Today You Shall Be with Me in Paradise

Today You Shall Be with Me in Paradise
Luke 23:39-43

Luke 23:39-43 One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” 40 But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” 43 And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me
in Paradise.”

At Golgotha, Jesus was crucified between two criminals, with one thief on his right and another on his left. This location is called “Golgotha” in Hebrew, “Calvary” in Latin, and “Kranion” in Greek.

Matthew 27:38 At that time two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left.

Mark 15:27 They crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left.

When the soldiers nailed Jesus to the cross at Golgotha, they laid him on the ground and stripped him of his clothes. He was stripped completely bare. The Roman soldiers stomped on his neck and hands. They mocked Him, saying, “God won’t feel any pain.” The nails used on his hands and feet were thick and crudely forged by a blacksmith. To kill sinners, would they be made smooth? No, these square-shaped nails were driven mercilessly into the rough-hewn beams of the cross. It was excruciating. When the heavy hammer struck down, the skin, flesh, and tendons of Jesus’ hand clung to the nails as it bore into the wooden cross. Imagine how painful it must have been. Then they nailed His other hand, then His feet, and they lifted the cross up as He hung from it. He hung there with His weight of about 60-70 kg on each of the three nails. A crown of thorns, aged three years, was placed on his head.

When erecting the cross, think about shaking it here and there. If it tilts and falls, imagine how painful it would be for that weak and frail body. When raising this heavy wooden cross, if it falls forward, the body slumps forward. Then sideways. His hands are getting torn apart. But if He falls backwards, that crown of thorns on His head slams back into the cross and pierces into Him! This is a torture like no other. The foot of the cross needs to be buried deep into the ground in order to prevent its weight from toppling over. Imagine Jesus’ agony as the cross is erected and slammed down into a deep enough pit!

In such a situation, thousands shouted at him, “Hey, Jesus! Didn’t you say you are
God? Weren’t you supposed to tear down the temple and rebuild it in three days?” Others spit at Him and shook their heads, jeering at Him, “God? God won’t feel any pain.” Or “He’s not God; he’s committed terrible sins and is now receiving punishment.” This treatment was prophesied in Isaiah 53.

Even the thieves on the left and right initially hurled insults. Mark 15:32 and Matthew 27:44 record that both thieves “were also insulting him”. How vicious can
you get? They were nailed by their hands and feet to the cross because they were
sinners, they ignored their own pain to yell at Him, “Aren’t you God? Aren’t you the
Savior? Then come down from the cross and take us down too, then we’ll believe you!”

In Luke 23:34, the expression, “but” is used. It’s an easy expression to overlook.

Luke 23:34 But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.
“But,” Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. Humanity was committing the worst sin, “but…”. Human wickedness was at its peak, “but…”. Roman soldiers were mercilessly trampling on and kicking Him and pounding nails into His flesh, “but…”. Terrible curses were being poured out to Jesus, “BUT Jesus was saying, ‘Father forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

The thief on the right heard Jesus’ prayer. As Jesus was being hurled with insults from all sides, the thief heard Jesus pray, “Father, they don’t know any better, so please forgive them.” The thief on the right was chosen before the ages. Even looking at the scriptures, the right side signifies blessings. In Matthew 24 and 25, those on the right are told, “You who are blessed… inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world.” To those on the left, he cursed, “Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire…”

Matthew 25:33-34 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world.’

Matthew 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels’

On the right, there is always an opportunity for repentance and wisdom,
as God prophesied before the ages. Look at Ecclesiastes 10:2.

Ecclesiastes 10:2 A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man’s heart directs him toward the left.

Look here. The heart of the wise is on the right.

Beloved saints of Pyungkang, whether in eating or drinking, in living or dying, in
whatever you do, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will be “the one on the right” of God. Even if you can’t believe it, listen carefully. You will be blessed. There is no one who believed in God’s Word and was ruined, and if there was someone who believed in God and was ruined, God says to take it up against Him. But there is nobody who can accuse God in such a manner. There is nothing wrong with God’s Word. This is the way for generations to come, the path to eternal life, so why not listen? Always stand on the right side, the mountain of blessings, Mount Gerizim. The left side is Mount Ebal, the mountain of curses.

The thief on the right heard Jesus murmuring with every insult, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” God worked in him to make him
realize that Jesus was no ordinary person, continuing to pray for those who struck
and cursed him. The thief on the left was still hurling abuse at Jesus. It was at this
moment, the thief on the right, representing humanity, defended Jesus to all the people. “We deserve to die, but do you still have no remorse for your sins? What has this man in the middle done wrong? He is innocent!” It was a great sermon. He then turns to Jesus and pleads, “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

And Jesus immediately replied, “Amen.” In the original language, the phrase, “Truly,
truly” is actually “Amen, amen.” Then he said, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”

One thing to keep in mind here is that after Jesus died, His body lay in the tomb for three days. If Jesus had died along with the thief, wouldn’t he have gone to paradise immediately, that day? Jesus went to preach to the souls of countless people who died during Noah’s time 3,600 years prior. This is mentioned in 1 Peter 3:18-20.

