<This is a very personal chapter – it is really an examination of the salvation story of this dying man. Pink first examines the circumstances surrounding the presence of Jesus next to a thief on the cross, then goes on to break the episode down into 7 headings: “Here we see:

1. A representative sinner.
2. That man has to come to the end of himself before he can be saved.
3. The meaning of repentance and faith.
4. A marvelous case of spiritual illumination.
5. The Saviourhood of Christ.
6. The destination of the saved at death.
7. The longing of the Saviour for fellowship.”

There are three aspects of this chapter that really got my attention.

First was Pink’s emphasis on the sovereignty of God at the very beginning of the chapter. He writes: “From all eternity He had decreed when and where and how and with whom His Son should die. Nothing was left to chance…” Part of me just asks, wasn’t there another way? God, who could do anything He determined, deliberately chose the path from the garden of Eden to the Cross, knowing the incredible suffering that would involve. And Jesus Christ, eternally God, was from all eternity submitted to carrying out the will of His Father. There’s no way that I would have designed the world this way; but because God is infinitely wise and good, this plan of salvation is perfect. Wow.

The second major point for me was that of seeing the thief as representative of myself. Pink anchors the process of salvation in this first point – that my nature is no different than that of this man on the cross next to Christ. I am by nature an enemy of God, hating Him, speaking against Him, rebelling against His authority. As I read this section the words of the Stuart Townend hymn “How Great the Father’s Love” came to my mind: “Behold the Man upon the cross / my sin upon His shoulders / Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice / Call out among the scoffers.” I don’t want to see myself this way, but oh, how important it is that I do.

Equally as important as continuing to recognize my nature as the same as that of this thief, is communicating that to my children. It’s easy for me to treat my children as though the way they act makes them good people, that saying I have “good kids” equates to them having a good nature. Without discouraging or condeming them beyond what they are able to handle, I have to remind them that they are in fact sinners by nature who must trust Jesus to save them. About this Pink writes,

“Whilever you palliate sin or prevaricate about I, you are shutting yourself out from Christ. Christ came into the world to save sinners – self-confessed sinners, sinners who really take the place of sinners before God, sinners who are conscious that they are lost and undone.” 

Finally, I am amazed at how different Christ’s response to this man was from what mine would have been in the same situation. Earlier, He had petitioned His Father to forgive those who crucified Him. To this request He could have responded, “You are the reason I am hanging here! You have been mocking me, accusing me – and now you want me to save you?” But He says just the opposite. Early in His ministry, Jesus taught His disciples, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.”
(Matt. 5:44-45) In receiving this thief into His kingdom, Jesus Christ shows His divine perfection, as He told His disciples to be perfect.

This is ultimately an expression of the Gospel. An open enemy of God, justly condemned for my nature and crimes, I cannot do anything to save myself. Nothing in me would cause God to look favorably on me, and I could not reasonably expect Him to actually forgive my rebellion against Him. But through and because of His incredible grace, the Holy Spirit opens my eyes, makes me cry out to Jesus for salvation, and He is true to His promises – He receives me into His kingdom. What an incredible blessing. I need to meditate on this, to feel the gratefulness that the thief must certainly have felt even in his last moments on earth.