Today You Will Be With Me in Paradise

When we look at the cross, we don’t see only Jesus—we see two men hanging beside Him. Two thieves. Two people with the same proximity to Christ, the same suffering, the same death approaching. But the way they respond to Jesus becomes a powerful picture of how every human heart responds to God. These few verses, spoken in Jesus’ most painful hour, reveal the very essence of repentance, hardness, mercy, and salvation.

Let’s look at the two thieves, then at Jesus Himself — and what we can learn from them.

# 1. The Repentant Thief

The repentant thief sees Jesus, suffers the pain, hears the mockery from the crowd — but he also hears Jesus praying, “Father, forgive them.” And something in him breaks open. He begins by acknowledging the truth:

“We are punished justly… but this Man has done nothing wrong.”

This is repentance — not poetic, not polished, but honest. He doesn’t offer excuses. He doesn’t blame circumstances. He simply admits, “I am wrong.”

Then comes one of the shortest yet most potent prayers in Scripture:
“Jesus, remember me.”

That’s all it takes.

It echoes the tax collector in Jesus’ parable who prayed, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” and went home justified. It echoes David who, though guilty of deep sin, repented immediately when confronted and was restored by God.

The thief brings no theology, no good works, no religious credentials. Only a broken heart. And Jesus receives him.

And this is where paradise opens.

In Eden — the original paradise — humanity was sent out because of sin.
But now, at the cross — because of Jesus’ death and because of repentance — Eden opens again.
The word “paradise” literally means a garden, the same imagery used for Eden.

And who is the first person Jesus brings into this reopened garden?
A thief.
Not a disciple.
Not a high priest.
Not one of the respected Pharisees.
A sinner who, at the last moment, said, “Remember me.”

Jesus said the last will be first — and here is a gracious example.
He didn’t take baptism.
He wasn’t filled with the Spirit.
He didn’t go out and do ministry.
But before his last breath, he found grace to enter the restored garden.

# 2. The Hardened Thief

The other thief uses his final moments not to repent, but to mock:
“If you are the Christ, save Yourself and us!”

He sees the same Jesus, the same scene, the same suffering — yet he chooses the opposite.
What a contrast.

Here is a man standing at the doorway of eternity. In the final minutes of his life, he is closer to God than he has ever been. He is just a few feet away from the Son of God, who is offering forgiveness to the world. If there was ever a moment to soften, to say “I was wrong,” this is it.

But he hardens his heart.

Instead of looking inward and confessing sin, he looks outward and demands that God prove Himself. The undertone is:
“If You’re really God, rescue Yourself — and me.”

These words echo the very temptation Satan threw at Jesus in the wilderness:
“If You are the Son of God… save Yourself.”

The hardened thief is not possessed, but he is certainly speaking the enemy’s language — repeating the same old temptation.

Scripture is full of such hardened hearts.
Cain was confronted by God but responded with resentment instead of repentance.
King Asa, after years of faithfulness, grew proud, refused correction, and died without seeking the Lord.

We may sit in church, hear the Word, experience God’s presence, and still refuse to change. God gives opportunity after opportunity to set our hearts right. But if we cling to anger — whether toward God or others — we miss the grace standing right beside us.

Even on the cross, even after all his anger, this thief could have repented.
But he didn’t.
He wasted the final invitation God placed in front of him.

# 3. The Shepherd Who Saves Even in Agony

And now we look at Jesus.

He is in unimaginable physical agony — every breath scraping against torn flesh.
He is in spiritual agony — carrying the sin of the world.

Yet even here, He does not turn inward in self-pity.
He doesn’t list His accomplishments, or lament His suffering, or ask for comfort.
He stays focused on His mission: to seek and to save the lost.

Jesus once described Himself as the Good Shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to find the one lost sheep — and on the cross, He fulfills that parable literally.
Long after the crowds have mocked Him, long after the soldiers have gambled for His clothing, long after the disciples have fled, He still finds one lost soul beside Him and brings him home.

We see this same heart in Paul.
Paul was thrown into prison, yet instead of complaining, he ministers to the jailer — and the jailer’s entire household is saved. Only the next day does Paul mention his Roman citizenship. Why not earlier? Because he was busy rescuing the one sheep in front of him.

Likewise, Jesus could have called angels to rescue Him. He could have ended the suffering instantly. But He stays — because there is a thief who needs salvation.

# Who Will You Be?

Two men hung beside Jesus.
Two sinners.
Two opportunities.

One rejected grace and died hardened.
The other repented and walked into paradise.

And paradise — the garden closed since Eden — reopened that day because Jesus died and a thief believed. The first person to enter the reopened garden was not a saint, not a prophet, not even one of the Twelve, but a criminal whose final prayer was simply: “Remember me.”

So what do we learn?

• We can be very close to Jesus and still miss Him if our hearts are hard.
• Repentance is simple: honesty before God and a plea for mercy.
• We cannot judge anyone’s final destination — for grace works even in the last seconds.
• And Jesus, even in agony, never stops saving. He is still the Shepherd who seeks the lost.

At the foot of the cross, we stand beside these two thieves.
Every day we choose which one we will be.

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