Please read the passage before the commentary.
Today we celebrate Christ the King. His throne is a cross and his signature act is forgiving sins.
To forgive sins, one has to die. It is like a last will and testament. It means nothing and has no value until the person has died. In his dying act, or in the first act of his new life, Jesus forgives the thief on the cross.
He is thereafter known as the person who prefers to forgive than to save his life. He prefers to die on the cross than not to forgive another.
He died on the cross so as to forgive all sinners in the world of all times. If we are a sinner, we have it made: Christ has died to forgive us.
Did Christ die in vain? Not if we are forgiven. We can accept the forgiveness or not, but we cannot say that we are such bad sinners that we cannot be forgiven. When are we going to get off our high horses and accept the forgiveness?
Jesus came to call sinners, not the just. He came to call the thief and made him a good thief. The thief asked and received. The other thief did not ask, but when he does ask, he will receive forgiveness. When we ask, we will receive forgiveness and Christ the King will reign in our life.