“And he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.’” (Luke 23:42-43)
Not only Jesus hung on a cross; two criminals hung to His left and right. One mocked Jesus despite his own miserable situation. The other, however, came to repentance. At the very last moment, because a few hours later he was dead.
The Gospel message is summarized in a few verses here. A man had sinned and earned the death penalty. He recognized that this punishment was just. But he also noticed that Jesus was very different from him. Unlike all those soldiers and bystanders, the criminal recognized that Jesus hung there innocently and was actually a King. And so he begged Him for help. Immediately Jesus responded to his request and promised that the man would be with Him in paradise.
It almost sounds too easy, don’t you think? The criminal didn’t even have time to repent at length and confess his sins, let alone show that he had changed his life. And yet Jesus unconditionally promised him a glorious future that very day.
So much does the Lord Jesus love us humans, both then and now. If you acknowledge that you are sinful and deserve punishment, and then flee to Him in repentance, He will save you. For that was His purpose in coming to earth and dying at the cross!
Image by James Tissot Collection (Brooklyn Museum), available on the website of Free Bible Images