Today

“Today” is a word from Jesus on the cross. He said it to one of the two insurrectionists the soldiers had crucified with him. The one he was talking to had evidently taken part in yet another attempt to overthrow Roman rule in Israel. He likely had the typical Jewish expectancy that Messiah would liberate his nation.

Earlier he joined the other criminal in taunting Jesus to bring the three of them down from their crosses. Now he has had a change of heart as death drew nearer and darkness at midday settled in. He acknowledged that Jesus had not done anything wrong, and that they deserved to die for their actions: admission and repentance.

He must have come to see that his own view of Messiah’s kingdom was turning out to be wrong: conversion. Beyond that, he asked Jesus to remember him when he came into his kingdom: belief, confession, and commitment. In response, Jesus promised that he would be with him in Paradise in a couple hours: salvation.

In something of that same scenario today, we re-enact in ourselves repentance from sin, confession, and commitment to the One whose body and blood this bread and wine represent. We demonstrate that we too want to be a part of the kingdom the man on the cross beside us has now established.