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HOUSMAIL HM060
20
July 2000 A THIEF’S “DAY IN PARADISE” WITH JESUS – Luke 23:43 It was
the day before the Passover feast in Jerusalem, probably in AD30. Three men hung
on crosses outside the city. They were in terrible agony, suffering what must
be one of the most fiendishly cruel punishments ever devised for criminals. It
was customary for the Romans to place a sign above each man's head, with his name,
and the name of his crime. No details are preserved about the sign, which was
most likely above two of the men, but if present it would have said simply - "thief".
It is not unreasonable to speculate that perhaps they knew each other. Perhaps
they had been arrested together for the same crime. There
was definitely a sign above the third man. It proclaimed this man to be guilty
of TREASON against Rome. It was written in three different languages, Hebrew,
and Greek, and Latin. (John 19:20) (These were the three languages most commonly heard in Jerusalem
- the Romans were making sure that everyone understood how Rome dealt with treason!)
It read simply, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews". Of course,
EVERYONE had heard about the new prophet in town! Most likely this thief had even
been present himself in one of the crowds which had gathered around Jesus to hear
themselves called to repentance, and a new way of life which would have required
HIM to earn an honest living! Alas
..... if only he had listened then, instead of turning away in rejection, and
then going on that last "job", which had earned him this terrible retribution! There
was one "bonus" though. The ghoulish crowds which seem to have such
an unhealthy fascination with "blood sports" involving the suffering
of fellow humans, (Note - essentially the
same emotions at work as in the crowds who watch 20th century prize fighting,
or football, or increasingly violent movies!) were directing their "attention" towards Jesus, instead
of himself and the other thief. The
fickle crowd who only a few days before, were welcoming Jesus to Jerusalem as
the expected Messiah, were now saying things like - "He saved others;
let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God". (Matthew 27:42, Mark
15:31-32a, Luke 23:35) The soldiers joined in.
"If
you are the King of the Jews, save yourself." (Luke 23:36-37) The first thief joined in with the railing of the crowd with: "If you are
the Messiah, save yourself and us." (Luke 23:39) And then the second thief
also joined in. But
before we listen to what he actually said, we should take note from the Gospels
of Matthew and Mark, that this is spoken in the spirit of the same angry railing
as that expressed by the first thief. There is nothing at all in Luke, which would
authorise us to change the information provided by Matthew and Mark, alerting
us to THE SPIRIT AND TONE OF VOICE, IN WHICH BOTH THIEVES SPOKE. (Matthew 27:44, Mark 15:32b) (We all know about TONAL language don't we? Even in English, a
simple shift in TONE OF VOICE can result in a complete reversal of the meaning
of exactly the same words!) Responding
to the first thief's unfriendly words with his own RAILING SARCASM, but really
hitting out at Jesus, and speaking in anger born in dreadful fear and suffering,
he said to the first thief - "Do you not fear God, since you are under the
same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly;
for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing
wrong." (Luke 23:40-41) (Remember TONE OF VOICE from Matthew and Mark!) Not
an unusual statement even today! A visit to the average modern prison will quickly
confirm the grim humour of the saying commonly heard amongst prisoners! "There
are no guilty men in prison!" Most loudly protest their innocence! So, this
sarcasm from the second thief is a predictable enough reaction from one who is
all too well aware of the inescapable dreadful end of their suffering! Then
he turned directly to Jesus and continued his reviling ....... yes, reviling,
Matthew says!! "Jesus remember me when you come into your Kingdom". (Luke 23:42) Let
us hear it again ..... the meaning of these words depends totally on the TONE
OF VOICE in which we hear them spoken! They are NOT friendly words! They are the
sarcastic, angry railing of a frightened man, dying in dreadful agony, and trying
desperately to shut out for a few brief moments, the relentless pain from which
there was no escape. Jesus
turned to him, almost certainly in compassion and sorrow for his lack of understanding,
especially at this point of no return! "TODAY you shall be with me in Paradise". (Luke 23:43) WAS
IT A PARDON FOR SIN? It is important to our
understanding of this event, to notice that the thief was neither pardoned by
Jesus, nor saved from the penalty of his sin! HE SUFFERED IT! If he had really
been forgiven, we should expect that he would have somehow been saved from the
cross! God does NOT pardon a DEATH PENALTY and then extract it anyway! (Ezekiel 33:14-16) WAS
IT A PROMISE OF SOME FUTURE "BLESSING" in the Kingdom of God? Certainly,
it was not for that SAME day, in Heaven! Neither of them went there that day.
Nor, given the thief's railing attitude against Jesus, could it be for "tomorrow"
in a future Kingdom on earth! But,
if we will receive it, it was a simple statement of fact about what was happening
"TODAY", right there and then, in Golgotha ..... The
events surrounding the CROSS were the very BEGINNING of "Paradise".
(the future Kingdom of God). But they speak to us of a seldom understood aspect
of the Kingdom, which is NOT for the future, but for the "here and now"!
Golgotha is where the king paid the high price which established his right to
rule and captured to himself the love and loyalty of His subjects. But
alas ..... This "TODAY" was ONLY the beginning of PARADISE - not the
final stage. And for the thief, "TODAY" was all there was ever going
to be! He had spoken in ignorance, and in railing sarcasm! But ignorant or not,
he did share with Jesus, for THAT DAY ONLY, what he had asked for. Just
before sunset, a Roman solder came and used his heavy spear to break the legs
of the thief. He died, suffocated by the constriction on his lungs caused by the
weight of his own body. His
ONE DAY of questionable "fame" IN “PARADISE” WITH THE KING, was over
..... Allon For additional background, read the companion
article about the incident in Mark 10:35-45 - "CORONATION DAY IN PARADISE" (HM059) |