THIEF
It was a term that was applied in biblical times to highwaymen, and we see it in several passages of the New Testament: Mt. 21:13; 26:55; 27:38, 44; Mr. 11:17; 14:48; 15:27; Lc. 10:30, 36; 19:46; 22:52; 23:39-43.
The repentant thief manifested a faith as extraordinary as his repentance, recognizing Christ, even on the cross, as the divine King, as the Savior of man.
The act of turning to Christ, perhaps after mocking him like the other thief, seems to have been sudden and to have been caused by the supernatural resignation with which the Redeemer suffered, by the divine nature of his looks and his words and by the signs and extraordinary circumstances of that supreme moment.
The thieves were crucified by the Romans. Two of them were crucified with Jesus (Luke 23:39-42). Christ had to suffer this shameful death, and his identification with the human race and with sinners even reached the torture he suffered.
The figure of the thief who enters in a surprising and untimely manner is used for the Second Coming of Christ, which will appear without announcing his arrival (Mt. 24:43). Suddenly the day of the Lord will come (1 Thes. 5:2-4; 2 Pet. 3:10; Rev. 3:3; 16:15), like a thief in the middle of the night.