Jesus hung on the cross an innocent man. As the taunts from the Jewish leaders, Roman soldiers, and the crowd continued to be hurled at him, as he sucked in ragged breaths, we know this:
Jesus was convicted as an insurrectionist, a peasant revolutionary attempting to overthrow the Roman government and start his own kingdom-and with a bunch of Jews. Although Pilate did not believe it and found him innocent-he went along with it. The Jewish leaders concocted some crazy stories but overall they were threatened by this perceived Messiah leader who really had no intention of overthrowing the Romans and giving them back their land. In fact, he had been preaching peace, non-violence, and befriending some motley crews of people. Then he challenged the law, and the temple and had the audacity to not only tell people he could forgive sins-but claimed he truly had the authority to forgive sins-only God can do that-and this is not the God they wanted to follow. Jesus was disrupting the entire Jewish lineage by inviting everyone into this “Kingdom of Heaven, Kingdom of God” and the Jewish leaders would have no part of it-so they arrange to have him killed…and the process was now in full swing.
On either side of Jesus is another cross with a criminal. According to the Greek word used for criminal, they are armed bandits; and these thieves are ridiculing Jesus.
-they join in with the religious leaders hurling insults
– they continue the taunts of the Roman soldiers and those along for the show
Jesus has just uttered out his first words of forgiveness but the taunts still come-
But then I wonder if one scans the crowds and sees these people:
– Mary Magdalene, Zaccheus, Matthew and his tax collector friends, all the other sinners Jesus hung with
– Then the first words of Jesus on the cross echo in his ears “Father, forgive them…”
The thief is overwhelmed by a sense of revelation and understanding-he deserves to be there. He was an armed robber who has abused his way into crime-no doubt he is guilty as charged and deserves punishment. Remorse hits him like an ocean wave. Do you think that as he looks at the crowd and sees all the people Jesus befriended, healed, and showed mercy too; that as the words” Father, forgive them” rings-he thinks, maybe this Jesus will save me too! And in an utter act of repentance, he challenges the other thief-and recognizes Jesus for who he is-do you not fear God??? This man is innocent -we deserve to be here.
The first thief saw: The other thief saw:
Recognized the Creator God saw an accused man
Recognized grace experienced guilt
Recognized mercy felt pain
Recognized hope knew only despair
Eternal life with Jesus eternal loneliness and fear
The question we must ask is what thief are we?
– are we the ones who see Jesus, know the accounts and yet, turn our back upon him and call him a phony and false?
– or do we see our sin, recognize our need for salvation, and call out to Jesus, “Lord remember me”.
What this story reminds us of so well, is that Jesus’ heart was for sinners-for the least, the lost, and the last. In his dying moments, his last act of healing and salvation was to heal a notorious thief. Should we not too have the mind of Christ? Instead of seeing thieves, robbers, punks, young nuisances-should we not see what Jesus saw? A dying person in need of forgiveness and grace.
When the sinner asked Jesus if he would remember him in his kingdom, Jesus fills him with hope and a promise…”Today”..what a beautiful word for any person suffering or called “home” that today-immediately, they are with Jesus.
And finally, “paradise”. Close your eyes…think of your version of paradise-a mountainscape, a seascape. An old Persian custom held that when one was honored, they would go to the king’s special garden- a walled place with a small zoo, lush plants, and water features. This is how they began to define paradise. Paradise in the Jewish context came to eventually mean the Garden of Eden- the heavenly King’s Garden. We see in so many places, Jesus in a garden…the garden of Gethsemane, Calvary, his tomb in a garden. Mary will confuse him as a gardener. Jesus’ use of the word paradise in this context becomes another reminder to his true identity. He has the ability to take this thief with him to paradise- The King’s Garden. And Jesus, in the beginning, was the very one who created the garden. Jesus the Son is dying on the cross but alluding to His divine kingship and the Creator God that He also is. Fitting that paradise in the end for the thief is the very place that God created when all was perfect and before Adam and Eve were banished for their sin. Being with Jesus in life and in death is very real!
So, what will we do? What thief are we and how will we respond? When we look out into our community, it is easy to see the least, the last, the lost, and to give up-to think that it is hopeless. Or it is easy to sit in our comfortable church seats and look down upon others who have really messed up. But if we put ourselves up there next to Jesus-on the thief’s cross-we’ll remember that we too are sinners in need of Jesus’ grace. And if we have the courage, in our pain and in our suffering, we will be like our Saviour and offer His mercy and grace to those who are in desperate need of redemption- so that they too can experience the King in his garden and paradise.
Lord, remember me in your kingdom. Today, I assure you, you will be with me in paradise… Luke 23:43
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