE LAST ACT OF THE SON OF G.o.d

was to save a sinner. That was a part of the glory of His death. He commenced His ministry by saving sinners, and ended it by saving this poor thief. "Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? But thus saith the Lord: Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered." He took this captive from the jaws of death. He was on the borders of h.e.l.l, and Christ s.n.a.t.c.hed him away.

No doubt Satan was saying to himself: "I shall have the soul of that thief pretty soon. He belongs to me. He has been mine all these years."

But in his last hours the poor wretch cried out to the Lord, and He snapped the fetters that bound his soul, and set him at liberty. He threw him a pa.s.sport into heaven. I can imagine, as the soldier drove his spear into our Savior's side, there came flas.h.i.+ng into the mind of the thief the words of the prophet Zechariah:

"In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness."

You see, in the conversion of this thief, that

SALVATION IS DISTINCT AND SEPARATE FROM WORKS.

Some people tell us we have to work to be saved. What has the man who believes that to say about the salvation of this thief? How could he work, when he was nailed to the cross?

He took the Lord at His word, and believed. It is with the heart men believe, not with their hands or feet. All that is necessary for a man to be saved is to believe with his heart. This thief made a good confession. If he had been a Christian fifty years, he could not have done Christ more service there than he did. He confessed Him before the world; and for nineteen hundred years that confession has been told. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all recorded it. They felt it so important that they thought we should have it.

See how