Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise

 

 There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death.  And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.  Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."  And they divided His garments and cast lots. 

 

And the people stood looking on.  But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God."  The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, and saying, "If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself."  

 

And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:

THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us."  But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?  And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong."  Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom."  And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."

 

- Luke 23:32-43 

 

Yesterday we read that as they led Jesus away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.  And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him.  But Jesus, turning to them, said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and your children.  For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!'  Then they will begin 'to say to the mountains, 'Fall on us!' and to the hills, 'Cover us!'  For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?"  

 

 There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death.  And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.   The English word Calvary comes from the Latin for "skull."  In the Greek of the text this word is Κρανίον/Kranion, meaning "the skull."    My study Bible comments that being crucified between the two criminals shows Christ's complete identity with fallen humanity, and it fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 53:9-12.  

Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."   And they divided His garments and cast lots.  My study Bible says that this intercession is not only for those who sentenced and crucified Jesus, but for all of humanity -- a people who have no insight into the profound mystery of God's salvation.  Jesus speaks these words not as a request, but with divine authority.  My study Bible adds that their great sin would still have been forgiven them had they repented.  Indeed, we know that one of the soldiers did indeed repent (Luke 23:47), and is considered to be a saint of the Church.  

And the people stood looking on.  But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God."  The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, and saying, "If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself."   The taunt to "save Yourself" is, according to my study Bible, the continuing temptation of Satan to deter Jesus from completing His mission (see Luke 4:9-13).  

 

And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:  THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.  In this inscription, my study Bible says, what was intended as an accusation and a mockery became instead a triumphant symbol that all nations would come under the reign of Jesus the King.

Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us."  But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?  And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong."  Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom."  And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."  My study Bible explains that the first of the criminals wanted to use Jesus to avoid responsibility for his actions, while the other accepts his sentence and asks simply to be remembered.  This latter way is the path to Paradise.  Jesus tells him that "today you will be with Me in Paradise."  My study Bible comments on Jesus' use of "today" that to be reconciled to Christ is to be in paradise immediately.  Moreover, it adds, the souls of the departed are in the presence of God and experience a foretaste of God's glory before the final resurrection.  

I am intrigued and drawn to Christ's final words here, addressed to the penitent thief:  "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."  How many of us would love to hear those words?  Is this not an invitation devoutly to be wished?  Even if we were not close to death in this world, would we not wish to be with Christ in Paradise?  The word for Paradise (Παραδείσος/Paradisos) comes from an ancient Persian (or perhaps Armenian) word, which, according to Strong's definitions, means an enclosure or garden or park.  Ancient Paradise (the one in which Adam and Eve were first dwelling), some say, was a garden upon a mountain (see Ezekiel 28:13-14, "You were on the holy mountain of God").  As such, it was closer to heaven; in this sense of Paradise, somewhere between the earth we know and heaven.  So why would we not wish to be in this beautiful place, and with Jesus, and surrounded by God's love and beauty?  And yet, we live in a world of exile from that place, and tainted by the things that are against love, against the presence and truths of God.  And so, we need to think about this a little bit, because that promise, "You will be with Me in Paradise," is one that is, in a sense, given to all of us.  There can be no doubt that Christ would like to be able to say this to each of us.  Those of us with loved ones no longer in this world no doubt would love to be in that same Paradise where the cares and sins of the world are away from us, and we could live in harmony with those whom we love, perhaps even with those with whom we've had bad experiences.  For this kind of peace must fill a Paradise where Christ is.  But we have to think to ourselves that if Christ came to this world, and took on the nature and life of human beings, even condescending to be numbered among the transgressors, crucified as a criminal between two thieves, on a hill that is the opposite of the holy mountain of Paradise, then these words have to mean something more to us than one promise to one man who has repented.  These words are meant for each of us to whom they are a beautiful promise, for Christ gives us His kingdom, too, and His presence and the Spirit, and His angels, while we are yet still in this world, in exile from Paradise.  Christ asks us to take up His Cross -- the one through which He has defeated death -- and make for ourselves the paradise that we can where we live.  He asks us to live and dwell within His paradise on earth:  the Kingdom we can carry within and amongst ourselves through faith and following His word and His teachings.  We are to love one another, to reflect beauty and His truth.  We are to create by allowing the energies of grace to work through us and cooperating with them, through our own ongoing repentance and transformation in that grace, and by growing in the virtues that God's love and mercy would teach and grow in us (Galatians 5:22-23).  We have walked through Jesus' ministry as we've gone through the Gospel of Luke, and witnessed the struggle for this world, which continues.  But we are those who may yet live with Him through His presence with us, through the grace and mercy we receive and may therefore share with one another, through the beauty we may create through the understanding of God's love.  We might not be on that holy mountain, or in the Paradise Christ opens to the thief, but it seems that our job in this world is to live that paradise here through the gifts we are given, even as we live amidst a world filled with problems and spiritual struggle.  In the 23rd Psalm we may pray with the ancient author that although we "walk through the valley of the shadow of death" our Shepherd walks with us, comforts us, guides us, and provides for us.  For He rules among His enemies here (Psalm 110), even the "shadow of death" that remains.  And yet, we look to the promise of our places in His Paradise (John 14:2-3), even as we are meant to dwell in the holiness He gives us here.  Today we read of an inscription meant to mock, but Christ remains our King, here and in the Paradise He promises.  But it is here we're meant to build and dwell in His Kingdom.