THE DYING THIEF by John O. Corliss

Pacific Press Publishing Company · OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA · Apr 25, 1900

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 26, No. 17.

THE DYING THIEF.

By John O. Corliss

ONE of the most interesting incidents in connection with the crucifixion of Christ was the conversation He held with an outlaw who was, with Him, suffering the penalty of Roman law,—death on the cross. Two thieves were there, in fact, one on either side of the suffering Saviour, each occupying a cross of his own. Every indignity and cruelty that could well be thought of was, by the soldiers, heaped on Christ. Their fiendish work done, they sat down before their Victim quietly to watch His movements under the agony He carried. During the momentary hush of those who stood gazing at the death struggle of the Son of God, there were some passers-by who stopped, and, looking up at the cross, recognized the central figure, and, wagging their heads in mockery and contempt, railed out, "Ah, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save Thyself, and come down from the cross." Mark 15:29, 30.

This was the signal for other bystanders,—the chief priests and scribes,—who took up the refrain, saying: "He saved others; Himself He can not save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Strange as it may seem, this cry from the religious leaders was taken up by one of the thieves, who, looking at Jesus, blasphemously said, "If Thou be Christ, save Thyself and us." Luke 23:39. It mattered not that he was equally under condemnation with the Son of God, the spirit of the time controlled him, and the ruling passion was too strong to be resisted, even in the face of death. What so hardened his heart at the time, no one can truly say, seeing that those who suffer together under the same sentence generally sympathize with each other. Such railing from a criminal dying at His side was, however, another drop in the cup of bitterness our Lord was called to drink on that memorable day.

The unfeeling words of the blasphemous criminal, tho received in silence by the suffering Christ, were not permitted to pass unrebuked by the other malefactor. "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." This was a bold confession to make in the face of so much blasphemy. Not only does this condemned one acknowledge his own guilt, but reveals his faith in the righteousness of Christ, and the injustice of His condemnation.

More than this, his next utterance betrayed a deep knowledge of Christ and of His earthly mission. Where he learned it all we are not able to say; he may have been an unknown listener in some roadside audience, where the Saviour discoursed on the nature and extent of His kingdom when redeemed. It may be that in tenderer years his heart had been touched with the prophetic references to the meek appearance and uncomplaining patience of the coming Messiah, and the glowing description of His future kingdom. Be that as it may, when he witnessed in the suffering Victim of the cross the very character which indicated Divinity, his heart quickly responded to the revelation, and, turning his face toward the sacred Sufferer, he cried out, "Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom." Luke 23:42.

Few have perhaps stopped to analyze the faith of this dying culprit. Up to this time he had for years been wayward, going from bad to worse, until, under the laws of the land, he was paying the penalty of his crimes with his life. Beside him was dying Another, under the same law, upon whom was being heaped ignominy and shame by the scoffing multitude, because He had called Himself the Son of God, and Heir to the throne of heaven. To every one but an implicit believer in the divine personality of this Sufferer under the civil law, the scenes then being thrown upon the shifting canvas of history would have put upon His every claim the stamp of falsehood and deception. How could any such claim as His be established in the face of certain death?

To unregenerated minds the logic was convincing; the death of the Pretender would scatter to the winds all the rumors of His miraculous works, and no more would be heard of His claims to the Messiahship. To openly recognize One and adhere to Him in the face of such disparity, was truly remarkable. This was not done, either, ignoring the fact that death would take the Son of God away from earth—from the kingdom He had come to redeem. But the faith of the penitent thief looked beyond, to the return of the Lord to earth, not as a sacrifice for sin, but as a King sitting on the throne of His glory. Heb. 9:28; Matt. 25:31. The thief had no expectation of being with Christ during the interval of death, as his petition shows, but desired that at Christ's coming, when the great indignation for sin was past, he might be remembered, and called forth from the grave. Job 14:13; John 5:28, 29. So he said, "Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom," that is, when Thou enterest upon the possession of Thy redeemed inheritance.

His faith met a quick and appreciative response from the dying Prince: "Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with Me in paradise." Had human hands not placed upon this text the mark of apostasy, it would have been a direct answer to the earnest petition of the believing thief. As it has been made to read, it promises something that the thief did not ask for, and which it was not possible, as events proved, for Jesus to give, or the thief to receive.

In the first place, Christ did not go to paradise that day. Paradise is in the third heaven, and contains the tree of life, which stands on either side of the river of life, a stream flowing from under the throne of God. 2 Cor. 12:1-4; Rev. 2:7; 22:1, 2. Paradise is therefore in the very presence of God. But on the third day after Christ's promise to the thief, just after He was raised from the dead, He forbade Mary to touch Him, for the reason that He had not yet ascended to the Father. John 20:11-17.

How, then, has the promise of Christ to the thief been so distorted out of harmony with the general narrative of those days?—In this way, simply: Originally the Scriptures were written in a solid block without spaces between the words, and so of course without punctuation. Not long before the translation of the Scriptures into English, our present marks of punctuation were adopted. The translators, believing in the doctrine of man's natural immortality, placed the comma before the word "to-day," instead of after it, thus changing the meaning of the words of Christ. An examination of the text quickly shows this. For convenience, its insertion in both forms is made. "I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with Me in paradise." With the comma as here placed, the text gives the thief a transfer to paradise the very day on which he hung on the cross—something he did not ask for, and, as before said, that which Christ could not possibly give, since, three days later, He Himself said He had not yet been there.

The other form of placing the comma makes everything consistent: "I say unto thee to-day, shalt thou be with Me in paradise." In this case the word "to-day" simply makes the promise emphatic. To-day, when my enemies have nailed Me to the cruel cross of shame, have cast lots upon and divided My raiment among themselves, as tho I were a common felon; to-day, when even the influential rulers of the land deride Me and mock My dying agonies; to-day, when darkness reigns abroad, and even the Father has seemed to turn His face away from Me; to-day, when everything seems to give the lie to My words—in the midst of all this thou hast believed, therefore, I say to thee to-day, I will reward thee; thou shalt be with Me in paradise.

This was but a case of simple yet appropriating faith. The dying malefactor went down relying upon the fulfilment of his request, when the Lord should return to His kingdom, exalted above His enemies. Luke 19:11, 12, 13, 27. It was the same faith that sustained the martyr apostle in his closing hours, as expressed by his dying testimony: "The time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing." 2 Tim. 4:6-8.

When Christ comes in His second advent, then the sleeping dead will hear His voice and live, and the living righteous will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air, and so, that is, in this manner, will all go to be with the Lord. This makes the Lord's coming an event to be longed for. This gives rich interest to the fulfilment of those prophecies that proclaim His coming near. May the reader study these with deep interest, and so prepare for what is to be revealed at the soon coming of the Master. J. O. CORLISS.