Luke 23:42 says, “And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.”
As a young teenager I would hear my dad sing, “The Last Mile of the Way,” by Johnson Oatman, Jr. (1908). I didn’t realize at the time that my little brother was on his last mile of the way. The day after the accident he was gone. Sixty-three years later, I am still looking ahead to the last mile of my journey. Our text comes from a man hanging on a cross by Jesu— knowing that he was going to leave this earth in a few hours.
We don’t know much about the man who asked Jesus to remember him. We know he was a criminal and that he walked with Jesus and another criminal along the last of his path to the end of his life (V. 32). His friends and family may have been there to watch him die. I wonder when he got into crime. Did his mother and dad try to raise him right? Did he receive a fair trial? In verse 41, he admits his guilt to his fellow partner in crime. Somehow in his last mile he realized that Jesus was innocent. I wonder if this was the first time he saw Jesus. I wonder how much he understood about salvation. Before his very eyes, so close to him, was the Son of God, laying down His life for him.
Many people have come to the cross and found everlasting life. Many precious hymns have been written about the cross. The cross is the focal point of history. It brings the old and new testaments together. It is God’s great demonstration of His love for us.
No, the thief on the cross did not live a godly life. He had no hope of heaven. He had heard Jesus say, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” In this critical moment he called Jesus “Lord.” Hallelujah! The merciful Jesus answered his request to be remembered, “Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
Romans 10:13 states, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” There was another criminal hanging there by Jesus. He had also walked with Jesus on the path to the cross. His last mile of the way ended in disbelief. He said, “If thou be Christ, save thyself and us” (V. 39). He was simply repeating what the rulers and those who derided Jesus said in verse 35: “…let him save himself if he be Christ, the chosen of God.”
On Memorial Day we remember the lives of our loved ones who have gone on before us. We remember the lives of those who gave their lives for our freedom. One day our bodies will be under the ground at the cemetery while others walk above us, perhaps remembering something about us.
If the families of these two criminals gathered at a cemetery in the following years, I wonder what they remembered about their loved ones. I wonder if they understood salvation. I can’t think of a greater or more comforting statement to hear from Jesus in my last mile of life, before closing my eyes to the light of this world, than “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” When we gather around our loved ones’ graves this year and remember their lives, we may wonder if they are in heaven. God is merciful, “…not willing that any should perish…” (II Peter 3:9). The last half of the verse says, “that all should come to repentance.” Before the last mile, let us pray “LORD, REMEMBER ME!”
