Good Friday (April 18). REMEMBER ME

Prepare to Listen.  Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.
 
Prayerfully Read Luke 23:39-43
39One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah?  Save yourself and us!’  40But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?  41And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.’  42Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’  43He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’
 
Prayerfully Wonder and Reflect
The justly convicted criminal pleaded, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”  What do you suppose he expected from Jesus?
 
Only Luke tells this story, once again bringing us face to face with a Savior who prioritized the marginalized and lifted up the lowly.  One convicted felon mocked, joining the mockers at the foot of the cross.  He said, “Are you not the Messiah?  Save yourself and us!”  If you’re really the Messiah, do something and don’t forget to save us too.  Jesus remained silent.
 
The other saw something the first hadn’t.  Next to a silent, suffering Jesus, he saw himself and his sin.  He rebuked his fellow convicted felon.  They both deserved their punishment, unlike Jesus, whom, he said, had “done nothing wrong.”  Assuming it was too late to make amends, he could only plead, “Remember me.”
 
Sometimes that’s all we can say, all we need to say.  Remember me.  Those simple words got a response from the dying Jesus.  He made no demands, expected nothing from the convicted felon, just compassionately said, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”  In Jewish understanding, Paradise was where the righteous went after death.  The felon hadn’t lived a righteous life, but Jesus made room for him, giving mercy to the underdog, doing what he said he came to do: “For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost” (Lk 19:10).
 
Try and imagine the thoughts and feelings of that felon, and what he may have thought about Jesus.  Face to face with Jesus, what do you now see?
 
Prayerfully Respond
Lord Jesus, even as you suffered, you could show compassion to a convicted felon and offer forgiveness.  Lord, remember me too.  Amen.
 
Live obediently.  Jesus forgave a convicted felon.