Luke 23:35-43 The Prayer Our King Was Dying to Answer
35
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved
others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”
36
The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said,
“If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
38
There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
39
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save
yourself and us!”
40
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under
the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But
this man has done nothing wrong.”
42
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43
Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” What would ever prompt one
condemned criminal to make such an incredible request of another condemned criminal, or at
least of one who appeared to be. An appeal to the governor for a pardon we might expect. A
plea for mercy to the soldiers carrying out the execution, we could understand. But for one
criminal to seek help from another who was in the very same boat, what good would that do?
But this thief had seen something different in Jesus. He had heard things from Jesus that no
one would expect given the circumstances. He had put his faith in Jesus and so he offers this
bold prayer – “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Is there anything
more that any of us needs or desires than this? So, praise God, because this is exactly what
Jesus desires as well. He wants us to be a part of his kingdom forever. This is the prayer that
our King was dying to answer.
So what did the thief see in Jesus that caught his attention? There was a written notice above
him which read: This is the king of the Jews. The notice was posted in mockery, and this title
that others were giving him, was only to taunt him. Even so, it was true. Jesus is a king, in fact
he is the King. And one of the primary jobs of the king in the Old Testament was to protect
God’s people. And this is exactly what Jesus was doing on the cross. He came to protect his
people forever from sin and death. He would accomplish this by giving his life. Christ came to
suffer and die. Obviously there were many who didn’t get that. They mocked him saying if you
are the Christ, save yourself, if you are the one “chosen” by God and “anointed” by him, why
are you enduring all of this? Because this was his mission.
The thief saw that Jesus was doing his job rather than demanding his rights. You hear it in his
rebuke of the other criminal. “Don’t you fear God? … We are punished justly, for we are getting
what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” As God’s holy Son Jesus had
every right to be immune from such torture and mockery. But as the Christ, this was his
assignment, his purpose. The letter to the Hebrews tells us that “for the joy set before him,
[Jesus] endured the cross, scorning its shame.” Not only did he do his job, he delighted in it.
Thank God, for in this we find forgiveness for all of the times that we demand what we believe
are our rights, rather than simply doing our job as God’s people.
God has called us to live under him in his kingdom and serve him in everlasting righteousness
and innocence; to be obedient to him and his Word – that’s our job. But rather than doing it,
we so often demand what we feel are our rights. The right to do as we please, no matter what
God thinks about it. The right to be always happy, by our definition, even if it comes at the
expense of God’s word. The right to be perfectly satisfied and have all that we want for
ourselves, while the work of God’s church limps along with what we have left over. To see
Christ, to see the attitude and determination of our King as he made payment for our sins and
those of the whole world – that’s what changes our focus just like it did for this thief. That’s
what inspires us to make his attitude and determination our own. It allows us to lay aside
whatever we feel are our rights, to simply do the job he has given us, to love and serve him as
his people.
Behind Jesus’ single-minded focus to the mission of our salvation stands his incredible love for
us and for all. The thief saw this as well, how Jesus loved others more than he loved himself.
No where else do we see greater evidence of this than at the cross. Remember the prayer of
forgiveness he offered for those who “did not know what they were doing.” Think about the
lack of anger or retaliation! How could Jesus look at those who were treating him in this way
and still love them? And, we have to ask, how can he look at us, day in and day out; seeing all
we do, hearing all we say, knowing every thought and motive that passes over our sinful hearts
… how can he look at us and still love us?
Because he wants to answer that prayer: Remember me in your kingdom. It would cost him his
life to give us the answer that we want and need, but he loved others - he loved us! - more than
he loved himself, and so he was willing to die. When we see that love in action on our behalf,
we want our own love to be patterened after it. How can we refuse to forgive others when
Christ has so freely and thoroughly forgiven us? How can we continue to get so bent out of
shape over the minor offenses that people commit against us, or even the major ones, when
we see how Christ was so horribly mistreated and yet didn’t open his mouth? How can we look
at others, even those we don’t know, and not have our hearts reach out for them too, since we
know that Jesus loved them that much. Jesus’ encouragement is simple: Love one another as I
have loved you. And how can we ever hope to that? We love, because he first loved us.
Today, on Christ the King Sunday, we celebrate the fact that this Jesus is our king and that we
have been included in his kingdom. On the cross he did his job in faithful love so that in pure
grace he could give everything to those who could give him nothing.
The request of the thief was so bold because there was absolutely nothing he could offer Jesus
– nothing at all! There was no time for things like – I’ll turn my life around, Jesus – just wait and
see. Or like the tax collector Zacchaeus, I’ll pay back all those I stole from and then some.
There could be no pledge of future allegiance: I’ll serve you to the end of my life. He would in
fact serve Jesus that long, but the end of his life would be later that day. This thief was a
beggar, as are we all.
But to just such people – people with empty hands and no claim on any of God’s blessings,
Jesus gives everything. “Today you will be with me in paradise.” Is there anything more that
any of us needs or desires? There would be no probation for this thief. No place where he
must first go to work off some of the debt he owed to God. There would be no waiting and
seeing if he was truly worthy of entrance into the kingdom of Christ. Nothing of the sort. The
King died for him, shed his blood to cleanse him of all sin. He was ready for the kingdom
because Jesus made him so.
Today – the very instant that you close your eyes in death. Paradise – free from sin and
sorrow, tears and trouble, in the place where God has made everything new. And with me,
Jesus says, to revel in my love and see my face for all eternity. This is the kingdom that Christ
won for us, the place where we ask that he would remember us and bring us home to. This is
the prayer that our King was dying to answer. Not just for the thief, but for you and me too. By
God’s grace we know the truth, the one who hangs on that cross is the King, and he is our King.
He is dying to bring us into his kingdom. So when we pray, “remember me,” we can look to the
cross and know that he will, in fact, he already has. Amen.