1 Peter 3:18-20 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death 19 in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, 20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.

Please pay attention to this. Jesus was killed in the flesh but received life in the
spirit. When He was in the tomb, He didn’t just stay in there like the dead. Jesus is
Spirit. Jesus is God. He went to preach for three days to the people who had died in Noah’s time, the ones who opposed Noah and mocked him. This is our Jesus. During the time of Jesus, who came to bear the sins for all humanity, the world’s population was approximately 500 million, of which the Israelites totaled only about 5 million. Jesus didn’t just come to bear the sins of those who were alive; he came to bear the sins of humanity since Adam’s fall.

Jesus’ today is an eternal today, an eternal today that is unchanging and not limited by time or space. Jesus gave this “today” as a gift to the thief on the right, and Isaiah 53:10-11 was fulfilled.

Isaiah 53:10-11 But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand. 11 As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities.

How joyous is this for the thief on the right? Who else defended and advocated
for Jesus, who was sentenced to death as a traitor to the country? Dear saints, the cross in the middle is that “Today”! Jesus gave that up for us. In the visible world, He hung on the cross. But in essence, Jesus gave himself to the thief on the right, and Jesus also went to the right. Why? To save the thief on the left. Jesus didn’t come to save the righteous, but to save sinners.

That is why, for the sake of the younger sibling who does not know Jesus, for the
relatives, for the neighbors, for Pilate who tried Jesus, for Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus, for the torturers who tortured, beat, stomped on, spit on, and whipped Jesus… “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” Do not repay evil with evil, for I will pay the price. Love your enemies and forgive them. If your enemies are hungry, feed them. Furthermore, pray for them. Jesus, who normally did this, gave up His cross in the center and went to the right, and then went to the left to save the sinners on the left. This is a truly mysterious secret of the Bible.

If Jesus hadn’t gone to the thief on the left, who insulted him, then He wouldn’t be
the “Savior of sinners.” Jesus is defined as, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Jesus’ love is an unwavering “love to the end.” Jesus’ love “loves first.” People need to be loved, treated well, and supported in order to love back. But Jesus doesn’t wait for our love. He loves first.

Dear saints, see how Psalm 38:3 says, “There is no soundness in my flesh.” Basically,
the body was so badly afflicted that you couldn’t bear to look at it. Psalm 38:5 says, “My wounds grow foul and fester Because of my folly.” In Hebrew, the word used for “wounds” refers to marks from whipping, with festering and oozing sores that don’t heal. In other words, “foul” in Hebrew is “ba’as,” referring to a rotten stench. Much like a corpse, a foul smell. Even the body is living and breathing, it’s afflicted so badly that there are festering wounds, where the stench is so bad that maggots grow out of it.

Psalm 38:7 says, “There is no soundness in my flesh.” Verse 8 says, “I am benumbed and badly crushed; I groan because of the agitation of my heart.”

That’s why King David refers to Jesus in Psalm 22:17, “I can count all my bones.”
This means, “I feel the pain in every joint.” The pain in each joint is so severe that they can be counted.

Psalm 22:17 I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me;

Prophets had already predicted this situation 1,000, 700 years prior. “Jesus is
coming, but the people will not recognize Him, so they’ll crucify to death God, the
King of kings.” So, Apostle Paul told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 2:8, “Because
they did not know the Lord of glory, they crucified him and put him to death.” Such
an unspeakable act.

1 Corinthians 2:8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;

From 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, a full six hours. It’s painful, it’s agonizing, it’s decaying, it’s stinking, and as soon as water, pus, and blood come out, it clots. It is said that a person has 400,000 to 500,000 areas where pain can be felt, both physically and emotionally. If we felt pain in all of these areas at once, we would just lose consciousness and collapse. It’s so painful that you can’t even speak. Pain comes when blood is drained. It’s utter dehydration. When you look at the Bible, Jesus’ tongue sticks to the roof of his mouth and doesn’t fall off. How can He speak after
that? His tongue stuck to the roof. Isn’t this recorded in Psalm 22?

Psalm 22:15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws; and You lay me in the dust of death.

The six hours on the cross compressed Jesus’ 33 years of life, like compressing oil. Those six hours fulfilled God’s awaited redemptive history. It was the moment of, “Allelujah! Amen!” It was the time God had been waiting for with great anticipation ever since the fall of Adam, the first man. Human’s don’t understand this. Only God and Jesus know. When God’s Son appears, and Jesus is the first fruit of the resurrection. When you believe in the first fruit of the resurrection, many people will be resurrected again.

