Lent Midweek 2 – “Today in Paradise.” – Luke 23:39-43

Lent Midweek 2 – “Today in Paradise.” – Luke 23:39-43
3/8/06 – St. Paul’s Lutheran, Union Grove – Vicar Matthew Peters

Grace, Mercy, and Peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

The text for this evening’s message is taken from Luke chapter 23, verses 39 through 43.
[read Luke 23:39-43]

Tonight we consider those words of Jesus as He spoke to the thief from the cross;
“Today, you will be with me in paradise.”

Paradise…
Of course we understand that Jesus is referring here to heaven. He is talking about that holy and blessed place of dwelling with God. Paradise is a joyful place, a perfect place, free from trouble and devoted to the praise and glory of God.
Sometimes we try to put paradise in earthly terms; We might imagine a beautiful oceanfront view, with the surf lapping at the beach as the sun sets. Maybe we think of a walk along a quiet forest trail somewhere in the mountains. Perhaps your version of paradise would look something like Disneyland, or maybe the perfect shopping mall full of your favorite stores…
Regardless of what earthly images come up when we think of a ‘paradise’, we know that heaven – this paradise that Jesus is talking about – is far better than even that! We cannot imagine what great wonders and happiness God has in store for us… it will truly be paradise!
“Today you will be with me in paradise.”

Now, step back and imagine the picture as Jesus speaks these words. He hangs crucified on a cross, between two other men, also sharing the same torturous fate. They are dying. People all around are making fun of them, ridiculing them; especially Jesus. The day is one of those that just makes you feel ill… you feel a sickening sensation in your gut regardless of your opinion or attachment to whatever is going on… gloomy does not begin to describe it.
And yet, Jesus is talking about ‘paradise’ – He’s talking about being in paradise ‘today’. Is He confused? This scene I just described is not even close to what we imagine to be ‘paradise’. The cross is not paradise!
Jesus is on the cross… He’s in agony, He’s in pain… it is a terrible injustice! He did nothing wrong, in fact, He had been perfect! …And still He can talk about paradise.

Once Jesus was up on the cross, people had probably expected for Him to explain Himself. Offer a defense for what He had said – give a last will and testament sort of talk. And at the very least, complain about how this was unfair. They had seen Him do great miracles, and I would think that many of them expected something miraculous to happen upon the cross too.
“He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” … “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
And even the criminals got in on the mocking. At first both of them, and then the one to Jesus right got quiet. As the criminal on the left continued to rail against Jesus, “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

But Jesus doesn’t say too much from the cross. In fact, throughout the four gospel accounts, there are only seven things recorded that Jesus said as He hung there… and none of the gospels record all seven of them together. Jesus was in pain. He was dying. And therefore, He chose His words carefully – and this makes these words of Jesus from the cross all the more important to us here. That is why we have them as our Lenten theme; we “Listen,” because “God is calling” – Jesus is calling from the cross.

The criminal to Jesus’ left is still complaining. He insults Jesus with the demand to save Himself as well as them – these others dying next to Him. He’s gone beyond simple mockery, we now see an element of greed and self-preservation mixed in as well.
So the other criminal, who has apparently been thinking deeply about all of this that has been going on, “…rebuked him. ‘Don’t you fear God,’ he said, ‘since you are under thee same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’”
Tonight our emphasis is upon those words that Jesus said in response to this man’s plea…
“Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today, you will be with me in paradise.’”

Certainly they were not experiencing paradise upon those crosses. There is no question about that. And the criminal on Jesus’ right who makes this plea knows that he and his insulting counterpart are well-deserved of this pain and torture… what they had done was deserving of death.
But even as his well-deserved death is drawing closer and closer, the criminal sees something in Jesus. He sees that there is something special, that there is hope amidst all the suffering – that this Jesus is indeed the one who would be able to save more than merely Himself… but us as well!

‘Remember me Jesus.’ I know that I don’t deserve it – I deserve this death that I’m experiencing.
‘Remember me Jesus.’ I’m a criminal, I’ve broken the laws – I’ve failed when it comes to living up to the commands of God.
‘Remember me Jesus.’ I have sinned. I am lost. And I realize that the only hope for me that there is left is in you…

“Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today, you will be with me in paradise.’”

Some people might not think that Jesus should have been so merciful to this criminal. They think that since he lived the way he did, was such a bad man, that Jesus should have just let him die and experience the eternal torment that he had coming to him.
God be praised that most people here have not waited until so late in their life to hear of Jesus salvation – or have waited until the brink of death, before it is too late to be saved.
But what makes anyone that is here tonight any more deserving of this ‘paradise’ than that criminal who hung next to Jesus. We too are criminals. We too have failed God, committing crimes against His law. And our earthly bodies – as they are infected with this thing called ‘sin’ – they will experience the same death… we will get “what our deeds deserve.”
And that undeserved goodness of God, those gracious words of Jesus then apply to us in the exact same way.

“I tell you the truth, today, you will be with me in paradise.”

The only difference, God willing, is that word, “today”. I certainly hope that these words don’t apply exactly to all of us here tonight; …Because in the case of the criminal, “today” was the day that he was going to meet his earthly end.
But even if this very day is not the day in which we begin our dwelling in ‘paradise’, these words do give us a wonderful assurance nonetheless…
Consider how Jesus did not say, “Tomorrow you will be with me…” or, “At the end of it all you will be with me…” No, Jesus very plainly states, “Today, you will be with me…” This will be true for all believers in Christ. All who place their trust in Him, in that sacrificing death upon the cross, will be with Him as soon as their earthly life ends.
There is no waiting period. There is no ‘sleep’ in between times. There is no break in the awareness or in the reality of an individual’s existence. When the day of our death comes to us, we will be with God on that day!
You have it from the mouth of Jesus. From that very place of our salvation – He spoke this promise from the cross. He said very plainly to that man who placed his trust in the salvation that He alone could provide… he said,
“I tell you the truth, today, you will be with me in paradise.”

God’s words are divine assurance. We are confident because He said so – His words in the Bible have all pointed to this grace! There is no waiting in line, there is only immediate entry.

Because there is no reason to be held up.
You see, as we listen to Jesus’ words from the cross throughout these midweek services, we are indeed listening to the words of God calling to us.

He calls to us through His Word – we have His words in the Bible. We come to His Word for strength and assurance.
We also have His words of promise as they are attached to His Holy Sacraments. Our sins are forgiven and washed away through baptism, and we are given strength through His very Body and Blood in Holy Communion.
God has called out to us, and has given us these promises. He tells us like He told that criminal on the cross, “you will be with me in paradise.” We will be given that gift of paradise in God’s presence because as He hung upon that cross, Jesus was indeed suffering though He did not deserve it. He was suffering because we deserve it. On our behalf He took the punishment for the sins and failings of the world.
And because of His blood being shed, and because of His death there between two criminals, God looks upon us as though we have never sinned. Your sins have been taken away! Your sins are forgiven because of Jesus.

The criminal was forgiven. You are forgiven. And Jesus speaks His words to all who trust in that forgiveness…

“I tell you the truth, today,” whenever your ‘today’ might come, “today, you will be with me in paradise.”

Praise be to God for these words that we can listen to.

Amen.