Second Chances: The Thief on the Cross

While Jesus was hanging on the cross he had a thief on each side of him.   One thief denied him and the other believed.   He said to the disbelieving thief, “Have you no fear of God?”

He asked Jesus to “remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus promised, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”

This man received his second chance in paradise.

So what can we learn from the final moments of this man?

1. He feared God
2. He recognized Jesus as Lord and savior
   

   The thief recognized Jesus as the son of God

3. He asked Jesus to remember Him
4. He recognized his sin
5. It is never too late to ask Jesus to remember us and forgive us
6. Jesus is waiting to forgive us
7. Jesus promised that the thief would be with Him in paradise
8. The thief recognized something greater was waiting for him than what was in this world
9. He recognized that Christ alone has the power to save
10. Even while suffering Jesus prayed for the thief
11. Our pride can keep us from submitting to the only one that can save us {this relates to the other thief}
12. We are all sinners in need of a Savior

For others in the Second Chances series:

Old Testament: Jonah, Job,  Samson, Rahab, David and Bathsheba, Moses, Joseph, and  Jacob

New Testament: Zacchaeus, Woman Caught in Adultery, The Prodigal Son, and Peter