"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT HEAVEN"
Luke 23:41 “And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.”
Luke 23:42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
Luke 23:43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
Some explanatory notes, and application:
1. The thief speaking in Luke 23:41, was
acknowledging the rightness of the capital punishment he was
receiving. He is a picture of a sinner, simply admitting he is a sinner,
which of course is not only the work of the Holy Spirit convicting a
person, bringing them to their senses, but, it's also the first step to
being saved. Admitting I'm a sinner.
2. The thief, also realized something
about Jesus, that happens to all people who become saved and go to
heaven. The Holy Spirit convinces them, reveals to them, shows them much
about Jesus Christ, primarily that He is righteous, holy, perfect if
you will. Jesus is without sin. He was always without sin, (except that
He became sin for us on the cross) and He is without sin as we read this
devotional.
3. The thief, then made a request to
Jesus. He talked to Jesus. He prayed if you will. Here's what his prayer
consisted of. "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom" In
other words, he was asking Christ to have mercy on him. And, you will
notice something else. In mentioning "Your Kingdom" it's clear that the
Holy Spirit had also revealed to him, that Jesus was indeed the King of a
kingdom. The Kingdom of Heaven. He understood something about the after
life as it were.
4. The Lord speaks in 23:43 and says to
this man condemned to death, " Assuredly, I say to you, today you will
be with me in Paradise. This word, which of course was speaking
ultimately of heaven, was a word in that day used to speak of grand
enclosure, preserve, a park, a shady, and well watered one. A beautiful
garden, a pleasure ground.
5. Please notice a few things the Lord
said to the man. Assuredly, or truly, or faithful, or so be it. It's
similar to our saying, "amen", meaning, so be it. So, Jesus was saying,
"amen" to the man, or yes, I will remember you. Or yes, I will save you
etc. And, the Lord said, "I say to you, today you will be with Me in
Paradise.” Which means, that as soon as that man died, and as soon as
the Lord died, they would ultimately be together in heaven. And, all
that happened in a very short period of time. The thief died, and
shortly thereafter Christ died, and they were together in Paradise.
6. What a picture all of this is for us,
what an encouragement. We also are sinners, and when the Holy Spirit
convicts us of the truths about sin, and about righteousness, and about
judgment, and we yield ourselves to God, we become saved. And when we
die, we also are with God forever, and forever in heaven.
A prayer:
Father, there is no other name given
under heaven whereby a man can be saved, but by and through the name,
the person of Jesus Christ. Thank You for bringing the Holy Spirit's
conviction into our lives, and drawing us to Yourself by Your goodness.
It's Your goodness, that has led us to repentance. We are thankful
today, and will be through eternity. Someday, we will see You in person,
face to face, and we will be able to express our gratitude in a much
more fulfilling way. We will do it, along with the innumerable multitude
of angels, and all the many who have also been saved. You are the Lamb
of God which has taken away our sins. No one but You can do this, thank
You Father.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia
