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“search the scriptures” John 5:39
Second saying from the cross,‘Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise’, Luke 23. 43.
It was no accident that the Lord Jesus was crucified between two thieves. The One who at His birth in Bethlehem was surrounded by the beasts of the field was at His death crucified between two representatives of the lowest of society. Everything that took place at Calvary was in accordance with the will of God and in fulfilment of the word of God. When Peter and John were released from custody, part of the spontaneous praise of the believers was, ‘For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done’, Acts 4. 27, 28.
There are five books of scripture which refer to these two men. Each of the four Gospels mentions them. Matthew and Mark both say that they were ‘thieves’, Matt. 27. 38; Mark 15. 27; men who habitually broke the sixth commandment. They sought to enrich themselves at the expense of others. What a contrast between them and the Man on the centre cross. He said, ‘The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly’, John 10. 10. He had not come to rob men but to enrich the lives of those who would receive Him.
Luke uses the word ‘malefactors’ to describe them, 23. 32, a word made up of two words meaning ‘an evil doer’. Again, there was a stark contrast between them and Christ. They were notorious criminals, but scripture records of Him, ‘[He] went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him’, Acts 10. 38. In his Gospel, Luke is careful to emphasize the contrast between Christ and the malefactors, ‘And there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death’, Luke 23. 32. In the reading of this verse, it is most important to observe the commas supplied in English translations; the Lord Jesus was not a malefactor. The word used by Luke when he speaks of ‘two other’ is heteros, meaning other of a different kind.
John in his Gospel says, ‘where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst’, 19. 18. He simply referred to them as ‘two other’.
Isaiah says, ‘and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many’, 53. 12. Mark confirmed that this prophecy was fulfilled at Calvary, Mark 15. 28. How wonderful to remember that not only did the Lord Jesus die with transgressors but He died for transgressors, ‘But he was wounded for our transgressions’, Isa. 53. 5. The children’s chorus repeats this precious truth:
‘Three crosses standing side by side,
Of broken law a sign,
Two for their own transgressions died,
The middle One for mine’.
‘And they that were crucified with him reviled him’, Mark 15. 32. Both men were guilty of many crimes, but this was the worst of all; they mocked and taunted the suffering Saviour. They both witnessed the crucifixion of Christ and heard His prayer asking for forgiveness for those who crucified Him. They read the title over the cross, ‘This is Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews’, Matt. 27. 37.
Doubtless the repentant thief was affected by what he saw and heard. He could do nothing to make amends for his past. He realized that time for him was running out. He made confession of his sin, saying to his companion, ‘we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds’, Luke 23. 41. This is the starting point for anyone with an earnest desire to be right with God. The publican said, ‘God be merciful to me a sinner’, 18. 13.
Sadly, we do not read that the second thief ever repented. They had the same opportunity, each was equally near to the One who is twice called in the New Testament ‘the Saviour of the world’, John 4. 42; 1 John 4. 14. They witnessed how patiently He suffered, and they heard His words. How true it is: one was saved that none need despair; one was lost that none might presume.
‘This man hath done nothing amiss’, Luke 23. 41. These words could never be spoken truthfully of any other. He remonstrated with him, saying, ‘Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?’ v. 40. Solomon wrote, ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’, Prov. 9. 10.
They were under a twofold condemnation. A death sentence had been passed on them by the Roman court, and within a few hours they must die. But they were under a far greater condemnation because of their sin against God and their rejection of His Son, ‘he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God’, John 3. 18.
‘Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom’, Luke 23. 42. It was clear that he now believed certain truths about Christ.
In his utter extremity on the threshold of eternity, he said, ‘Lord, remember me’, v. 42.
‘Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise’, v. 43. It was a word of certainty, ‘verily I say unto thee’; a word concerning his company, ‘shalt thou be with me’; a word about the contentment of heaven, ‘in paradise’. He offered him far more than he had asked for. What did he ask for, and what did the Lord promise him? He asked that the Lord remember him when He would come into His kingdom. What marvellous blessings there are associated with the earthly millennial kingdom! And the Lord promised him an entrance into glory that very day, but also to be with Him when He comes to establish His kingdom on earth. Paul writes, ‘When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory’, Col. 3. 4.
Divine grace far exceeds human expectations. He went from the gallows to glory, from agony to ecstasy. In the morning of that day, he was a condemned criminal; in the evening he was a glorified saint. He was the firstfruits of the glorious redemptive work of Calvary. He had no deeds of merit in his former life, and he had no opportunity to live for Christ after his conversion. He could not be baptized; he was saved by sovereign grace alone. He was arrested and charged with many crimes, judged unfit to walk on the streets of Jerusalem, and led outside the city gate to the place of execution; yet by the marvel of God’s grace, he entered that very day through the portals of glory.
The Lord Jesus was the first of the three to die. His last recorded words from the cross were, ‘Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit’, Luke 23. 46. When the repentant thief breathed his last on earth, immediately his spirit was consciously with Christ in paradise. Paradise is synonymous with heaven, the dwelling place of God. We note what the Saviour said, ‘Thou shalt be with me in paradise’. It is His presence that will make paradise what it will ever be.1
Paradise is the antitype of the Garden of Eden. John Milton, 1608-1674, wrote a book entitled Paradise Lost, and another, Paradise Regained. The story of the Garden of Eden is of ‘Paradise Lost’; but, because of the triumph of Christ at Calvary, paradise has been regained and the Lord Jesus could speak to the repentant malefactor of meeting him there that very day.
When the repentant thief heard the reassuring words from the Man on the centre cross, he laid hold of the promise. He had nothing else; no material possessions, his friends, and family were gone. As he faced eternity and realized he soon must meet God, he had one consolation: the promise of the Son of God. The believer today has nothing less and needs nothing more.
Beginning with the promise of Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 concerning the coming Saviour, almost four thousand years rolled by before its fulfilment, Gal. 4. 4.
In Genesis chapter 12 verse 2, when he and Sarah were childless, God promised Abraham that He would make of him a great nation - he was seventy-five years old, and twenty-five years would pass before his son Isaac was born, 21. 5. When he was asked to offer up Isaac, Abraham said, ‘My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering’, 22. 8. About 1900 years would pass before the day when John the Baptist identified the Lamb of God, John 1. 29. God will fulfil all His promises. In Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple, he bore witness to God’s faithfulness to His word, ‘there hath not failed one word of all his good promise’, 1 Kgs. 8. 56.2
The secret of knowing God’s peace in a troubled and turbulent world is for the believer to rest on God’s promises. ‘Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength’, Isa. 26. 3, 4.
In New Testament language, ‘Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus’, Phil. 4. 6, 7.
Faith and fear are mutually exclusive in the experience of a Christian. At any time, we can have one or the other, but not both. Isaiah wrote, ‘I will trust, and not be afraid’, Isa. 12. 2. Our feelings may change, but God’s promises are forever settled in heaven, Ps. 119. 89.
‘Feelings come and feelings go, and feelings are deceiving;
My warrant is the Word of God; naught else is worth believing.
Though all my heart should stand condemned for want of some sweet token,
There is One greater than my heart, whose Word cannot be broken.
I’ll trust in God’s unchanging Word, till soul and body sever,
For, though all things shall pass away, His Word shall stand for ever’.
Martin Luther 1483-1546
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