The evidence of genuine conversion is never more clearly seen in scripture, other than the Apostle Paul’s encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, than when we look at what happens to the repenatent thief on the cross from the start of his crucifixion until his death. At some moment, in a miraculous way, his nature is changed. The fallen nature of mankind that is at enmity with God, railing blasphemous accusations against the Lord and King of the universe is miraculously transformed. Without any indication as to why, he is changed in a moment to a man who sees his sin for what it is, humbled and broken by it. A man who now sees God for who He is and both fears Him and submits to His authority, all in a moment of repentance and faith.

Listen below as Pastor Alistair Begg describes this scene to you and the miraculous work that God does in each person who is transformed by His amazing grace.

John MacArthur, teaching on this moment, comments, “Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, he becomes a new creature, old things pass away and all things become new.  Boy, do we see that here [with the thief on the cross].  And the first thing you see in a real conversion is a heightened awareness that God is a threat.  To be afraid of God, literally to fear God.  He really is not seeking someone to get him off the cross.  He’s not trying to find someone who can save him from physical death.  He wants to make sure he is saved from divine judgment.  His problem is not really what’s happening to him on the earth, it’s what’s going to happen to him when he comes to the throne of God…When you say somebody is saved, saved from what?  Saved from God.  Saved from God’s wrath.  Saved from God’s justice.  Saved from God’s judgment.  Saved from hell.  All of a sudden, he had crystal clarity in his mind on the fact that he was going to stand before God as a sinner with nothing that could rescue him.  That’s the first evidence of a work of salvation in the heart.  The second one is a sense of one’s sinfulness.  They go together. The fear of God coupled with a sense of one’s guilt…There’s a third element that becomes in evidence for us of the work of God in his heart and that is that he believed in Christ…The things that he says about Christ, though brief, are really quite stunning. 

The end of [Luke 23] verse 41 he does what the sinner must do.  He compares himself with the perfection of Christ.  “We’re getting exactly what we deserve for our deeds.  But this man has done nothing wrong.”…That’s what happens in a true conversion…He is given, by the power of the Spirit of God, clarity to understand that he is hanging on a cross as a sinner who is getting what he deserves next to someone who is righteous and is getting what he doesn’t deserve.  He believes, then, in the righteousness of Christ…Then he speaks to him in verse 42, and he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”  What’s he asking for here?  In a word, forgiveness.  Right?  How is he ever going to get into the kingdom if he’s not forgiven?…You see the components are here. 

When the spirit of God does the work of conversion, turning on the light, the first thing the light reveals is the wrath of God.  The second thing the light reveals is the guilt of sin. The third thing the light reveals is the glory of Christ and the hope of forgiveness.  It was the same thing that the publican was saying, “Lord be merciful to me, a sinner.  Is there forgiveness with you?  Is there forgiveness with you?”  And it was clear to him that this prayer for forgiveness was pretty stunning because he was asking his Father to forgive the people who were committing the worst crime that has ever been committed.  They’re killing the son of God and they’re doing it with glee and sarcasm and sneering and scorn.  As so he concludes if there’s forgiveness, if there’s grace, if there’s mercy available from God to people who are doing this, maybe there can be grace and mercy and forgiveness for me.  Maybe I could be one of those to receive that forgiveness.

And then – I love this – he was saying, “Jesus, Yeshua.”  What does that mean?  Jehovah saves.  “We shall call him Jesus for he will save his people from their sins,” Matthew 1:21.  Yeshua.  He recognizes Jesus as righteous.  He recognizes Jesus as a source of forgiveness and grace and mercy.  He recognizes that Jesus is so merciful and gracious that he’s not even holding the sin of these people against them, but rather desirous of their forgiveness.  And he sees, I think, all of this with clarity given only by the spirit of God who drew, perhaps out of his background, perhaps out of conversations – who knows where it came from – to focus the clarity because he had to know the truth about Christ.  Then when he says, “Jesus,” there’s a lot in that word.  He recognizes Jesus as the Savior…He has Messianic understanding.  He understands that the Messiah will bring a kingdom.  And so he says, “Remember me when you come in your kingdom.”  Nobody survived crucifixion, so he also believed that Jesus would die and what, rise again and bring his kingdom.  That’s pretty good Christology.  That’s exactly what he was saying.  Remember me when you come in your kingdom.  He is saying this isn’t the end of you. Like the Centurion, remember, who says surely this is the son of God.  He’s convinced…The answer that Jesus gives him is absolutely astonishing.  Verse 43, and he said to him, “Truly I say to you” – truly I say to you?  Why does he add the truly?  Because this is so hard to believe.  This is really hard to believe.  This is really impossible to believe.  This is another blast to the sensibilities of the religious leaders, like the father running and kissing the prodigal and kissing him all over the head and putting a robe and a ring and sandals on him and making him a full son and taking him up to his estate and having a celebration.  Full reconciliation, full son-ship, full riches, full resources, that kind of shock because you don’t just embrace a wretched sinner who’s lived his entire life in a sinful way, who is a – this is a prodigal.  This is a prodigal hanging on a cross.  This is where a prodigal ultimately ends up.  Even men recognize that.  He’s crucified there and what Jesus says to him is outrageous.  He says, “Truly I say to you,” and he throws truly in there because it’s just too hard to believe.  “Today you shall be with me in paradise.”

This is not the story of just one man, its every Christian’s story, every Christian was transformed in this way. By sovereign grace, given light in the midst of darkness and life in the midst of death when we came to grips with the wrath of God, the reality of sin and the truth of Christ. At that moment we asked for grace and forgiveness and the Lord answered us.  The Lord is so eager, that as soon as you ask, he’s eager to say, “Today, from this moment on, you will have a place with me in paradise and I will live in you until thst time comes.” It can be your story too, if you are not a follower of Jesus. 

This is the miracle of conversion, when God steps into a person’s life and awakens their spirit to the knowledge of who He is and who they are, there by changing their nature and rescuing them from their sin. It is a remarkable miracle that is still happening today through the Gospel message. Each day people all over the world are being awakened and snatched from an etenity of torment umder Gods wrath. The most important question is, has it happened to you?

Know this truth; Jesus Christ is the only way, there is no other name given among men by which we can be saved (Acts 4:12). For by grace we are saved, through faith; and this is not of ourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

If God has opened your eyes today, turn away from sin and toward the only Savior who can save any of us from our sin, Jesus Christ. Put your full trust in Him for your salvation and you have God’s promise, a God who cannot lie, that He will change you from the inside out and like the thief on the cross you will be born again (John 3:3) and will spend eternity with the King kings and Lord of lords in heaven for all of eternity future.

Repent of your sins today and trust in Christ for your eternal salvation. Say along with the thief, the prodigal, the public and myself, “Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner”, remember me in your Kingdom, forgive for my sins, I submit to you today as my Lord and Savior today, make me a new creation”.

We pray you God has moved in your life today and has revealed Himself to you. Visit our page titled, What is the True Gospel?, for a better understanding of the Good News of Jesus Christ and read to the bottom of the page to find resources on how to live out this new life in Christ. Grace and peace be with you always!

To listen to the full sermon preached by John MacArthur titled “The King Crucified: Conversion at Calvary”, you can find it here: https://www.gty.org/sermons/42-287/the-king-crucified-conversion-at-calvary