The Seven Last Words on the Cross (2)

[Luke 23:34-43]

This is the second word Jesus spoke from the cross:

“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

Who does Jesus mean by “you” here? In other words, to whom did Jesus say, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise”? He is one of the “two criminals” (verse 39) or “two thieves” (Matt. 27:38) who were crucified alongside Jesus. It is not known whether this was the thief who was crucified on Jesus’ right or on His left (Luke 23:33, Contemporary Bible). At that time, the punishment for thieves was not always crucifixion, but seeing that these two thieves were crucified with Jesus suggests they were particularly notorious criminals. These two thieves mocked Jesus on the cross. See Matthew 27:44: “In the same way, the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.” The phrase “in the same way” means they mocked Jesus just as the chief priests, scribes, and elders had earlier mocked Him. Matthew 27:41-43 says: “In the same way, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ‘He saved others,’ they said, ‘but he can’t save himself! He’s the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” (Contemporary Bible) The two thieves included one who “reviled Jesus, saying, ‘Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!’” (Luke 23:39). Then the other thief “rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God since you are under the same sentence? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong’” (Contemporary Bible, verses 40-41). After saying this, the thief asked Jesus, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom” (verse 42). Here, “when you come into your kingdom” refers to Jesus’ second coming. This thief understood this precious truth, the gospel. The Holy Spirit enlightened him to believe in Jesus and to trust in Him. Jesus then said to this thief, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” (verse 43). “Paradise” here means heaven.

An interesting point is that in Matthew 27:41-44, when the two thieves crucified with Jesus mocked Him (verse 44), they would likely have said to Jesus, like the chief priests, scribes, and elders did (verse 41), “He saved others but cannot save himself; if he is the King of Israel, let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe him. He trusts in God; if God is pleased with him, let Him rescue him now” (verses 42-43, Contemporary Bible). But Luke 23:39-41 shows that only one of the two thieves mocked Jesus by saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” (verse 39, Contemporary Bible), while the other thief rebuked the one who insulted Jesus and said, “Do you not fear God since you are under the same sentence? We are rightly punished for what we did, but this man has done nothing wrong” (verses 40-41). Why did one of the two thieves insult Jesus by saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” while the other rebuked him and then asked Jesus, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (verse 42)? The thief who insulted Jesus by saying “Save yourself and us” was mocking Jesus with sarcasm, implying: ‘If you really are the Christ, save yourself and us from being condemned and executed on the cross.’ The other thief, fearing God, said that they deserved their punishment because of their sins, but Jesus had done nothing wrong (verses 40-41, Contemporary Bible). In other words, this thief acknowledged that although Jesus was receiving the same condemnation and punishment as they were, unlike them, He was innocent of any crime deserving crucifixion. When this thief asked Jesus to remember him when He entered His kingdom (verse 42), he was not asking for physical salvation from death like the other thief’s mocking plea, but rather for Jesus to remember him when He entered God’s kingdom, so that he too could enter “paradise” (heaven) with Jesus and live forever (eternal life) (verses 42-43).

This is the complete grace and work of God’s salvation. God mercifully chose to save this thief according to His will, while the other thief was hardened (Romans 9:15,18). The thief who received God’s mercy and salvation was a wicked criminal deserving crucifixion because of his sins, yet by God’s grace, through faith in the sinless Jesus Christ, he received salvation (eternal life) and entered heaven. As the hymn “The Garment My Lord Wore” (New Hymnal 87) says, Jesus, who left a glory more brilliant than Zion to come into this world, endured the bitter suffering on the cross and loved even to death (John 13:1), saving even one wicked thief by love (Luke 23:43). No one can come to God the Father except through Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Salvation and entry into heaven are only possible through faith in Jesus Christ. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household” (Acts 16:31, Contemporary Bible).