Knowing The Word in Luke 23:39-43

Paradise with Jesus

23:39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Comments

Only Luke included this dialogue between Jesus and the criminals. The first criminal’s question of Jesus being the Christ presupposes “yes,” but it is laced with pure sarcasm. He too picked up on the verbiage of the rulers’ mockery of Jesus. This was the third temptation for Jesus to save himself from crucifixion. This three-fold temptation bookends Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. We wonder, will he prove to be the True Israel and remain obedient to God, even in the most horrific of circumstances, or will the voice of Satan prevail?

Then the second criminal asked Jesus to “remember” him for his own good when Jesus came into his kingdom as the ruler of heaven and earth. Where did the man get that insight? Had he been converted on the cross? As one theologian has written, “Conversion seldom takes place on the soft and easy couch.” The hard wood of the cross brought the second criminal to a new place of being open to the presence of the living God. While realizing that death was not the end of things, he probably did not understand the true meaning of Jesus’ kingdom in paradise. The word translated “paradise” is from a Persian word meaning “garden.” It is used in the Old Testament specifically for the Garden of Eden.

Application

What did Jesus mean in this saying about paradise? In speaking about God’s revelation to him, Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:3 that he was “caught up into paradise.” In Revelation 2:7 we read: “To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” Paradise is the place where humanity dwells with God. In returning to Jesus’ promise of the second criminal being with him in paradise, we understand the man will be with Jesus, who is God, and that the death of Jesus opens up paradise to believers.

Prayer

Let us pray to the Father, who loved the world so much that he sent his only Son to give us life. The thief (criminal) looked for a part in the coming of your kingdom, and received your Son’s words of hope and comfort. Give hope and reconciliation, healing and peace to all who look death in the face today.

Trevor Lloyd (modified)