39One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
40But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.[f]“
43Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Only Luke tells us of this exchange between Jesus and the criminals on the cross. The word Luke used for criminals is kakourgos in Greek, which indicates someone who has committed serious, violent crimes. Other gospels use the word lestes, which means highwayman, robber, or bandit. These men may have been the sort of bandits that Jesus talked about in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37, blog). They were a serious problem on the roads in Jesus’ day. They swooped down on travelers, stripping them of all their possessions and leaving them for dead. For this reason travelers traveled in large groups whenever possible. Jesus’ family traveled with a large group when he was a boy on their way to and from the temple for this very reason (Luke 2:41-52, blog). These men were not just political opponents of Rome, guilty of some petty offense. They were dangerous men, violent criminals.
The first criminal showed the same attitude as the others who were taunting Jesus. In fact, insults were probably being hurled at the criminals as well as Jesus. This was the custom at crucifixions, as I mentioned yesterday. So this criminal joined in with the others who jeered at Jesus. For some, the only way to make themselves feel better when things are going badly is to heap abuse on others. Misery loves company. The criminal’s insults had the added element of his own predicament mixed in. His taunt was not just, “If you’re the Messiah, save yourself”, it was “save yourself and us too, while you’re at it.” Many in dire circumstances get angry at God. If God is God, then why is this happening to me? Why doesn’t God get me out of this mess? Have you ever felt that way? I have.
But the other criminal had a completely different attitude. While his cohort reacted to his circumstances with anger, he seemed to understand who Jesus was in a way that even Jesus’ disciples didn’t, at least not yet. The only disciple of Jesus who is recorded in any of the gospels as having been at the crucifixion is John (John 19:26-27). Indeed, even after the resurrection, two of Jesus’ disciples showed a lack of understanding of who Jesus was and what his kingdom was about on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:20-21). While Jesus hung on the cross, his disciples’ hopes of Jesus coming into his kingdom were shattered. But this hardened criminal believed even while Jesus was being crucified that he would still come into his kingdom. But I’m getting ahead of myself. The second criminal showed understanding in several areas.
1. Even though he was a criminal, he feared God. (Don’t you fear God?)
2. He recognized his own sin. (We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve.)
3. He understood that Jesus was innocent. (But this man has done nothing wrong.)
4. He recognized that Jesus, even though he was about to die, he would still come into his kingdom. (Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.) Not even Jesus’ disciples had that kind of faith.
Many speculate that this criminal had heard Jesus teach at some point. I imagine a scene where Jesus, on the road to Jerusalem sometime during the previous weeks, traveled by where these bandits were hiding, waiting to prey on unsuspecting travelers. The bandits didn’t attack them because their group was too large, but Jesus and his group stopped within earshot of where they were hiding, and they heard Jesus teach and maybe even saw him perform a miracle. The seeds of belief were planted in this criminal. Later, the bandits attacked a different group and these two were caught and arrested. A few days later, here they were, hanging on crosses on either side of the one they had heard and seen days or weeks before. But where one reacted with anger because he had seen Jesus help someone else but was not helping him, the other still placed his hopes in Jesus because of what he had seen and heard. Of course, this is all speculation, but something must have led up to this criminal’s appeal to Jesus. Something spurred him to believe.
The second criminal’s plea, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom”, strikes me as not being unlike me saying to a record executive, “Remember me when you’re signing new artists.” It’s not exactly a statement of repentance. It’s similar to what Joseph said to Pharoah’s cupbearer, when Joseph predicted that the cupbearer would be released from prison.
“When all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison” (Genesis 40:14).
Did the criminal on the cross repent? It’s not specifically recorded that he did, but he confessed his sin (We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve), and he believed in Jesus as Lord and King (Lord, remember me when You come in Your kingly glory! {Amplified}) Repentance is not something that happens when we first accept Jesus as Savior. Repentance is changing your mind. It’s changing the way we live after we accept Christ. The criminal may not have had the chance to live a life of repentance, but he confessed his sin and believed, which is what is necessary for salvation. (1 John 1:9)
Jesus’ response to the bandit’s plea was: “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” Jesus obviously thought this man’s confession and faith were sufficient to save him.
This passage raises several doctrinal and theological debates. For some who teach that baptism is necessary for salvation, the thief’s conversion is a problem because he was never baptized. Although we are commanded to “Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins” in Acts 2:38, I don’t believe that the Bible teaches that we can’t be saved unless we are baptized. Jesus certainly didn’t think so in his response to the thief.
Another issue that springs from this passage is the issue of deathbed conversions. This is the only such conversion in the Bible. Many struggle with the idea that one can lead a life of sin and repent at the last moment, and still enjoy eternal life in Heaven. It may seem unfair, but remember the elder brother in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32, blog). We can’t have that attitude. Jesus also taught that same principle in the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16). If we’re tempted to think it’s unfair that someone can slip into Heaven at the last minute, remember that God is a God of mercy. The mercy he shows to the one who repents on their deathbed is the same mercy he showed to you and me. The other side of that issue is that some see this example as a way to put off coming to Christ. They figure that they can do whatever they want, and become a Christian at the end of their life. But we can’t count on getting that chance. Now is the hour of salvation.
Another point of controversy is Jesus’ use of the terms today and Paradise. The Bible does talk about those who “sleep” until the final resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:18, 20, 51; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-15; 5:10). So how could this thief be in Paradise with Jesus that same day? Doesn’t he have to wait like everyone else? I think this boils down to a misunderstanding of time. For those who “sleep” and await the final resurrection, no time passes for them. Time only exists for us in the physical universe. I believe that when we die, the transition to the next life seems instantaneous to us, because for us, time no longer exists. We’re not waiting around in Purgatory for time to play out so we can go to Heaven or hell. Talk of those who have gone before waiting for us in the Great Beyond is based on time-bound thinking. From our perspective, it’s been 2000 years since Jesus and this thief had this conversation. But to the thief, no time passed between his death and when he met Jesus in Paradise.
So what’s Paradise? Is it just another word for Heaven? To Jews of Jesus’ day, Paradise was an earthly garden, a restoration of the Garden of Eden, which the Messiah would establish in his kingdom. So maybe Jesus is talking about his earthly kingdom when he comes with power. Since he was answering the criminal’s request to remember him when he came into his kingdom, that may be what he meant. That kingdom will be established when Jesus returns and the dead in Christ rise. But again, for those who sleep, it will seem like the same day as when they died. Or maybe Jesus did mean Heaven. Either way, if Jesus is there, it’s Heaven!
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