“Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” Luke 23:38-43

Jesus’ suffering on the cross constituted the physical pain of hanging on the cross, along with the burden of everyone on earth, for the purpose of Christ’s death is for the salvation of all mankind. The people jeering at the scene of crucifixion did not understand this. But those who understood, at least partially, obtained mercy and salvation. One of the criminals was among the few who understood, and even in the face of death and despair he found hope and redemption in Jesus Christ.

The scene is set for us. THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Read the inscription in various languages. It is for this “crime”, Jesus Christ is being punished according to the speedy trial which happened. What was meant as a mockery and disgrace by men, God turned into affirmation and declaration. Notwithstanding the suffering and torture on the cross, Jesus Christ is indeed the King of the Jews, by divine anointing and by David’s lineage. Then we have the exchange between the two criminals. One of them blasphemed Jesus Christ with a taunt. Maybe he hoped to get out his punishment and thought this was the best way to go about it. But the other criminal was different. We do not know what his crimes were, but it led him to be crucified on the cross. However, in this criminal we notice his acceptance of the situation as his own doing, in other words, this criminal regretted his actions and acknowledged that his end was justified. Further, he recognised that among them, Jesus was unjustly crucified. How exactly the criminal concluded this, we do not know. It could be hearing Jesus asking the Father to forgive everyone for what they were doing. It could be the multitude lamenting for him. Maybe he had heard of Jesus before. Whatever be the reason, he then pleaded for grace with faith in the last second of his life, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” It is not often that men get a glimpse of hope when their life is at its last breath, but this man saw his chance, and he took it upon himself to acknowledge his mistakes and to ask for grace and mercy with faith. “Remember me” is all he asked. While one of the criminals was hardened to the end, this one softened at last. None of us knows when our end would be, and when it arrives we wouldn’t know how our hearts would react. It's best to repent when the window of grace is open without wasting precious time.

Seeing the humbleness and true repentance of the criminal on the cross, Jesus Christ gave him an assurance which is recorded as one of the sayings on the cross. Jesus himself is in agony on the cross, yet had compassion for this man and listened to his petition. Christ’s purpose was to offer a way to connect with the Father, which was previously hindered because of sin. With the blood of Jesus Christ our sins are washed away letting us to approach the Father through Jesus Christ as our mediator. Thus, Christ died to open the kingdom of heaven to all repentant, obedient believers. This instance shows us that not one of us would be left behind if only we ask in faith without doubting.

“Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” The man had a past which led him to the cross, and at the cross he found salvation and assurance of forgiveness and eternal life. The last few minutes of this man’s life, no doubt, were the most peaceful. He now had eternity to look forward to. In the first saying, Jesus forgave the people even though they didn’t ask for it. Here we see forgiveness and assurance given to one who asked humbly. So, all we have to do is ask, peace and joy will follow. At the same time, let’s be careful not to harden our hearts, lest like the other criminal on the cross we would miss salvation which is so near to us.