The Thief on the Cross: Remember Me | Bible Stories Retold

Just a few hours left, on a cross, next to Jesus. And it was enough. Outside the walls of Jerusalem, on a hill called the Skull, Roman soldiers crucified three men. Two of them were criminals, one on the right and one on the left. And in the middle was Jesus. As they did it, Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing." And the soldiers threw dice for his clothes. The rulers sneered at him. He saved others, let him save himself if he is the Christ. The soldiers mocked him too. Above his head hung a sign, "This is the king of the Jews." At first, even the two criminals hanging beside him joined in. One of them kept shouting at him, "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself, and us." But the other one stopped. Somewhere in those hours, something had changed in him. He said, "Don't you even fear God since you are under the same sentence? We are here justly, we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." Then he turned his head toward Jesus, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He didn't ask to come down, he didn't ask for a second chance at life. He only asked to be remembered. And Jesus said to him, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise." Around noon, darkness came over the whole land. Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." And he breathed his last. The Roman centurion who had watched it all said, "Certainly this was a righteous man." That man never walked out free. He never got baptized, never went to church, never paid anyone back.

He told the truth about what he had done, and he asked Jesus to remember him. And Jesus said, "Today, maybe you think it's too late for you. Maybe your past feels longer than your future. It wasn't too late for him, and it isn't too late for you. All he said was remember me. You can say it too." ♪♪♪