The Penitent Thief
Luke 23:39-43
by Rev. Frank Schaefer

 ³⁹One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, "Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!"

 ⁴⁰But the other answered, and rebuking him said, "Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?

 ⁴¹"And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong."

 ⁴²And he was saying, "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!"

 ⁴³And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in  Paradise."

When I was a teen, the story of the penitent thief on the cross was one of my favorites. I knew all about “salvation,” having been raised in the pews of a Baptist church. But I had never made that ultimate commitment to God. The story of the thief gave me comfort, because if he could receive salvation in the hour of his death, then there was hope for me.

In fact, I believe my plan back then was to live my life the way I pleased and as I felt the end of my life approaching, I would quick pray the sinner’s prayer (which I knew by heart) and ….. be with him “in paradise today!”

The only flaw to my plan, I thought back then, was the possibility of a sudden death via accident in which case I wouldn’t be able to “reel off” my last-minute salvation prayer. Oops.

As silly as this thinking seems to me today, I wonder how many folks actually think like that. I sometimes wonder if the story of the penitent thief on the cross is really that great of a lesson. The hour of death is certainly is not the ideal time to find salvation.

After all, doesn’t it matter how we live? What about Matthew 25 where Jesus is said to separate the good and the bad at the end of time based on their good deeds--or lack thereof.

Maybe there is a misunderstanding here. Jesus said to the thief: "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:43)

Paradise—that’s not the word commonly used for heaven, is it? Paradise is most commonly associated with the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve lived. Maybe, Jesus didn’t really promise heaven to the penitent thief?

I only found the word paradise used in two other places in the NT:

· 2 Corinthians 12:4 -- caught up in paradise (in this case it is used synonymously with “heaven”)

· Revelation 2:7 – To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the paradise.

In Revelation the phrase “paradise’ is used in an interesting way: here a parallel is drawn between the tree of life in the Garden of Eden which carried the forbidden fruit.

But the new tree of life in paradise mentioned in Revelation is different in that God invites us to eat from it. Why? What changed?

I get a feeling that when Jesus spoke words of salvation to the penitent thief on the cross, he used the word “paradise” very deliberately. Jesus took the symbol of the ultimate punishment of his time—the tree of death--and turned it into the "new" Tree of Life.

The story of the penitent thief on the cross shows the extent to which salvation goes. Salvation is this totally amazing grace with one powerful operative: unconditional forgiveness. God’s unconditional forgiveness transforms death into new life, and sin/guilt into righteousness.

The penitent thief on the cross was the first one to experience this unconditional forgiveness. It’s as if God was making a statement about this new kind of redemption by saying: even in the most extreme case—in the hour of death—this new forgiveness is unconditionally extended to us. Yes, you can receive salvation even when taking your last breath. “Today you will be with me in paradise.”

When Adam and Eve ate from the original tree of life, they lost their innocence and invited sin and evil into their lives. When Jesus died on the tree of death, he transformed it into the new tree of life whose fruit is unconditional forgiveness. It is the fruit we’re all invited to eat as it restores us to the original innocence lost to Adam and Eve. In the cross we have come full circle!

So when you look at Jesus dying on that rugged cross, look past the suffering, look past the betrayal, the false accusations, the mocking, the flogging, and the agony of his death. Look past it to the greater message of God’s unconditional forgiveness, the message of new life that springs forth from that cross.

The penitent thief is the poster child for God’s grace as defined through Christ. The thief asked Jesus to remember him. That was enough to cause Jesus to have mercy on him.

God’s grace is extreme and it’s unconditional. God’s grace is for today. You don’t have to wait until you die. Today, you too can be with him in paradise. You too can receive new life, turn a new page, start all over again. Today, you can get rid of your past demons, today you can experience forgiveness and the love of God; today you can start your new life filled with opportunities, a new direction and totally divine purpose. Today!