Lk 23:39-43 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Mk15:37-39 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.
LESSON - Right up until the very end, people with no faith in Jesus were asking for a sign. Herod asked for a sign. The chief priests and scribes who did not understand his parable regarding the destruction of the temple (Jesus’ body), they asked for a sign. Now the thief on the cross was asking for a sign. To request a sign reveals a lack of faith. Ironically the two in this story who chose to believe did not need a sign, the other thief on the cross and the centurion. Many of the people who cried “crucify” had seen him perform many miracles, yet they chose not to believe. Today people still seek signs, dreams, and visions in order to believe in something supernatural, but the greatest miracle has already occurred. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead was the greatest miracle of all and in fulfillment of Luke 16, people still do not believe. As people of faith, we should no longer require a sign because we have God’s word and that is enough (Rom 10:17).
Mt 16:3,4 Reveals how God feels about those that require a sign in order to believe. “O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.” Remember, faith is defined as the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things NOT seen.
~Mike