They were both criminals. Don’t miss this representation of you and me. Everyone is equal before God. All have sinned and fallen short and are worthy to hang to the left or to the right of Jesus on our own crosses. Praise God, Jesus hung on his cross in our place…
38 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.
39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Luke 23:38-43 NIV
Jesus wants us to know that from the cross, he went to paradise. And not only that, we go there to be with him when we die. Are you afraid of death? Are you concerned about what will happen to you when you die? If so, here is some good news for you.
Jesus was crucified with two criminals on either side of him. I don’t think we should ignore that there were two. Not three. Not five. Two. I believe that these two criminals represent those who have faith in Jesus and those who don’t. In other words, these two dudes are a reflection of everyone.
If you want to see what the historic views have been on these fellows and what they represent, just google ‘penitent thief’ and ‘impenitent thief.’ They have been theorized to death, as it were. No shortage of thoughts and opinions which go deeper than I would, but that’s what we do.
For my reflection, I note that one criminal insulted Jesus and mocked him. He didn’t believe Jesus is Messiah, and he represents those who choose to reject Jesus. The other criminal rebuked the first. He defended Jesus as having done nothing wrong. He made a statement of great faith:
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
They were both criminals. Don’t miss that part. Don’t miss that everyone is equal before God. All have sinned and fallen short (Romans 3:23). All are worthy to hang to the left or to the right of Jesus on our own crosses. Praise God, Jesus hung on his cross in our place. His sacrifice covers our sin and guilt, and we can enter paradise because we trust in Jesus our Messiah.
“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
If you die today believing that Jesus the Messiah died for your sin and guilt and that he rose again in victory, you will join him in this paradise. It’s a promise. It’s the blessed future hope for criminals like you and me. Criminals in paradise…
Amen.
Marc Kinna
marckinna 