Thief: Jesus remember me?
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| What is truth? Deutsch: Was ist Wahrheit? Français : "Qu'est-ce que la vérité ?" Le Christ et Pilate. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” [Luke 23:42]
As Jesus was hanging between the two criminals one of them hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you supposed to be the Messiah? Why don’t you save yourself!” This is what everyone was saying. The people were saying it (Luke 23:35), the Roman soldiers were saying it (v. 36), and Pilate had a notice put on the cross: “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS” (v. 38). The criminal added, of course, “And save us, too!”
But the other criminal rebuked him: “Aren’t you afraid of God? We deserve what we are getting, but this man has done nothing wrong.” This is an amazing testimony to the grace of God. It is not natural for a guilty person to admit his or her guilt and to admit that punishment is deserved.
Beyond this, consider the agonizing pain this man was experiencing. When we are in pain our instinct is to lash out at others and at God. But this man confessed his sin and the justice of his punishment in the midst of a torturous death.
The penitent thief then asked Jesus to remember him when he entered his kingdom. Jesus assured him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” (v. 43).
This text offers wondrous assurance to both the thief and to us, for it proves that at the point of death the believer goes to heaven to be with Jesus. Contrary to what some groups maintain, there is no such thing as “soul sleep.” We do not sleep until the resurrection. We go to heaven, and there we are conscious in the presence of God while we wait for the resurrection of the body and the new world to come.
Forgiveness follows confession of sin and admission of wrongdoing. The repentant thief on the cross somehow knew this sequence and, being moved by the Holy Spirit just moments prior to death, was granted pardon and assurance of salvation. The more quickly and specifically you confess your sin, the more fully you, too, will experience Christ’s forgiveness.
