FROM ONE KINGDOM TO THE NEXT
The Scene of the Crucifixion
It was a Friday morning, the day after the annual Passover celebration, and a crowd had gathered outside of Jerusalem. But this gathering didn’t have anything to do with the Feast of Unleavened Bread that had just begun; nor did it have anything to do with their preparation for the Sabbath day that would start at dusk. What drew these people outside the walls of the city at that late morning hour and into the afternoon was an execution. Three people were facing the death penalty that day at the hands of the Roman government, and it made for good entertainment. Two men, probably murderers or at least dangerous criminals of other heinous crimes, along with a man named Jesus were on the receiving end of this communal display of capital punishment. Of course, this Jesus was not a murderer and he was not a man who had led a rebellion against the government; he was not really a “criminal” in any sense of the word, but he was there to face death anyway because the Jewish leaders had strong-armed Pontius Pilate into giving them what they wanted.
Whatever the guilt or innocence of that day’s condemned, however, it must have been an unpleasant scene. Grown men screaming in pain, women sobbing uncontrollably, people in the crowd shouting obscenities at those they hated; the Jewish leaders taunting and mocking the man in the middle, the soldiers dividing up the clothing of the suffering right in front of them, a lot of blood, a lot of hate, a lot of time to suffer.
A Bold Statement of Faith
But then, in the middle of this horrible spectacle of public humiliation and the most severe of corporal punishment, something amazing happened. Something unexpected. Something that most people there that day probably didn’t see or hear because it wasn’t anything noticeable at first glance. Before the mysterious darkness covered the land while Jesus suffered, before the splitting of the rocks and the ripping of the temple curtain and the rising of people from the tombs when Jesus actually did die, another miracle happened. Another effect of God’s power occurred. And it was just as spectacular.
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? 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, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
The miracle that happened here before Jesus died was faith. And what a bold confession of faith it was! A man not only condemned to die but a man in the middle of experiencing it, a man who had just admitted that he deserved to be right there, a man who had confessed his failures and took full responsibility for his sinfulness, but a man who then turned to his Savior calmly and confidently: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” There was no fear there. No worry. No complaint. Just a solid and unshakeable trust that this person being crucified in between two criminals was also the one true God. And even though the man who was speaking knew he was unworthy of any kindness or compassion, he also knew that his God who was hanging right next to him was capable and willing to show him mercy when he entered his eternal kingdom. And in response to his dying plea, Jesus promised him, “I will not only remember you when I come into my kingdom; you’ll be right there with me. Today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Our Fear, Worries, and Complaints
The same kingdom that welcomed the criminal later that day awaits our arrival as well. And the same promise guarantees our entry. We can be just as sure as the criminal was. We can be just as calm. We can be just as confident. We just usually aren’t, are we? Sometimes we aren’t as sure or as calm or as confident as this man was on the brink of death. Sometimes when we are dealing with the difficulties and the problems that plague our own lives we worry about the future and we complain about the past and we fear that maybe the Lord won’t work this out for our good after all. And so instead of simply trusting that the Lord will take care of everything and confidently saying to our Savior, “Jesus, remember me in your kingdom,” we more often than not think something like, “Jesus, I really need for you to take care of this for me right now in this way for this reason.” Or “Jesus, why are you letting this happen to me?” Or “Jesus, things don’t look too good from my perspective; I think I’ll take it from here and try to make it right.” We struggle to fully trust that everything will be OK. We have difficulty accepting the fact that God knows what he’s doing even when all indications point to the contrary. We worry, we complain, we fear. And we forget that God’s promises will never fail.
The criminal on Jesus’ right hand side didn’t forget that. The criminal on the cross clung to those promises. He banked on those promises. He wasn’t worried about what might happen. He didn’t complain about his current state of agony. He wasn’t afraid about what was to come. This criminal was a Christian. A new Christian but a true Christian. And he looked forward to enjoying God’s kingdom whenever his time would come.
The “First” Kingdom Leads to the “Final” Kingdom
This criminal certainly entered God’s kingdom later that afternoon. After the pain and after the humiliation and after the transition of death was done, he immediately began to enjoy the peace and the glory and the perfect life of eternity with his Savior. And he still is to this day. He is living in the heavenly kingdom of the Lord with all of the saints and the angels waiting for us to join him. What this former criminal might not have known while he was hanging on the cross, however, was that he had been experiencing the “kingdom” of God before he ever died.
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come…” we pray in the Lord’s Prayer. But when Scripture speaks about God’s “kingdom” it isn’t always referring to the final kingdom of heaven. Sometimes it signifies other places where our King rules. That’s what a “kingdom” is after all, isn’t it? The area over which a king rules. And one of the places over which our King of kings rules is a believer’s heart through faith. Many different parables about the “kingdom of God” or the “kingdom of heaven” are pictures of this specific reign in a believer’s heart. And Jesus even says earlier in the book of Luke, “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). This kingdom is what the criminal was experiencing before he ever experienced death. Christ had convinced him that he was his Savior. Christ had persuaded him that the forgiveness he was in the middle of dying for was actually for him. Christ had established his kingdom in this man’s heart and ruled there through faith. And this “first” kingdom that the criminal experienced on earth is what led to his entrance into the “final” kingdom that he is now experiencing in Paradise.
A Criminal's Kingdom
We, of course, are experiencing this “first” kingdom right now as well. Christ has convinced us that he is our Savior. Christ has persuaded us that the forgiveness he has died for is actually our own. Christ has established his kingdom in our hearts and is ruling there right now through faith. Yes, we still worry and complain and fear what may happen in this life. Yes, our faith might not be as strong as we’d like it to be, but Christ’s Paradise is not only open to the strong. Christ’s Paradise is not only open to the firm and the capable and the unshakeable. Christ’s Paradise is open to criminals. Which means it’s open to a criminal like me! And it’s open to a criminal like you! The final kingdom of Paradise is open to all the criminals-sinners who are enjoying his first kingdom on this earth through faith. You believe in Jesus as your Savior right now by the grace of God; you are a member of this first kingdom of God. And so you will experience his final kingdom in heaven. Because the promise your Lord gave to that criminal one Friday afternoon is the exact same promise he still gives to you: “I will not only remember you in my kingdom; you will be right there with me. Because one day you will be with me in Paradise.”
Amen.
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