Luk 23:41 | KingComments | STEP | Then comes the reaction of the other crucified. He first also blasphemed the Lord Jesus with his colleague ( ). But during the hours on the cross something has changed in him through what he saw in Christ and also heard of Him in His words “Father, forgive them” ( ). The grace of God has opened his eyes and worked in his conscience. He rebukes his fellow criminal and speaks of the fear of God. The judgment which they receive in the crucifixion is the same as the judgment which the Lord receives; only they have deserved it, He didn’t. The first expression of his conversion is that he becomes a preacher of righteousness. It is proof that he is in God’s presence. He acknowledges the righteousness of the judgment, for he and the other evildoer have deserved it. He therefore does not ask the Lord for a miracle to free him from the consequences of his sins. From His mouth is heard the fifth testimony of the Lord’s innocence in this chapter. He declares that the Lord has done nothing wrong. It is as if he knows Him for a long time. He defends the Lord’s complete sinlessness against a mocker. Do we do the same when we hear that He is being blasphemed? After his testimony to the other criminal, he turns to the Lord and asks to think of him when He enters His kingdom. He thinks of nothing but the Lord and his soul. He forgets his pain and the people around the cross. In all the agony of the cross and believing that the Lord Jesus is the Messiah, he does not seek relief from his bodily grief through Him, but asks Him to think of him when He comes in His kingdom. Although in this life he cannot be delivered from the consequences of his crimes, he does seize the opportunity to be delivered from God’s wrath and eternal punishment on sin. His question expresses his faith in the resurrection of Christ. That is a greater faith than that of the disciples who did not believe it despite the times He said it. The criminal believes in the future glory of Christ as King. He sees more than the disciples saw at that time. He sees that the Lord Jesus will die, will rise up, will go to heaven, and that He will come back to establish His kingdom. This is nothing but the work of the Holy Spirit, as it happens in every person who comes to conversion. A criminal who asks a crucified King to remember him, shows confidence in the grace of that King because He is more than a King. He is the Savior. The Lord answers directly, without setting conditions, and gives him more than he asks for. He not only promises the criminal a place in the future realm, but also that he may already be with Him today. If the Savior has taken the place of the sinner, the sinner may by grace share the place of the Savior with Him. It is not a place in the kingdom, but in paradise ( ; ) to be with the Lord ( ). Where He is, there is paradise, the paradise of God. This is a first indication that the spirits of the fallen asleep believers are in the blessed presence of the Savior. This converted criminal is the first fruit of the Lord’s love in His work on the cross. In this conversion we see that conversion is a work of God’s grace, without any human achievement. He could do nothing but believe. This applies to any conversion. Everything that is needed and necessary to be saved has been accomplished by the Lord Jesus.

‏ Luke 23:41

Conversion of the Criminal

Then comes the reaction of the other crucified. He first also blasphemed the Lord Jesus with his colleague (Mt 27:44). But during the hours on the cross something has changed in him through what he saw in Christ and also heard of Him in His words “Father, forgive them” (Lk 23:34). The grace of God has opened his eyes and worked in his conscience. He rebukes his fellow criminal and speaks of the fear of God. The judgment which they receive in the crucifixion is the same as the judgment which the Lord receives; only they have deserved it, He didn’t.

The first expression of his conversion is that he becomes a preacher of righteousness. It is proof that he is in God’s presence. He acknowledges the righteousness of the judgment, for he and the other evildoer have deserved it. He therefore does not ask the Lord for a miracle to free him from the consequences of his sins. From His mouth is heard the fifth testimony of the Lord’s innocence in this chapter. He declares that the Lord has done nothing wrong. It is as if he knows Him for a long time. He defends the Lord’s complete sinlessness against a mocker. Do we do the same when we hear that He is being blasphemed?

After his testimony to the other criminal, he turns to the Lord and asks to think of him when He enters His kingdom. He thinks of nothing but the Lord and his soul. He forgets his pain and the people around the cross. In all the agony of the cross and believing that the Lord Jesus is the Messiah, he does not seek relief from his bodily grief through Him, but asks Him to think of him when He comes in His kingdom. Although in this life he cannot be delivered from the consequences of his crimes, he does seize the opportunity to be delivered from God’s wrath and eternal punishment on sin.

His question expresses his faith in the resurrection of Christ. That is a greater faith than that of the disciples who did not believe it despite the times He said it. The criminal believes in the future glory of Christ as King. He sees more than the disciples saw at that time. He sees that the Lord Jesus will die, will rise up, will go to heaven, and that He will come back to establish His kingdom.

This is nothing but the work of the Holy Spirit, as it happens in every person who comes to conversion. A criminal who asks a crucified King to remember him, shows confidence in the grace of that King because He is more than a King. He is the Savior.

The Lord answers directly, without setting conditions, and gives him more than he asks for. He not only promises the criminal a place in the future realm, but also that he may already be with Him today. If the Savior has taken the place of the sinner, the sinner may by grace share the place of the Savior with Him. It is not a place in the kingdom, but in paradise (2Cor 12:4; Rev 2:7) to be with the Lord (Phil 1:23). Where He is, there is paradise, the paradise of God. This is a first indication that the spirits of the fallen asleep believers are in the blessed presence of the Savior.

This converted criminal is the first fruit of the Lord’s love in His work on the cross. In this conversion we see that conversion is a work of God’s grace, without any human achievement. He could do nothing but believe. This applies to any conversion. Everything that is needed and necessary to be saved has been accomplished by the Lord Jesus.