Words From the Cross: "Today you will be with me in paradise."

“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

 Luke 23:43

Last week we meditated on the compassionate heart of our Savior as he prayed for the forgiveness of those who crucified him. He asked his Father for mercy, “for they know not what they do.” In their ignorance, they had killed the Lord of Life, the King of Glory. 

Jesus asked for mercy for those who are ignorant, but what about the ones who are guilty? How does Christ treat those who deserve to hang on a cross? What is the disposition of Jesus’ heart toward hardened criminals?

He looks on them with great love.

Our meditation today reflects back on a conversation between Jesus and the man who was crucified next to him. Who was this man? We know very little about him. Luke called him a “criminal”, but the Greek word that he used suggests that he had committed a serious crime. Matthew and Mark also mentioned that the criminals who were crucified with Jesus reviled him. (Matt. 27:44, Mark 15:32) This man started out like everyone else: reviling, mocking and blaspheming Jesus. But then something changed. Something shifted inside of him as he hung on his cross. What did he see that caused such a drastic change of heart? 

These men were in excruciating pain. They had been flogged and scourged. They had huge nails driven into their hands and feet. Every breath would have been a struggle and every word a fight. And yet, through all of his pain, Jesus did not lash out in anger. He did not lose control. He didn’t even check out, like most of us do when we just need to push through. Peter described Jesus this way, “When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” (1 Pet. 2:23) The criminal who hung next to Jesus would have seen a man that was completely different than everyone else. 

While everyone else hurled insults and hate, the resolve of the heart of Christ remained true. He prayed for those who persecuted him. He showed concern for his mother and friends. He forgave. He endured this suffering, because in the depths of his soul, he trusted in the goodness and justice of his Father. His heart remained steadfast and true, even to the end. 

This criminal would have seen the pain of Jesus up close. He would have understood it in a way that you and I never can, because he experienced it. He saw that what came out of his own heart was evil and vile, but the heart barely beating next to him was pure and good. He heard words of hate come out of his own mouth, but only words of forgiveness and love poured from the beaten, bloody man next to him. As his own flesh and heart began to fail, he realized the time had come to prepare to meet his maker. How ironic that the God who knit this man together in his mother’s womb, now hung on a cross next to him in his final moments. We don’t know exactly how much he understood, but he believed in the man hanging next to him. He understood that, even though they would die, this man’s kingdom would never end. 

He turned to Jesus and asked, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus turned his head and said, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” No penance necessary. No price to pay. Paradise and pardon freely given.

These are the words the guilty conscience longs to hear. The suffering Savior is the sight our condemned souls need to see. We need a Savior who is willing to enter into our pain. The criminal knew without a doubt that Jesus understood what he experienced. But the criminal needed more than that to survive the cross. He needed a God who not only enters into pain, but takes on death itself. If this man had any hope of reaching paradise, it could only happen if Jesus defeated sin and death to get him there. 

Peter, the one who knew what it was to be forgiven by the Friend he had betrayed and denied, later wrote these beautiful words, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (1 Pet. 2:24-25) The promise of forgiveness is not some distant hope. It is a promise for today. Today, you are dead to sin. Today, you are alive to righteousness. How can this be true? Because on that day, Jesus bore your sins. His wounds heal you. 

We are all wayward sheep who have run away from home and gotten caught and bound by sin. Every single one of us needs to be rescued and set free from the bonds that entangle us. We all need to be found and brought home. As he hung on the cross, Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the sheep, the Overseer of our souls, brought this criminal home. The same Shepherd searches for us today. 

Jesus looks on you with eyes of compassion. His heart longs to gather you in. Paradise is found in the love of our Savior. By simply turning your face and your heart back to him, all that is lost can be found. Don’t wait until tomorrow. Let today be the day, dear one.