The Thief

As I'm nailed here to this tree
Beside a man who claims to be
The son of the living God
Some say that He's a King

I heard that He was a carpenter's son
But I hadn't figure out the crimes he had done
But He healed the sick and caused the blind to see
So what had he done to deserve to die a death like me

I watched Him as they scourged Him
But He just held His piece
His blood tattered body
Was oh so limp and oh so weak

I saw Him carry His own cross
All the way up Calvary's hill
In spite of all of His agony
They mocked and beat Him still

But He held on with love in his eyes
And when the sky darkened that's when I realized
That this was no ordinary man
With nails in His feet and nails in His hands

As the blood trickled down from the thorns in His head
Struggling to breathe I looked at Him and said
Death is my punishment, but this my dying plea
Lord when you reach your kingdom won't you please remember me

With blood parched lips and pain i his face
Well He looked at me and I saw amazing grace
He said I assure you, with love in his eyes
He said before this day is o'er you'll be with me in paradise

And as He speaks these words a peace comes over me
My body's on this cross but my soul is set free
Then He cries "It is finished!" and that's when He died
But I have no fear 'cause I know I have eternal life
In my Lord Jesus Christ

He'll remember me
Yea I know He'll remember

Written By Adam D. Pope © 2004 ASCAP “A Different Note Music”

Story Behind the Song

I was 18 years old when I wrote this one, it was one of the earliest songs I had ever written. I didn’t know it at the time, but it was the first of many I would write through the eyes and perspective of another person, or object. When I look back at the songs I wrote during that period, there is not one that I still do today, except for “The Thief”. I still sing it the same way, with no changes to the original lyrics I wrote way back then.
I have always found it interesting that when Jesus was on the cross, all His friends that were eyewitness to His miracles, parables, and sermons were nowhere to be found. His disciples were not just men that came to a service twice a week with Jesus as their pastor, they gave up EVERYTHING to follow Him and sleep on the dirt with Him, or wherever he ended up. Christ went out with them on the Sea of Galilee while they worked; he washed their feet after feeding 5,000 with five loaves of bread and two fish. For three years, He was their friend, leader, servant, and just one of the boys. They saw how passionate Jesus was when He went off on the folks in the temple and flipped tables because they were blaspheming and disrespecting what God the Father is all about. They saw His tender side when He forgave the woman caught in adultery. He raised Lazarus from the dead before their eyes! And yet, after experiencing all of this with a man who claimed to be the King of Kings, they hid in fear when Jesus’ own prediction came to pass, as he was arrested to be eventually crucified.
So, here is Christ…Nailed to a cross, dying a painful death reserved for those who were convicted for committing some form of crime. And beside Him, is a thief. This guy is looking at a Jesus who, no matter what He had claimed, was, currently, in the same predicament that the criminal found himself in. The guy on the other side of Christ mocked with the others…”Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!!!”……... Meanwhile, this other guy sees something different, and whatever it was, it was enough to prompt him to ask that Christ remember him in His kingdom. The lowly thief, believed, and found everlasting life, while the disciples struggled with doubt and fear (which many of them overcame after the resurrection).
With that in mind, I couldn’t help but try to express what, I think, may have been the thoughts that led “the thief” to redemption.
It took seven years to finally record it though, and with Lisa’s help, I was able to get something that I am proud of. I played all the instruments on it, and tried to keep it simple. I hope the listener can go away with a deeper sense of God’s love and mercy after hearing the story about “The Thief”.