Thursday, September 26, 2019

Matthew W. Bates on the Thief on the Cross




When Jesus is dying on the cross between two thieves, one reviles him, but to the other Jesus says, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Some have concluded that the thief (better translated as “criminal”) is instantly saved by faith in Jesus’s death on the cross apart from any acts of loyalty. Then they draw an implication: saving allegiance is invalid.

There are two problems with this conclusion. First, by starting solely at the cross, this conclusion is blind to the royal context. All around the criminal are people who fail to recognize Jesus’s kingship despite the irony of a crucified Messiah. The people and rulers scoff, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God” (Luke 23:35). The soldiers mock him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” (v. 37). The inscription reads, “This is the King of the Jews” (v. 38). The first criminal mocks Jesus, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” (v. 39). All of this suggests that the criminal’s salvation depends on genuine rather than mocking confession of Jesus as the king.

Second, we have no indication that the criminal was specifically trusting in Jesus’s death for his sins. Given that the crucifixion is in view, the story line probably encourages us to believe that he was, but the biblical text says nothing of the sort explicitly. Rather, the criminal encourages others to have an appropriate fear of God as the one who fairly judges the guilty and the innocent. The criminal does not say, “Jesus, I am trusting only in your sacrifice for me.” Rather, he says, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42).

In other words, the criminal publicly professes that this crucified Jesus is the true king and is about to receive his throne. He has heard the royal gospel (in summary form) and has responded with allegiance. Allegiance is in view because he thinks his personal confession (“remember me”) of Jesus as the king (“your kingdom”) has an enduring quality that will make him worthy of reward once Jesus begins his reign over him and all others in the coming age. Far from undermining the gospel-allegiance proposal, the salvation of the criminal at the cross supports it. (Matthew W. Bates, Gospel Allegiance: What Faith in Jesus Misses for Salvation in Christ [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Brazos Press, 2019], 108-9)