“Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ And Jesus replied, ‘ I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.’” Luke 23: 42-43
Last week’s sermon got me thinking. What is your favorite Bible verse? Whenever I am asked that question my mind and heart immediately go to the above verses. I actually love the verses before that as well, as they set the stage for Jesus’ perfect love and promise. Two criminals, sinners. One mocking Jesus and the other one proclaiming his fear of the Lord and asking for forgiveness.
What I love about this verse is its perfection. Eleven words. These eleven words are what I cling to….“I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.” At that moment Jesus is letting the criminal know and all those that are watching and the generations to come as they read the word of God, that this is the very reason he was dying on the cross. He is speaking the promise of eternal life to a sinner. Jesus showed us that no matter how severe the sin, there is opportunity for salvation and forgiveness from Christ—even in the final breaths of life. It demonstrates that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ and is not dependent on good works or even on the length of our faithfulness.
In his final breaths, the sinner proclaimed he knew who Jesus was, what Jesus’ teaching, miracles, and other words meant, and now he trusted in those words. Only the Holy Spirit can work such a change in the human heart. Jesus knew his heart and granted the promise that despite earth’s sentence upon this man, he would enter the gates of Heaven that very day. Today, Jesus gives you and me the same promise. As we confess our sins, crying out to Him who alone is our hope of salvation, He hears us. As Jesus looks at us today and says: I forgive you all your sins. “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3)
