Luke Bible Study, Day 38
Today’s passage: Luke 23:1–43
Focus verse:“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
When the Romans execute Jesus, they crucify two criminals with him, one on either side. While we don’t know what these men did to deserve the death penalty, we can assume it must have been something serious, such as murder or insurrection.
One of the criminals mocks Jesus, but the other one doesn’t. Instead, this second criminal rebukes the first. He says, “Knock it off. We’re guilty and getting what we deserve, but this guy is innocent.”
The criminal knows the punishment for him and the other lawbreaker is just. They’re getting what their actions warrant, whereas this isn’t the case with Jesus.
In an amazing display of faith—since they’ll all soon be dead—the second criminal asks Jesus to remember him in his future kingdom.
This simple request to Jesus carries with it a confidence that there’s a future after death, and that Jesus has the power to grant this plea.
This man, whose life is about to end because of a serious wrong he committed, knows something awaits him after his final breath.
Yet through no merit of his own, and with nothing he can do to earn it, the criminal asks to be part of Jesus’s future kingdom. It’s sincere, and it’s bold.
Jesus could have said, “Sorry, man. You messed up. It’s too late.”
Instead he says, “No problem.” And not only is the answer positive, it’s also imminent. Jesus adds, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” It’s a done deal.
How wonderful is that?
Just like these two criminals, we, too, have sinned. Regardless of how minor or severe our mistakes, our actions deserve the same punishment: death.
Yet through Jesus, we can receive mercy. If we turn to him and admit our mistakes, he’ll grant us a reprieve, and we can spend eternity with him in paradise.
While we could wait until the last minute and make a deathbed conversion with full confidence that Jesus will say, “Yes,” the risk is too high. We don’t know when our last breath will come or if we’ll have time to ask Jesus to remember us.
Don’t put it off. We must all admit our faults to Jesus today, so we can live for him on earth in this life and live with him in paradise in the next.
Questions:
- There are many ideas about what we must do to be saved, but for this criminal, Jesus made it easy. Are we willing to accept this?
- Have we received his salvation? Are we following Jesus?
[Discover more about salvation in Romans 3:21–24, Romans 10:9–13, and 1 John 1:9.]
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Read more about the book of Luke in Dear Theophilus: A 40-Day Devotional Exploring the Life of Jesus through the Gospel of Luke, now available in ebook, paperback, and hardcover.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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