Even though it’s a short 6 hours, within it contains everything: God’s redemption and completion, Satan’s judgment, the final judgment of the saints, and the Word of transfiguration. All these contents are encompassed within Jesus’ six hours on the cross.

When we look at Genesis 1, God created for six days, one day at a time. And when we examine this chapter more closely, we see that although He created for six days, it records seven times that “God saw that it was good.” Six times God saw that “it was good,” and in the final verse of Genesis 1:31, it says, “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” So in total, there were seven times it was said (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31).

Six days of creations. Six hours on the cross. Seven times God saw that it was
good. Seven sayings spoken on the cross. What a truly mysterious coincidence. There is deep meaning within. The last words spoken by anyone before death are profound. The seven last sayings of Jesus on the cross… the number seven represents the heavenly “three” and the earthly “four” (north, south, east, west). Combined, this forms the perfect number. A perfect number! A sacred number. It’s holy. It’s a number that’s perfect in the sight of God. In other words, it’s a full number. God’s number. A patient number. After God created for six days and blessed the seventh day, saying, “Make it holy,” He declared it a day of rest. Seven is the number of blessings, next it’s a holy number. Therefore, when we come out to church on the Sabbath, on Sunday, wewill receive blessings, right? So this is a number where the whole family can live a godly and holy life.

The perfect Word, the holy Word, the eternal Word of God. From 9:00 AM to 12:00
PM, He spoke three times. From 12:00 PM it became dark, and from then to 3:00 PM He spoke four more times. This “darkness” is recorded in Mark 15:25, 33, and Luke 23:44.

Mark 15:25 It was the third hour when they crucified Him.

Mark 15:33 When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour.

Luke 23:44 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour.

Beloved saints, Jesus first uttered, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” He then uttered, “Today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” His first words were of forgiveness. His second words were
of love. Because of Jesus’ forgiveness and love, the heartened heart of the thief melted like ice, so he stood for Jesus and defended Him to all the universe and to all who have come and gone from this world. Just look at how he witnessed for Jesus.

The words Jesus spoke on the cross were for the purpose of mediation between God and humanity. Who knew that He was the mediator between God and humanity? This is written in 1 Timothy 2:5.

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

If you look at Hebrews 7:25 or Galatians 3, you’ll see that He wasn’t just a mediator for one side, but for both God and humanity. When God speaks, He conveys it to man. When man speaks, He conveys it to God. He fulfilled the mission of mediation.

Hebrews 7:25 Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Galatians 3:20 Now a mediator is not for one party only; whereas God is only one.

Even while hanging on the cross, He prayed for humanity. And even after
ascending to heaven, He does not sit on the throne and continues to pray at the right hand of God until mankind is completely saved. “I dare not sit at the right hand of God until then.” When we think about this, dear believers, isn’t it strange that we who believe in Jesus don’t pray? When our bodies get sick, it stays stubbornly sick. Why do we not stubbornly pray? “Pray without ceasing” in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 is a commandment from God. It means, “Until I come, do not
stop teaching, evangelizing, and praying until I come; pray with thanksgiving.” Pray while reading Luke 21:36! The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is approaching, so be alert and prepared and pray! Those who pray can stand before the Son of Man!

While Jesus was alive, He said in Matthew 18:14, “So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.” Beloved saints, let us resolve in our hearts to search diligently for those who are forgotten, whether they come out to church or not, and invest our efforts in finding the lost until they reach that kingdom. May we bring joy and satisfaction to the heart of God through our actions. I pray this in the name of the Lord.

Jesus went after the lost sheep, prodigal son, the forgotten ones. So when the thief,
the prodigal son repented, Jesus was overjoyed, and repeatedly, urgently, said, “Truly, truly! Amen, amen!” Jesus says Luke 15:4, “Don’t you leave the ninety-nine sheep in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost?” Matthew 18:12 says, “If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying?” He says in Matthew 9:13, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” He also says in Matthew 18:14, “So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.”

Look at Jesus. He was on the center cross of “today”, then gave up His place and went to the right, them from there upon seeing the pitiful left, He went to the left, so that the thief there could also repent. See how He brought the thief on the left back to the right, giving him a chance to repent.

If you understand the preciousness of the Lord’s cross during Passion Week and believe in Jesus, then you are in Him, and He is in us. So, we cannot sin even if we’re tempted to. Then when we try to sin, the grace of the Holy Spirit will come upon us, causing us to have a heart that cries out, “Lord!”. This will prevent us from thinking about sinning. I hope that you will believe that by doing this, you will become victorious in all aspects of life, overcome everything, and give thanks while praying to God and staying faithful in church and reading the Bible.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” I pray in the name of the Lord that these words may come to you and your entire family.

April 3, 2007 (Wed) Passion Week Evening Service
Rev. Abraham Park’s sermon

*This post can also be read in 'Champyungan'. (http://champyungan.com)