July 18 2025

Friday July 18

“Today You Will Be With Me in Paradise”

Luke 23:41-44

41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong." 42 Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." 43 And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." 44 Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.

Welcome to Pastor's Chat as we continue to look at Luke 23. Jesus is on the cross in the passages we've been reading and discussing. Today, in verse 43, Jesus spoke to the thief on the cross next to Him who had repented, who had recognized that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, sinless, stainless, blameless and who believed that Jesus was dying not for any guilt of His own, but for the sins of the world. It is apparent that the thief believed Jesus was the Messiah because he said, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom."

Here is a man who didn't have a chance to go to church, get baptized, or do anything for Jesus. Yet, he received God's full pardon for the guilt of his sins and received salvation. Jesus responded to his request in verse 43, saying, "Assuredly I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise." Then, in verse 44, Luke points out that it was about the sixth hour (noon), and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour (3pm). Midway through the six hours of Christ on the cross, right before that sixth hour, this thief receives Christ and the assurance that he will be with Him in paradise.

Let me explain something about Paradise. I believe the Old Testament and New Testament together teach that when people died in the Old Testament and up to the resurrection of Christ, they went to a place called Sheol, which had two compartments and was located somewhere in the heart of the earth. Jesus explained this in Luke 16:19-31. When the rich man died, he went to hell, “and in hell, he lifted up his eyes in flames of fire, being in torment, saying, "I'm tormented in this flame." The poor man, Lazarus, went to a place called Abraham's bosom (Paradise), where he was comforted. The man in hell could see across to Paradise and saw Lazarus being comforted. He cried out for relief for himself and asked for Lazarus to be sent to dip his finger in water and cool his tongue. He also wanted someone to warn his brothers not to come to this terrible place.

Jesus responded that there is a great gulf fixed between them. So, it appears that in the heart of the earth, there is a place called Sheol with a hell side, a flame side, a great gulf, and a paradise side. I believe Scripture shows the same day after Jesus death on the cross and He was buried in the grave, Jesus went to the Paradise side and took everyone from there to what is called the “third heaven”. Why do we believe this? Because we believe paradise was emptied out. That day, Jesus went to paradise because He said to the repenting criminal, "Today you'll be with Me in paradise." 

While the body of Jesus was in the grave, Jesus met this thief in Paradise, who had gone there when he died. From there, Jesus then took everyone to the third heaven, where the throne of God is. Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12:3, said, "I knew a man who was caught up to the third heaven." Remember that Jesus also said in John 14:2-3, “In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

Jesus promised the disciples a new place which He called “My Father’s house”, which we believe is the “third heaven”, where today He is seated at the right hand of God. Interestingly, also we might note that when Stephen was being stoned to death in Acts 7:54-56, that it says that, “he being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" Jesus stood up for Stephen during his stoning.  

2 Corinthians 5:8 says, "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." Why? Because the Lord is in the third heaven, where He took those from Paradise. But today, people who die without Christ still go to a terrible place called hell located in “Sheol”. And one day in the future, according to Revelation 20:13-14, those in hell will stand before the great white throne judgment and be cast into the lake of fire, a place of outer darkness where the beast, the false prophet, and Satan will be for eternity.

My friend, you don't want to go to the place of “the everlasting fire which was created for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). You want to go to heaven. You can only do that, like the thief, by trusting Christ. Trust Him today and receive your eternal salvation.

God bless!