Context: Jesus being taken to the cross.

^{Luke 23:32-43}

³² Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. ³³ 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. ³⁴ And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”^[b] And they cast lots to divide his garments. ³⁵ And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” ³⁶ The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine ³⁷ and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” ³⁸ There was also an inscription over him,^[c] “This is the King of the Jews.”

³⁹ One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him,^[d] saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” ⁴⁰ But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹ And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴² And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” ⁴³ And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

When I first came upon this part of the account of Jesus’ crucifixion, I thought to myself how interesting that this man was favoured by Jesus just because he was in the right place at the right time. He was a criminal for who knows how long and what things he must have done, but in an instant, he gained forgiveness and favour with Jesus.

But on closer examination, I realized this was not simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time, but it was a matter of his heart and his faith. The account above shows us two criminals and their responses to Jesus being crucified alongside them. One of them, like the soldiers, blasphemed (spoke evil) Jesus, inquiring if he could not save himself since he was the Christ. He asked as he was not sure. From his statement, it does not seem like he believed that this was the Christ, the son of God. In response to his statement, the other criminal asked if he did not fear God. This tells me this man’s heart was in a different place. He recognized that Jesus was innocent and would receive the same sentence of death as a criminal. It seems he also had a fear of God. And when he asked Jesus to remember him, it was a sure statement that he believed Jesus was the Christ and would come into His kingdom. He believed. The thing about God’s forgiveness is that it is easy once we are repentant and truly want forgiveness. Once our heart is in the right place, we can get forgiveness and favour from God no matter what we have done when we ask.