Good Friday: Paradise, Today
And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Luke 23:42-43
By noon on Friday, Jesus has been betrayed by a close friend, falsely accused of blasphemy, wrongly condemned to death, beaten by a battalion of Roman soldiers, mocked by a crowd of onlookers, stripped of his clothing, and crucified between two criminals. He has endured insult and scorn. He has carried his cross, his own instrument of execution.
In not even a full day, the so-called Son of God hangs in defeat on a Roman cross, his life ebbing away with every breath. Imagine what it would have been like to be one of his followers, who had wondered if Jesus was the promised Messiah, the Savior of the world. Centuries of anticipation rode on Jesus. Could he be the one? And despite it all—the wondering, the waiting, the beginnings of hope—their Savior was dying.
Could they have known that his death was God’s plan? Could they have conceived of victory in the face of abject defeat? Certainly the notion of a suffering, crucified Christ was absurd to most of the Jewish people, including Jesus’ own disciples. Generations had lived and died without seeing the reign of the prophesied Messianic King; false messiahs had attracted followers and then died. “We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel,” say the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:21). Had hoped—but no longer.
Yet one of the criminals nailed beside Jesus makes this remarkable plea: “remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). Remember me, he says, believing that Jesus’ crucifixion does not mean the absolute end of his life. And he asks Jesus to remember him when—not if—he comes into his kingdom. There is a desperation in the criminal’s request, for he has nothing else as he faces death. But in his request is also a strange certainty that Jesus will enter his kingdom triumphantly.
Indeed, such a certainty undergirds Jesus’ response: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). His promise to the criminal is one of hope against all hope. The Greek word for paradise, paradeisos, is used in the Septuagint for the garden of Eden. Jesus is promising not only blissful peace, but a restoration of Eden.
And perhaps most importantly, Jesus promises this paradise today. The same day in which they hung on crosses in humiliation and pain and defeat. That very day. In his imminent death, eternal life presses ever nearer. And not just for the criminal at his side, but for the people who had waited long for the Messiah. No longer would they have to look forward to a vague future fulfillment. The Christ had come.
On that day, the day when Jesus of Nazareth was crucified and died, he brought final salvation to his people. No more waiting. No more wondering. His promise? Paradise, today.
Ashley Kim is a sophomore in Columbia College studying Classics.