Believe

Luke 19:9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.

10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

11 And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.

Salvation means being saved from sin, and Christians believe that salvation is essential to have a relationship with God while on earth, and to have eternal life with God in heaven after death. 

Many examples in the bible of those who believed:

Zacchaeus - Luke 19:9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.

Ethiopian Eunuch - Acts 8:37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

Philippian Jailor - Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Today we are going to talk about the two at the crucifixion who believed

The thief on the cross believed

Luke 23:39  And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.

⁴⁰ But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?

⁴¹ And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.

⁴² And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

⁴³ And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

The centurion at the cross believed

Imagine being the centurion. It is your job to stand guard and watch the entire proceedings. You have been assigned to many crucifixions in the past and death is a common part of your job. But this one is way different! You have never seen or heard one like this before.

Why did it go dark for three hours in the middle of the day?

Where did Jesus get His ability to forgive his accusers and mockers while facing death?

Who else could speak with such authority so as to promise a petty thief a place in paradise with Him?

 And even in the very act of dying, it seemed like Jesus was in control, only dying after committing His spirit into the 'Fathers hands'.

Three gospels tell us the centurion believed

Matt. 24:24 Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.

Mark 15:39 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.

Luke 23:47 Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.

Conclusion:

He came to seek and to save, have you accepted Him?