Turn To Jesus By Faith
Luke 23:39 says, “And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.”
When Jesus was crucified on the cross at Mt. Calvary, “there were also two other, malefactors” (v. 32), or criminals that were crucified with Him. One of them “railed” or spoke evil on Jesus. He is about to die, yet all he can think of is to mock and blaspheme the Son of God! Maybe he got upset when he heard Jesus prayed to the Father (v. 34). Or maybe he just joined the crowd when they “derided Him” (v. 35). This man spent his last hours mocking the very person Who could have saved his soul from hell (Acts 4:12)!
But he had serious doubts about Jesus, because he said, “if thou be Christ, save thyself and us.” He wanted to see first before he believed, just like the Pharisees who tempted Jesus to show them a sign from heaven (Mt 16:4). This malefactor is no different than most lost people today who don’t know Jesus as their Lord and Savior (Gal 3:22). They may not necessarily be thieves, murderers, harlots, or drug dealers. But they are lost because of their sins (Rom 10:23). Sadly, this man spent his dying moments denying that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16)!
There are many people today that take the name of the Lord “in vain” (Ex 20:7). They use His name as a curse word or a by-word. They don’t realize that they are treating God’s name with contempt or derision (Lk 16:14). Some may not actually use God’s name in that fashion. But their lives are centered on the “if” condition (Ps 14:1). They would always have some excuse as to why they would not surrender to Jesus. If your heart is similar to this dying thief, I pray that you would be convicted of this truth and turn to Jesus by faith (Acts 20:21). He is inviting you to come (Mt 11:28), and be saved today while there is still time (2 Cor 6:2)! God bless you!
-Pastor Melito Barrera
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