Was the Thief on the Cross "Sanctified"?

[reddogs]

Lets look at one question about the thief, was he sanctified. Now we know that Jesus did not go to Paradise after His death that day as He was buried and remained in the tomb until His resurrection. The day of His resurrection He appeared to Mary, stating that He had “not yet ascended to My Father” but that now He was ascending to "My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God”.

John 20:17 King James Version (KJV)
17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

The obvious implication is that He could not have promised the thief that He would be with him in Paradise on Friday. and Jesus and the thief did not die at the same time as Jesus died Friday and the thief was still alive, and his legs were broken to keep him from escaping as it usually took several days for those who were crucified to die. So as after Christ's death the thief was still alive there was a short time allotted him in which to grow in grace and sanctification. Is that all we need or was the thief's heart transformed at the moment Christ spoke and he began the path of sanctification. How long do we need when we give ourselves to Christ?

 

[Amittai]

The metaphor of "trading with the talents" looks superficially quantifiable and our heads can't get round the way God might slide a scale far more than we would dare. Perhaps during his suffering hours he prayed for us all, for our fruitfulness and success in the Kingdom and protection.

 

[Eloy Craft]

ets look at one question about the thief, was he sanctified. Now we know that Jesus did not go to Paradise after His death that day

God didn't make Paradise to be for the afterlife. Adam and Eve couldn't be there because they deserved death. Their living conscious life began there. We shouldn't think of Paradise as the heaven where the throne of God

In Paradise the powers of nature served man internally and externally. Jesus flesh was not in rebellion to His will like it was for Adam and Eve after the fall. He did not inherit the curse that we inherited from Adam. Jesus is not generated from Adam. He is not of this generation. Jesus is generated by Our Father in heaven. Furthermore He was conceived already assumed to God. His divine nature, The glory seen at the transfiguration was the glory of His human soul at conception. He didn't come to be our Savior He came as Our Savior. The theif was chosen to be at His side on His Throne. So was the other theif. Remember when the 'sons of thunder's mother asked Jesus to place her sons on his left and right when He entered His kingdom? He told them" you don't know what you ask for" Then He said they will drink the cup He is about to drink but who will be on His left and right is up to the Father to choose. The Father chose those two theives and Jesus was already in Paradise because for Him the powers of nature were servants just like they were for Adam before sin. Those powers would not turn hostile to His soul or Body. His body did not corrupt did it?

 

[Jovajna]

You have asked such a nice question. We give our selves to Christ now and forever. Here on Earth it is a constant fight with our fallen nature and other forces. We rise and we fall and need to rise again. We need to be prepared for the time of our death, because then there is no more time for us to repent, it is what it is. And that fight we can not win without the help and the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The thief transformed him self, completely, realizing who Jesus really is, God helped to open his heart and mind to see Him. And to repent and love. And soon after, he died in that grace. So, for him, it needed to be just a moment of pure faith, and it lasted until he died, and certainly after. Was he a new man for an hour or a day, it is not important, but he died as a Christian, right beside the Lord. What a grace! We don't know his life, but he must have done some good deeds and had a good core in his heart, to earn eternal life in Heaven (in a contrast to other thief who asked Jesus to prove him self). We need to keep our selves as faithful and loving to God as we can, until we die, which can be next minute or 70 years from now.
I hope we could answer at least part of your question. + God bless +

 

[kaijo]

Imo the thief was sanctified. He served the purpose God intended for him. That was, to be used as a metaphorical example for all at Christs crucifixion.

Sanctification:
"The generic meaning of sanctification is "the state of proper functioning." To sanctify someone or something is to set that person or thing apart for the use intended by its designer. A pen is "sanctified" when used to write. Eyeglasses are "sanctified" when used to improve sight. In the theological sense, things are sanctified when they are used for the purpose God intends. A human being is sanctified, therefore, when he or she lives according to God's design and purpose."

 

[Oaktree125]

I have thought about this several times and I always come to the conclusion that , like the woman who gives her last penny in the donation at the temple, the thief has given his last moment and bore witness to Jesus. It was that he spoke it aloud to the audience and declared Jesus at a time where Jesus' humanity was becoming most real (mortality). How in those moments could the thief see? But The thief has the presence to say and formally recognize Jesus just as the disciples had to do. It is similar to what is being asked of Christians to bear witness. Thus Jesus has to convey salvation both to us in the future and retroactively. So it is right that the thief dines with the co-eternal Son.
The implications of that might be highly controversial but I think Jesus has the right to be generous without our question per the parable.....

