ROLL AWAY THE STONE ~ Part 2: The thief

ROLL AWAY THE STONE ~ An Easter series
Part 2: The thief

"Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him (Jesus)... but the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, 'Do you not even fear God? ... for we receive the due reward of our deeds.' "  - Luke 23:39-41

At the crucifixion of Jesus, two others were also executed. Both were criminals; Matthew and Mark call them thieves. As the three hung there, religious leaders and others walked past to mock the Lord Jesus. "Why doesn't God help you?" they called. "You said you were His Son! Maybe He doesn't want you any more. Ha! Look, He saved other people, but He can't even save Himself!"

At first the robbers imitated the crowd. Misery loves to make someone else look even worse off than itself. But soon one of them realized that Jesus was no criminal, and in that knowledge this thief despaired. "We are getting what we deserve," he said.

Let's call this the stone of guilt. And he was right! The longer we review our past, the sooner we will reach a similar conclusion. Sin always pays out death, and our sins only separate us from God. But a heart that admits its guilt will always find an open space next to Jesus. That space is marked "Repentance," and Jesus always responds to repentance with love. "Now you will be with Me in Paradise," He says.

The second thief apparently never admitted anything, and therefore he was never forgiven. But that first thief-- who did nothing to merit God's favor, who had no time to get baptized or do any acts of penance because a few hours later he was dead-- that first thief heard the words of life in a place of death. 

Even before the body of Jesus was laid in the tomb later that evening, the first stone had already been rolled away for the person who wasn't too proud to give his guilt to Jesus.