Today You Will Be WIth Me in Paradise

Midweek Lenten Worship
March 12, 2014
Luke 23:32-43

CrossWords: “Today You Will Be With Me in Paradise”

Charles Colson describes an incident that occurred while Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the great Soviet dissident, was imprisoned in a communist labor camp in Siberia: “Like other prisoners, Solzhenitsyn worked in the fields, his days a pattern of backbreaking labor and slow starvation. One day the hopelessness became too much to bear. Solzhenitsyn felt no purpose in fighting on; his life would make no ultimate difference. Laying his shovel down, he walked slowly to a crude worksite bench. He knew at any moment a guard would order him up and, when he failed to respond, bludgeon him to death, probably with his own shovel. He’d seen it happen many times. As he sat waiting, head down, he felt a presence. Slowly he lifted his eyes. Next to him sat an old man with a wrinkled, utterly expressionless face. Hunched over, the man drew a stick through the sand at Solzhenitsyn’s feet, deliberately tracing out the sign of the cross. As Solzhenitsyn stared at that rough outline, his entire perspective shifted. He knew he was merely one man against the all-powerful Soviet empire. Yet in that moment, he also knew that the hope of all mankind was represented by that simple cross—and through its power, anything was possible. Solzhenitsyn slowly got up, picked up his shovel, and went back to work—not knowing that his writings on truth and freedom would one day enflame the whole world” (Charles Colson, Loving God. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983, p. 172).

What is it like to live without hope – to have no hope? Think about that for a moment.This evening we consider someone who was in about as hopeless a situation as there can be: a criminal being executed. This is the thief who had been nailed to a cross next to Jesus. And with one sentence, Jesus bestows on him an eternal future filled with hope beyond imagination: “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). The good news is that if Jesus can bring hope to this individual, he can do the same for you today.

“Today you will be with me in paradise” is the second of Jesus’ words from the cross that form our midweek Lenten sermon series called “CrossWords.” These midweek Lenten worship services and sermons are devoted to reflection upon the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. As Jesus has made known, “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63). It is appropriate for us, especially in this season of Lent, to give attention to the words of life that Jesus spoke while in the very midst of death. These words from the cross are Jesus’ “crosswords.” You may be wondering about the artwork that is being used in these midweek Lenten services, on the screen at the front of the sanctuary as well as in your worship bulletin. This is the work of a French artist, James Tissot (1836 – 1902), who painted Biblical scenes in the medium of opaque watercolor over graphite. The Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York has procured a collection of 350 detailed illustrations of New Testament scenes, from which these scenes for this Lenten series have been drawn.

Hope is critical for all stages of life, but the sad truth is that there are many around us who are without hope. Many young people see life as hopeless. They feel trapped with their own destinies and futures seemingly out of their control, and are sorely in need of hope. Middle-aged people are weighed down with the realities and responsibilities of life, leaving many with unfulfilled dreams. Success in their careers, finances and families has eluded them. They feel their hope is strangled since their dreams have not materialized, and so they protect themselves by no longer dreaming or hoping. For many elderly, life is in the past tense. There is nothing for them to look forward to in the future, and so hope is a thing of the past. Not only people, but institutions need hope. There was a run-down and neglected church with a dilapidated sign out front in faded letters that read “Hope Lutheran Church.” But someone spray painted the letters “l-e-s-s” after the word hope. It was now “Hopeless Lutheran Church.” A church without hope lives in the glories of the past without seeking the Lord’s face for the future.

There were two criminals who were crucified with Jesus. The first one took up the taunts and abuse from the crowd that were being hurled at Jesus: “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” (Luke 23:39). Perhaps this verbal attack was a response to the humiliation and hopelessness that he experienced. In his own suffering, at least he might find satisfaction in degrading another. It is the second criminal who rallies to Jesus’ defense and answers back: “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). This repentant thief models what we are called to do in Lent – that is, to repent. You may not be guilty of grand larceny; you may never have robbed a bank. But there is something of the thief in each one of us. Have you ever cheated on an exam or stolen someone else’s answers? Have you ever fudged on that expense report or tax return? Have you ever wasted time at work? Whether our guilt is large or small, like the thief on the cross, we must also confess that we too “are under the same sentence of condemnation.”

Not only did the repentant thief admit his guilt, he also looked to Jesus for mercy: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). In his most hopeless hour, this criminal looked to Jesus for hope, and he received it. During his trial and crucifixion, note that Jesus responded little, if at all, to others who asked him to speak. He spoke little to Pontius Pilate, and did not speak a word to Herod. He did not respond to the taunts of his enemies, but now He speaks. He answers the plea of the repentant thief with a promise of hope: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). Here is a word of hope for the hopeless – and not just for that dying thief on the cross, but for you and for me! What did this man do to deserve this promise? What did he do to earn paradise? Absolutely nothing! He deserved condemnation, but received justification. He deserved perdition, but received paradise. There may be no better example in all of Scripture of God’s saving mercy by grace alone.

We, too, are malefactors – evil doers – because we have done evil in the sight of God. We, too, are “under the same sentence of condemnation” – the sentence of death – because as God’s Word tells us, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Left to ourselves, we have no hope. Like that criminal, we cannot save ourselves. We can only turn our eyes to the crucified Christ and utter those same words: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus has come and identified himself with sinners like you and me. As Isaiah foretold of Jesus, “He was numbered with the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12). Through faith in Jesus’ work of redemption on the cross, we inherit paradise. That is our hope and our joy. When you feel like Solzhenitsyn – tired, discouraged, ready to give up on life, hopeless – then look to the cross and the One who gave his life for you on that cross. There you will find the promise of true and lasting hope. There you will find God’s promise of a better day, a destiny in paradise. Amen.