Remember Me
Scripture:
“The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. ‘He saved others,’ they said, ‘let him save himself if he is really God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.’ The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine. They called out to him, ‘If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!’ A sign was fastened above him with these words: ‘This is the King of the Jews.’
One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, ‘So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!’
But the other criminal protested, ‘Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.’
And Jesus replied, ‘I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.’”
—Luke 23:35–43 (NLT)
Everyone around the cross was saying the same thing. The leaders scoffed. The soldiers mocked. And at first, according to Matthew’s account, both criminals joined in. The air around Calvary was thick with contempt, and Jesus absorbed it all in silence. But somewhere in the middle of that darkness, one man’s heart began to move in a different direction. He looked at the man hanging beside him, and he saw something no one else was able to see. He saw a King.
What happened next is one of the most remarkable moments in all of Scripture. This man had nothing to offer. No record to point to, no time left to make anything right. He was guilty, and he knew it. He didn’t ask to be spared from his execution. He didn’t bargain or negotiate. He simply turned his head toward Jesus and said the most honest thing he had ever said: “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom.” That sentence is a whole theology of grace compressed into a single breath. He believed Jesus was who He claimed to be, even while the crowd mocked and the sky grew dark. And Jesus answered him not with conditions, but with a promise.
Grace found this man at the worst moment of his life, on a cross, with nothing left. And Jesus, who was Himself in agony, turned toward him and said: “I assure you, today you will be with Me in paradise.” Not someday. Not if you can hold on. Today. Spurgeon once preached about this moment and noted that at the very hour our Lord had been stripped of His glory, nailed to a cross and numbered among criminals, He was still saving souls. That is the character of grace. It does not wait for better circumstances. It meets people exactly where they are.
“Our Lord Jesus, at the time he saved this malefactor, was at his lowest — stripped of his garments, and nailed to the cross — mocked by a ribald crowd, and dying in agony. Yet then was his grace most gloriously displayed.”¹ — C.H. Spurgeon, The Believing Thief
And what He did for that man, He does for you. You don’t have to earn His attention or clean yourself up before you ask. He placed you here on purpose, and He has not forgotten you. The invitation that hung in the air on that hillside is still open. You only have to turn toward Him. His answer today is the same as it was then: “I assure you.”
Reflection:
- What does the thief’s request teach you about what faith actually looks like?
- Is there something in your past that makes it hard to believe Jesus’ promise applies to you?
- How would your day look different if you lived in the full assurance of His grace?
Prayer:
Thank Jesus that His grace reaches further than your failures ever could. Ask Him to help you receive His promise the way that man on the cross received it — simply, honestly, and without condition.
Footnote:
¹ C.H. Spurgeon, “The Believing Thief,” Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1888).