This is the promise of the Saviour to every person who places their trust in Him. So turn to Him, ask of Him, and take Him at His word.

Trusting Jesus will involve trusting Him in three very challenging circumstances:

1. Trusting Jesus in the darkness
Immediately after the thief trusted Jesus, “there was darkness over the whole land” (23:44). This darkness came in the middle of the day, and it lasted for three hours.

Put yourself in the shoes of the thief. You have just trusted your hope of heaven to Jesus. Then you are plunged into darkness, and you hear Jesus crying out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). The thief must have wondered, What in the world is going on?

There may be times in your life when you experience great darkness. Don’t be surprised by this. You can depend on the promise of Jesus as surely in the darkness as you can in the light.

2. Trusting Jesus in your pain
The pain of crucifixion got worse by the hour, as wounds in the hands and feet widened, and as fever raged through the body. So, the thief experienced more physical pain after he trusted Jesus than he did before.

Anyone who suggests that trusting in Jesus will lead to a pain-free life has not yet come to terms with what the Bible teaches. You will have to trust Jesus in the darkness, and there may be times when you have to trust Him in pain.

3. Trusting Jesus at your death
You will also have to trust Jesus, as the thief did, when the moment of death comes for you. The way to die is the way to live. Forget what you have done or failed to do for Jesus and trust wholly in what Jesus has done on the cross for you.

Is there anything keeping you from trusting in Jesus?

This was an audacious request. The thief did not say, “I know I’ve made some mistakes, but nobody’s perfect, and I’ve done a lot of good things in my life.” He said, “We are receiving the due reward of our deeds” (23:41).

This man asked Jesus with honesty and humility. He faced the fact that he was a sinner. He had sinned against God and against his fellow man. And we are like him. We have failed to do what God has called us to do, and we have done what He has told us not to do.

This is precisely why Jesus went to the cross, where He became the sacrifice and the substitute for sinners. “The LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). Jesus carried sins into His death, so that you would not have to carry them into yours.

We don’t like to ask. We prefer deals: “Here is something that I can do for you. And there’s something I would like you to do for me.” And our first instinct when it comes to God is to think in terms of a deal. If I pray… If I go to church… If I’m generous… If I live a good life… God will get me into heaven.

But here’s what happens if you come to God that way—you go through life feeling God owes you, and you hang your future on a deal that doesn’t exist, because God doesn’t make deals.

Asking means that you come to Jesus with empty hands, knowing that there is nothing you can offer Him. You are casting yourself upon His mercy and looking to Him for grace.

What the thief did was deceptively simple. He began to fear God. He recognised his sinful condition. And he asked Jesus to save him.

Have you ever tried to make a deal with God? Have you ever come to Him empty-handed?

One thief continued to hurl insults at Jesus, but a change came over the other. The Bible calls this change repentance. Every change has a beginning, and the story of the thief shows us where repentance begins.

The thief had been hurling abuse at Jesus, but then a stillness came over his soul as he thought about what lay ahead: Why am I fighting against God? What sense does this make when soon I will stand before Him and give account for my life?

Turning to the other thief who continued to hurl abuse at Jesus, he said, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?” (Luke 23:40).

The thief had some knowledge of God, but he had not given weight to God in his life. If he had, he would not have become a thief. Instead, he pushed away God’s claims on his life and went his own way. And the further he moved away from God, the less his conscience bothered him.

But now he was on the brink of eternity, and the fear of standing before God gripped him. This fear is the beginning of turning to God and it leads to recognising Jesus Christ as your king.

Turning toward Jesus, the thief said, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom” (23:42). The thief recognised that Jesus is a king: If he is a king and he is going into death, maybe when he gets to the other side, he can do something to help me.

To the person who recognises that He is a king, Jesus says, “You will be with me in paradise” (23:43). How can you be sure of heaven? Turn. Fear God and submit yourself to Jesus as your king.

Has repentance begun for you?

The day you die may be a long way off, but nothing is more certain… it will come. One day you will wake up and it will be your last day on earth. What will happen to you then?

The story of the thief on the cross tells us how we can be sure about heaven. We are not told much about this man, except that while he was hanging on the cross next to Jesus, he said to Him, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And then Jesus said to this criminal, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (23:42–43).

It is natural for us to think that people get into heaven by living a good life, but the thief had not done that. He was a criminal, and his crimes were such that he was sentenced to death.

This man clearly had not lived a good life, and he knew it. The thief did not dispute the justice of his sentence, in fact, he said, “We are receiving the due reward of our deeds” (23:41).

This man was out of time. With his hands and feet nailed to the cross, he couldn’t begin to do good works, and yet Jesus said to him: “Today you will be with me in paradise”!

This contradicts the mindset that says, “In order to get into heaven, I’ve got to live a good enough life to please God.” The thief clearly didn’t do that. So, how did he get in?

The good news is that if it was possible for this man to get into heaven, you can too. The story of the thief shows us how, and it can be summarised in three words—turn, ask, and trust.

