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“Evildoer on the Cross,” Luke 23:32-43
Pastor Tom Johnson, April 14, 2019
Luke’s account of Jesus’ passion and death is the only one that includes his conversation with the two others crucified with him—on on his right and another on his left. All three are crucified for treason. But those flanked next to Jesus are guilty of murder and insurrection. They were first century Israelite terrorists. They likely killed Roman citizens to put fear and flight to their Roman occupiers. The word criminal here literally means “evildoer.” One of the evildoers repeats the mockery: “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself...” then adds, “and us.” If the Messiah was the one to bring in the Kingdom and deliver Israel from captivity, then it makes sense that he who is dying for Israel would demand this.
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| “Christ and the Thief” by Nikolai Ge (1831-1894) |
But the other evildoer...literally, the evildoer “of a different kind” speaks up. His hands and feet are nailed to the cross, but his tongue is free to be the evangelist he is now immortalized to be. He says to the mocker, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Reverence for God. Respect and honor for Jesus is what opens this evildoer’s lips. What makes him an evildoer of a different kind is his recognition and admission that he is an evildoer—a sinner—rightly condemned and crucified and put to death for his crimes. Just as Scripture says, “The wages of sin is death.” “All we like sheep have gone astray, each has turned to its own way.” This evildoer of a different kind bears his soul and speaks the hard truth that he is guilty. And he proclaims the innocence and righteousness of Jesus—the Man who has done nothing wrong.
I was thinking about this text all week and why it is one of the clearest passages on the grace of God—that is, just how radically free, unearned, and undeserved the love of God is in the Gospel. I believe this is the reason this passage is so powerful: God’s providence isolates the controlled variables. Just like Luke the physician determined illnesses by isolating controlled variables with treatments, patience, and observation to determine how to heal others. So we are able to see what cures the human soul. That is to say, that just as Jesus and the evildoers were stripped of their clothing before they were crucified. So God strips away all sorts of reasons why God might forgive and give eternal life to this condemned man. We presume that he was a circumcised Israelite who looked for the Messiah. But we are not told that. We do not know if he was baptized. It is not mentioned. He certainly was not baptized while hanging on the cross. He does not pray a prescribed prayer. He is not at a worship service nor is he at a revival. He is not prodded or asked to make a decision about Jesus. Nor is he guilted or shamed into making a confession of his sinfulness. He cannot go to the temple to offer sacrifices. He cannot perform good deeds. His hands and his feet are nailed to a wooden cross. But his ears hear. His mouth speaks. And with his heart he believes. He likely heard Jesus say, “My Kingdom is not of this world.” He certainly heard Jesus say, “Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Through the Word of Christ and the Holy Spirit, God creates faith in the heart of this uncommon criminal. He knows that all his treason, murder, and wickedness are forgiven because Jesus forgives those who mock and nail him to the cross. And so he prays to Jesus, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He does not ask Jesus to merely recollect him and bring him to mind when he enters his domain. He does not ask to be delivered from death on a cross. He asks the King to show him favor by receiving him into his heavenly Kingdom. He asks Jesus to save him from sin, evil, and a cruel world.
Jesus says, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” Not tomorrow. Not on the third day. Not in the age to come. Today. When Jesus dies he commends his spirit to God the Father. When this evildoer dies, he will be received that very day. “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” When a sinner who trusts in Jesus dies, they do not go into soul sleep. They do not take a detour through hell or purgatory. Like Enoch, Elijah, and Lazarus they are swept up into heaven—in a sudden translation, a chariot of fire, or up on angel’s wings. The word Jesus chooses, paradise, is incredibly powerful as well. It refers to the Garden of Eden. In Jesus’ death he will take away the curse of death and fall of humanity. He will restore creation back to its original beauty, holiness, and joy. And Jesus will be there to welcome the vilest sinner who believes. He will not remember our sins. He will remember you and me. It was for us that he suffered and died that we would not perish but have eternal life.
Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone thee.
’Twas I, Lord Jesus, I it was denied thee;
I crucified thee.
For me, king Jesus, was thine incarnation,
Thy mortal sorrow, and thy life’s oblation;
Thy death of anguish and thy bitter passion,
For my salvation. (“Ah, Holy Jesus,” vv. 2 & 4)
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