 

[hluke]

"Was he a new man for an hour or a day, it is not important, but he died as a Christian, right beside the Lord.

I agree with this. God does what he wishes: nothing is off limits for him, and what grace indeed to gift him life while he was yet a sinner!

As you mention whether he was sanctified or not is a non-issue!

 

[Gary K]

Did the thief on the cross experience sanctification? Of course he did. Was he not born again? Jesus said that we must be born again or we cannot see the kingdom of heaven. John 3:3,7 Is that experience meaningless and have nothing to do with our salvation?

To say that the thief on the cross was not sanctified is to say that his life had not been changed, and yet the evidence of his being born again is recorded in the story. His very words show the change in his life for he told the other thief who was cursing Jesus that the two of them deserved to be where they were, but that Jesus was innocent. He repented of his way of life, acknowledged the sinfulness of it, and asked for forgiveness. If he had not Jesus could not have accepted him and assured him of his salvation. Nobody gets into heaven as an unrepentant, unforgiven, sinner who has not accepted and followed the new principles of life Jesus gives us in the circumcision made without hands, the new birth. That is sanctification. And the thief on the cross demonstrated that in his actions even though his life did not last very long after being born again.

 

[BibleDisciple]

I think you have to take the scripture at face value. The thief will be with Christ in paradise. We don't have all the facts about the thief's life, but we do know that his heart was softer and repentant unlike the other.

Luk 23:39 Now one of the criminals hanging there kept insulting him, "You are the Messiah, aren't you? Save yourself and us!"
Luk 23:40 But the other criminal rebuked him, "Aren't you afraid of God, since you are suffering the same penalty?
Luk 23:41 We have been condemned justly, because we are getting what we deserve for what we have done, but this man has done nothing wrong."
Luk 23:42 Then he went on to plead, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom!"

 

[Gary K]

I think you have to take the scripture at face value. The thief will be with Christ in paradise. We don't have all the facts about the thief's life, but we do know that his heart was softer and repentant unlike the other.

Luk 23:39 Now one of the criminals hanging there kept insulting him, "You are the Messiah, aren't you? Save yourself and us!"
Luk 23:40 But the other criminal rebuked him, "Aren't you afraid of God, since you are suffering the same penalty?
Luk 23:41 We have been condemned justly, because we are getting what we deserve for what we have done, but this man has done nothing wrong."
Luk 23:42 Then he went on to plead, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom!"

I agree that we must take scripture at face value.

Scripture says the man was a thief. That tells us a lot about the man. How does a thief make a living? By being dishonest. By stealing. By living by a double standard, which is nothing more than a lie in itself. And what do we see in his words while on the cross? Honesty. Bold honesty. That shows the reformation of his heart. An implanting of new principles of life and beginning to live by them. There is no other way to describe that than as sanctification as he is now boldly speaking truth while all others around him are doing just the opposite. Nobody else is speaking out and saying Christ is innocent. Even Jesus' disciples are quiet and not defending Him against His slanderers. And yet this man does. He has been born again.

 

[reddogs]

You have asked such a nice question. We give our selves to Christ now and forever. Here on Earth it is a constant fight with our fallen nature and other forces. We rise and we fall and need to rise again. We need to be prepared for the time of our death, because then there is no more time for us to repent, it is what it is. And that fight we can not win without the help and the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The thief transformed him self, completely, realizing who Jesus really is, God helped to open his heart and mind to see Him. And to repent and love. And soon after, he died in that grace. So, for him, it needed to be just a moment of pure faith, and it lasted until he died, and certainly after. Was he a new man for an hour or a day, it is not important, but he died as a Christian, right beside the Lord. What a grace! We don't know his life, but he must have done some good deeds and had a good core in his heart, to earn eternal life in Heaven (in a contrast to other thief who asked Jesus to prove him self). We need to keep our selves as faithful and loving to God as we can, until we die, which can be next minute or 70 years from now.
I hope we could answer at least part of your question. + God bless +

I guess the period of 'Justification' and 'Sanctification' can be much quicker than one would think.