Sanctioned

"And he (Jesus) said to him, 'Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.'" - Luke 23:43

A little background from Luke 23: "Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him (Jesus). And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.... One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, 'Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!' But the other rebuked him, saying, '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.' And he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' And Jesus said to him, 'Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.'"

Spending time this Lenten season in these last words Jesus spoke from the cross has provided the opportunity to think deeply about my part in all this, my culpability... and also about what my response should be. We've been hearing much in the news of late about the horrific situation playing out in the world currently. The word "sanction" permeates the dialogue. I thought about that word and how it seems to connect with this account of Jesus' suffering and death. As both a noun and a verb, the word "sanction" has two meanings... two very opposite meanings. The first is right in line with what's going on between Russia and Ukraine. A sanction is a penalty... a punishment for wrong-doing. The second, quite ironically, means to recognize, confirm, or approve of.

We jump now to the two thieves hanging beside Jesus. They were receiving the penalty, the punishment they justly deserved. By his own admission, the one thief acknowledged this very thing. God's Word tells us the wages of sin is death... the sanction imposed for our sin. I am guilty... we are all guilty. Not one of us deserves a pardon. Yet. Yet, grace. Grace, that beautiful, glorious word turns the first meaning of the word into the second. The Bible also tells us that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and his atoning, redeeming work that was accomplished by his death on the cross and his resurrection three days later!

The one thief remained defiant to the end, casting aside any chance of forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life. The second... well, he got it. He got it ALL in the eleventh hour. No opportunity to amend his ways. No opportunity to go on to live a Jesus-following life, but he still got it all, that free gift of remarkable grace, because he came to the knowledge of who Jesus is... and he believed... and that, THAT, made all the difference. That repentant heart, that contrite spirit, that confession of faith is all any of us needs to be with Jesus in Paradise.

It occurred to me that we are all those thieves on the cross, every last one of us. Our sins condemn, pronouncing the horrible judgment we so deserve. None of us escapes the verdict... guilty. Yet. Yet, Jeusus offers a way, a way from death to life. A reprieve awaits because of what He did that day on the cross. Because of His great love for us and because of His grace, all we need do is ask, "Jesus, remember me," and we receive that second kind of sanction. We are recognized as one of His own. We are approved by the Father. We are welcomed into the fold.

"Truly, I (Jesus) say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

The Bible doesn't speculate on matters such as this, but I suspect the second thief - whose death sentence became a "life" sentence that horrible, glorious day - had he been given the opportunity to go on to live a Jesus-following life on earth would have done so to the fullest. It isn't until we come to the realization of how destitute we really are, how hopeless the situation, how utterly lost we have become that we can look to the One on the cross... and truly live.