Luke 23:43. And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
On the day Jesus was crucified two other men were crucified with him. Both were criminals, bad guys that tried to hurt people. And both of them started out by mocking Jesus like everyone else was. But on that Good Friday one of those two men changed. He humbled himself before the Lord Jesus as saw how Jesus trusted God and forgave the wicked people around him.
The Bible calls the two men crucified with Jesus criminals. The first criminal mocked Jesus the whole time and never repented of his sin. But the second criminal, however, will begin to understand what is really going on. His will not only be a humble response, but also a response of great faith. Let’s look at what he and Jesus say to each other while on the cross:
Luke 23:39-43. 39One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
The second criminal understands his own guilt and he understands Jesus’ innocence. He says, this man has done nothing wrong. He knew that he was guilty but Jesus was righteous. He knew that Jesus is the King over a Kingdom, and that he held the power to decide who enters that kingdom. This criminal could see that eternal life was possible. He trusted that Jesus was likely to show mercy to anyone who calls on his name, no matter what they’ve done wrong in their life.
Jesus responded to this criminal with an amazing promise – TODAY you will be with me in Paradise. Paradise means garden, the garden of God, like in Genesis. And notice the word Today. We don’t have to wait to be with God, it starts the moment we believe in Jesus.
All of this is grace!
What good deeds did this criminal do? None. How many sacrifices did he offer at the Temple? None. He never went to church, got baptized, or read his Bible. But God saved him anyway. Why? Because God always saves us by his grace, not by our good works. A man who had never done a single thing for Jesus will live with Jesus forever. That’s God’s grace!
You: Do you think that you need to be good to go to Heaven (Paradise) and live with God? If you don’t have to be good, then how do you get to Heaven?
You with Jesus: Jesus didn’t just forgive the criminal that trusted in him; he also invited him to live with him in Paradise? What do you think will be the best thing about living with Jesus in Paradise?
Prayer: Father, I can’t wait to be in Paradise with you and Jesus. Help me to live like I am already there. Amen.
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