One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
–Luke 23:39-43
Things could not have been worse;
things could not have been better
How much time was left in their day of terrible suffering? A half hour? Five hours? We don’t have an answer to that question.
But we do have an answer to a more important question. What happened to the two men in this scripture. We have it from a man who is called the Way, the Truth and the Life, that before that terrible day was over, the two of them would be walking in Paradise. Suffering over. Pain gone. Grief gone.
But not just the absence of negatives. They would be in the place of joy, of plenty, of color, of pleasure.
You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
– Psalm 16:11
On days when things have begun badly, I have sometimes prayed that the day would end better than it began. That prayer has always been granted, thank God. This was a day that started more badly than could be imagined, and that ended more wonderfully than we could conceive.
♞
