Remember the Renegade

 

“Remember the Renegade”
Luke 23:39-43

Remembrances on March 25:
            This evening I plan to pull out my four Belgian Waffle makers and cook up some delicious waffles so that I can celebrate International Waffle Day. My daughter prefers to have a waffle with the impression of Mickey Mouse upon it while I prefer to have one from the waffle makers that place impressions of Star Wars characters upon them. My whole family looks forward to waffles for dinner.
            It would be particularly fitting if I could make a Waffle with images of an angel or of the crucifixion as the historical church has honored March 25^th for two significant reasons throughout the centuries. The church has celebrated the Solemnity of the Annunciation on this day. Tradition holds that on March 25^th, sometime around 2000 years ago, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce the birth of the Messiah.
            Interestingly, the church also claims this date as the actual day of the crucifixion, when Jesus dies for our sins. These two events falling on the same day infers the possibility that in great mercy, Jesus gives up his life on the anniversary of his conception. God’s gift of grace and presence with us spreads from birth to death.
            Since the church acknowledges March 25^th as the day of the crucifixion, some through the centuries have celebrated the Feast of Saint Dismas in remembrance of this creation altering moment. Dismas is the name given by tradition to the repentant criminal on the cross next to Jesus who said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” This man has become the patron saint for prisoners and penitent sinners because of his crimes, his confession and the mercy that Christ offers to all prisoners through the crucifixion.
            Tradition and myth add narrative to this man’s life. A legend regarding his life seeks to illuminate his character and why he spoke the words he did as he hung upon the cross. This apocryphal story from the Arabic Gospel of the Infancy, where he has the name Titus, narrates that he and the other criminal who hung next to Jesus had previously sought to rob Mary and Joseph. As the holy family traveled to Egypt following the events concerning the wise men and King Herod a band of thieves, consisting of these two men, threatened them. The legend tells that Dismas convinced the other thief to deter from his intention to steal by paying him 40 drachmas. He did this because he detected something special about the child Jesus being carried by Mary. As the tale concludes, Jesus prophecies that the thieves will suffer crucifixion with Jesus and Dismas will then join Jesus in heaven.[1]
Meeting the Renegade on the Cross:
            This legendary account provides great fodder for the imagination. It remains a myth attached to this miscreant who hung next to our Lord. From the brief narrative we do have in Scripture we can glean some facts about this man. Additionally, the words he gasps out in his final moments offer truth about how we should interact with our crucified Lord.
            Luke uses the Greek word, kakourgon (kakourgon), a general term for miscreants, malefactors, and lawbreakers. Mark uses the word, lhsthj (lestes), translated as robber or thief, but referring to those who will not hesitate to use violence to achieve their desires. Many ancient sources used this word to refer to revolutionaries.[2] Most likely, these two men had plotted to overthrow Rome in some manner. Thus they received the punishment of death by crucifixion.
            We can know that this man had a violent past and likely harmed many others in pursuit of his militant goals. Most likely, he looked for a revolutionary Messiah, who would come and lead Israel to conquest over the hated foreign oppressors from Rome. Yet, somehow as his companion rails against Jesus, this rebel gains insight and truth.
Remembering Our Rebellion:
            He hangs on the cross next to Jesus, struggling to breathe, gasping for hope. He hears the mocking of his fellow felon, looks beside him, and sees the face of innocence, sweating and bearing the pain of the world’s sin on his shoulders. He suddenly knows the reality of God’s Messiah. He can do nothing, but in awe, speak these words, addressing them to the other criminal, “Don’t you fear God? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
            In these words, this hardened man confesses his own wrongdoing and declares the reality and necessity of a Messiah for his life and ours. This man, wracked with pain, admits his own guilt, contrasting it with the innocence of Jesus.[3] In doing so, he reveals the truth, the innocent Messiah comes to suffer along with each person who exists in the guilt of rebellion, thievery, and violence. Seeing his own guilt and Jesus hanging beside him leads to salvation.[4]
            Each of us needs to consider our penchant toward rebellion, thievery, and violence. We all turn our hearts away from God’s design for life. We all steal from our neighbors, treating them unjustly with actions of greed and selfish pursuits. We all abuse others with cruel words, angry thoughts, bitterness, warmongering attitudes, and sometimes our very fists. We all hang on the edge of death in the midst of our guilt.
            Thanks be to God that Jesus hangs beside us! We can turn and recognize the precious Messiah just as the evil doer does on the cross. We can see Jesus’ innocence and our guilt. Then we can turn to Jesus for healing, restoration, and lives marked by his kingdom values.
Remembering Our True Sovereign:
            In the midst of conviction the criminal also states, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” This statement is replete with acknowledgement of the full grace of God present through the person and sacrifice of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
            This miscreant acknowledges that he needs Jesus to remember him. Remembering comes with knowledge and compassion. When we seek this from Jesus, he grants it, inviting us into relationship with him and our Creator God. Jesus wants to remember each one of us and welcome us into his open arms. At the cross, Jesus forgives and offers the opportunity for each person to make this same request.
            In this statement, the criminal also implicitly acknowledges Jesus’ kingship.[5] He accepts Jesus as the sovereign over his life, setting aside any self-centered claim toward personal sovereignty. In this moment, he bows before the Lord in worship. He wants to take his place, through the grace of God, among the righteous in the coming kingdom of Christ.[6] He longs to experience restoration as a steward in God’s creation and knows that this man hanging next to him brings about that restoration through his perfect reign.
            Each of us needs to follow the example of this dying man. We all die a little every day. In our dying, we need to see Jesus hanging beside us claiming our fate as his own. We all revel in our rebellion against God’s design for life. In acknowledgement of our rebellion, we need to view the grace of God present in the one who takes our shame as his own. In seeing Christ beside us, joining us in our situation we can pray for him to remember us and rest assured that he does! When we truly gaze upon Christ, we will have to acknowledge him as Lord. Then, like the crucified rebel, we should ask Jesus to welcome us into his kingdom on this day.
            Jesus will do just that. In his unmatched love, he will invite us to dwell with him in paradise. In mercy, Jesus hangs beside each one of us, accepts our confessions of rebellion, and receives us as we bow before him in worship. Know the great grace of our sovereign king, Jesus Christ, and enter into his kingdom today.

 

Prayer: Gracious God, when I consider your great mercy, I know you remember me. Your Son, Jesus, did nothing wrong. Yet, he chooses to live and die as someone who has. He hangs beside me in my mortality. Even as I have rebelled against you and committed acts of injustice against other people, I know that Jesus has come into my reality. Forgive me and help me rest in the fact that you welcome me into paradise. In Christ’s loving name, Amen.

 

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[1] St. Dismas, the Good Thief (April 25, 2024) Faith ND, http://www.fatih.nd.edu; St. Dismas (April 25, 2024), Catholic On-line/Saints & Angels; http://www.catholic.org/saints.

[2] N. T. Wright, The Crown and The Fire. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992), 18.

[3] Fred B. Craddock, Interpretation: Luke. (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1990), 274.

[4] Michael Card, Luke: The Gospel of Amazement. (Downers Grove: IVP, 2010), 256.

[5] Craig A. Evans, NIBC: Luke. (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1990), 338.

[6] Darrell L. Bock, The NIV Application Commentary: Luke. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 396.