Paradise!

Luke 23:35-43

And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “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.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

...............

The rulers. The soldiers. The crowds. His closest friends. And now a condemned thief.

All betraying, murdering, and mocking the Son of God. Save yourself! they all cried, as if they deserved to be shown proof of his majesty and power. Surely the pride of man that began with Adam seeking to have knowledge like God's is now culminated in this humiliation of God hanging powerless on a tree. All thanks to the cruel wisdom and power of men.

Except, there were some unlikely friends at the cross. A man from the council named Joseph, and a handful of women, made sure that Jesus' body was cared for and respectfully buried. A centurion standing guard over the execution proclaimed Jesus' innocence, surely a sign that some grasped the injustice being committed. 

And the thief. Certainly the boldest of these friendly characters, the thief saw the absurdity of mocking this innocent man, especially when the thief was getting exactly what he deserved. 

But the other rebuked him, saying, “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.”

The second thief responded with fear of God when everyone else, even Jesus' disciples, were either running away or openly mocking this Savior. They mocked him even while admitting he had saved others by powerful acts and signs. How their pride constrasts so starkly with the fearful humility of the second thief!

And then Jesus responds to the thief's simple faith with one of the most precious and profound gifts he could utter:

Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise

Paradise! Reunion with our Maker! Final peace with God! Given simply and freely to a bleeding criminal. All he had to do was ask for it and be willing to associate himself with this foolish-looking Savior.

Today, we Christians are called to follow in this man's footsteps. Two passages in the epistles specifically call our attention to Christ's ultimate sacrifice: Phillipians 2 and Hebrews 12. These chapters highlight that Jesus humbled himself as a servant, died an unjust death for us, but also that he was motivated by the joy of Paradise set before him. And both passages go on to challenge us to persevere in trials and not give in to our temptation to grumble and complain. In closing, read these two other chapters and see how the apostles interpreted and used the story of the crucifixion to turn our eyes away from earthly pains toward eternal joys in Paradise. I pray that I could have the faith of that thief, who took an opportunity for mocking and grumbling and chose instead to ask for Paradise.

Philippians 2:5-16

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

Hebrews 12:1-3 ESV

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

The Psalmist and Carl Sagan

Psalm 33:10-15

The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; 

he frustrates the plans of the peoples. 

The counsel of the Lord stands forever, 

the plans of his heart to all generations. 

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, 

the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! 

The Lord looks down from heaven; 

he sees all the children of man; 

from where he sits enthroned 

he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, 

he who fashions the hearts of them all 

and observes all their deeds. 

Isaiah 40:13-15

Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord,

or what man shows him his counsel? 

Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? 

Who taught him the path of justice, 

and taught him knowledge, 

and showed him the way of understanding? 

Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, 

and are accounted as the dust on the scales; 

behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust. 

...............

"The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot."

-Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot

The Psalmist, Isaiah, and Carl Sagan draw a line between the vastness of the observable universe and the absurdity of man's vain attempts to control one another. Nations make bold claims, even messianic claims, but they are a vain hope, a faint flicker of hope, compared to the surpassing permanence and power of our Maker who sits enthroned in the heavens. Nations fight and quarrel over land that appears like a postage stamp next to the light years of cosmos that exists under the rule and reign of Almighty God.

And it does our souls good to stand in wonder and consider our fragility, our finitude, our tiny blip on the cosmic radar compared to the long arc of time that stretches before and after us. We are better men for considering our humble state and letting that awe and wonder shape our confidence in God. 

Sagan and his contemporaries thought that Science did a better job than religion at provoking this awe and humility. Sadly, there are just as many atrocities derived from atheism (Soviet Russia, Maoist China) and science (Nazi eugenics, modern abortion) than there have been wars of religion. This speaks to the universal corruption of man, which bleeds through our best efforts and brings us to our knees before our Maker. Sagan stopped short of true humility, ironically claiming himself to understand man's place in the universe, as if he could stand above it all and see the forest for the trees in a way the rest of us could not. Pride masquerading as humility.

True humility will lead individuals and entire nations to trust not in laws, bureaucracies, executive orders, or political promises but to trust in the God who sees them as drops in the bucket. True humility cannot stop at a vague mystical feeling of smallness or nothingness. It must go on to turn its eyes to what is truly great and permanent - the living God who reigns over us with meticulous attention to every detail of our lives, even numbering the hairs of our heads and each day of our lives before they happen. Look to him, hope in his personal love for you, and your humility will turn from nothing into something:

The king is not saved by his great army; 

a  is not delivered by his great strength. 

The war horse is a false hope for salvation, 

and by its great might it cannot rescue. 

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, 

on those who hope in his steadfast love.

(Psalm 33:16-18)

Betrayed

Luke 22:59-62

And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, "Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean." But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are talking about." And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, "Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly. 

Romans 1:16

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

...............

In Luke 22, we are approaching the climax of the passion story which began with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem and which will culminate in an unjust execution and the vindication of the empty tomb. Here, Jesus shares a last meal and a final night of prayer with his closest friends - men who clearly still don't grasp this savior's character and mission. They bicker about who will be greatest. They sleep through the hour of his greatest loneliness. They pull out swords when they should have gone to death alongside Jesus. They betray him - some for sake of money, some because they mistook him for a political savior, and some just to save face and protect themselves.

Peter, of all people, should have known better. He was perhaps closest to Jesus and heard him foretell his death and resurrection several times. This very night, Jesus had reminded them of his plan and purpose, even warning Peter personally that he would be tempted to betray him. And, Peter claimed he would go to death for him. How quickly we eat our words!

We should note that this admission of failed faith in the disciples is one of many reasons to trust the authenticity of the Gospel accounts. If the early church were fabricating a story to win more followers, it would have been far from intuitive to paint their top leaders as cowards and betrayers! Especially in comparison to other ancient literature, this was a uniquely candid eyewitness account that Luke was providing, warts and all.

There is hope for us in this chapter, but also a warning. Hope, in that we too can stumble and still be used by a kind and merciful savior, even in great and influential ways. Hope, in that our sin is never greater than our savior, who loves to restore his children and welcome them back into his purpose for their life. Hope, in that this gospel message, however foolish it appears to the world, is truly the power of God for our salvation! It is good news for stubborn, cowardly, shameful hearts!

But there is a warning too. A warning to keep alert rather than sleep through the moment of trial. A warning that there will be times when it is unpopular to stand for what is right, when people will question whether we trust in this foolish message. A warning that we will be tempted to take the easy road when times get tough and Jesus is getting mocked.

I pray for new courage Lord! I fail to love my friends and my enemies. I gossip, I complain, and I wish misfortune on others so that I can feel better about myself. I hide my faith when it's not cool or when I fear what others might think. I'm not consistent in my work or even in doing chores at home to serve the people I love most! I can't even live up to my own standards and desires. I am ashamed of the One who was not ashamed to call me his child. Lord, change this heart and give new courage, new power, new motivation - to go with you wherever you lead and shamelessly live before you, as I know I will stand before you one day and give an account for every word said in jest and every thoughtless deed. On that day, I pray I will have nothing to be ashamed of.