Have you given much thought to how a person gets into heaven?

Sooner or later, your last day on earth will come. It may come this week, this month, or this year. Or it may be a long way off for you. But one day you will wake up, and whether you realise it or not, it will be your last day. And what will happen to you then?

Jesus speaks to us about heaven. He came into the world so that people could go there. Nothing matters more than that you should get into heaven. It matters more than your work, your business, or your money.

Jesus told a story about a man who was all wrapped up in his work. Business was booming. He was working on a plan for expansion. There’s nothing wrong with expanding your business, but this man said something very interesting: “I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods” (12:18).

This man was a planner. But God said this man was a fool, because in preparing for the future he missed the biggest part. You plan for a future that may last 10, 20, or 30 years after you retire. But then what? One day you will leave this world and all that you have. To plan and prepare for the few years you have in this world is good and wise, but to neglect the eternity that lies beyond this world would be the greatest folly.

Ask yourself, “How well am I prepared for the future that lies beyond this?”

Perhaps you would say today, “I’m not sure that I have been saved.” Or, “I’m not sure that I am being saved.” Or, “I’m not sure that I will be saved.” In your heart of hearts, you wonder: If salvation comes from the Lord, what can I do? Doesn’t this leave me without hope?

No. It is precisely the opposite. When Jonah says, “Salvation belongs to the LORD,” that opens the door of hope for you! How are you going to have faith? How are you going to love God more than yourself? How are you going to overcome sin and live a holy life?

You cannot do these things in your own power, but God can do them for you and in you. The Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross because you cannot reconcile yourself to God. He sends His Holy Spirit because you cannot give yourself spiritual life. And He promises His presence and power because you cannot overcome sin by yourself.

Salvation comes from the Lord, and when you see that, you will gather courage to come to Him and ask Him to save you. Get your eyes off yourself and your own inability to change. Get your eyes fixed on the Lord and His ability to save. The Lord saved Jonah. Why should you not ask Him to save you as well?

Here’s how C. H. Spurgeon ended his message on this great text:

“Everybody here has a soul to be saved or a soul to be lost. You will be lost forever, unless God shall save you… Down on your knees! Cry to God for mercy. Lift up your heart in prayer to God now! May this be the moment when you will be saved. You can have peace with God now. Ask, and it shall be given, seek and you will find. Come to Christ and be accepted in God’s dearly loved Son.”

Could this be the moment when you will be saved?

What difference would it make if you came to see, like Jonah, that salvation comes from the Lord? Here are three ways this conviction will change your life:

1. It deepens our worship
God set His love on us before we were born. David says, “In your book were written… the days that were formed for me” (Ps. 139:16). While Paul says, “The Son of God… loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). Jesus came to save people with names and faces, and one of them was you. God sent His Spirit to work in your heart and draw you to Christ.

2. It strengthens our assurance
If your salvation boils down to a decision to follow Jesus, how do you know that you can keep it up? All you could do is give it your best shot and hope you make it. But salvation comes from the Lord. The Lord who died to save you lives to keep you, and He will never let you go.

3. It motivates us in prayer and evangelism
You may know people who need Jesus. But the problem is that they are not interested in Him. If salvation is simply a matter of human choice, there’s no hope for them, because they aren’t going to make that choice. But, if God is free to swoop in, uninvited, and lay hold of them and bring them to faith, then that would give you hope. This motivates us to both prayer and evangelism. If God swoops into people’s lives through the gospel, then we can pray for them, and we can look for opportunities to share the gospel with them.

When Jonah said, “Salvation belongs to the Lord,” he was saying more than “God makes salvation possible.” He was saying, “God saves!”

Who do you know who needs Jesus? Pray that God will save them and watch for opportunities to share the gospel with them.

Consider how the Bible talks about salvation in the past, the present, and the future:

1. Completed Transaction (this is often called justification)

“By grace you have been saved through faith…” (Eph. 2:8). The Bible often uses this kind of language. “Since we have been justified by faith…” (Rom. 5:1). It’s a done deal. How have you been saved? Christ died for your sins. Christ rose for your justification (4:25). God counts all your sin as if it were Christ’s and all Christ’s righteousness as if it were yours. Your salvation is a completed transaction that comes from the Lord.

2. Continuing Process (this is often called sanctification)

“The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18). Your salvation has begun, but it is not yet complete. You still struggle with the flesh, and fail in many ways. Yet God has not left you in defeat. You are being saved, and that comes from the Lord. It is a lifelong process in which God is always at work to make you like Jesus. Your salvation is a continuing process that comes from the Lord.

3. Future Hope (this is often called glorification)

You, “who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:5). Our future hope of salvation comes from the Lord. When Jesus returns, God will make his dwelling with us and there will be no more death, mourning, or pain (Rev. 21:3-4). God will say, “I am making all things new” (21:5).

The Lord has saved you, the Lord is saving you, and the Lord will save you. Salvation-from the beginning to the end—comes from the Lord!

Pray and thank God that your future, final, eternal, glorious salvation comes from Him.