Jesus was crucified between two convicted criminals—and those criminals both heard the words of Christ, yet they responded very differently. The first dying man regarded the cross as a contradiction. He concluded that because Jesus was on the cross, He was no Savior. So he ridiculed the man on the middle cross: “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” (Luke 23:39). But the second man saw the cross as confirmation. He recognized that because Jesus was on the cross, He must be the Savior.

This once hard-bitten criminal had seen and heard enough of Jesus in His final hours to conclude that He was innocent of any crime. And the Holy Spirit had opened his eyes to realize that his predicament was far greater and different from what he had formerly thought. Not only was he being punished justly, receiving the condemnation his sins deserved, but his punishment would extend into eternity if he lacked the forgiveness of which Jesus spoke.

Following this realization, the condemned man made a humble request to Jesus for what he knew he didn’t deserve: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Presumably, he had processed the evidence, concluding, If this man is the Messiah, then He’s the long-promised King. If He’s that King, then He’s going to have a kingdom—the eternal kingdom of God. And when He reaches His kingdom, then perhaps He will remember me when He arrives there. 

Jesus’ reply is wonderful: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Not only did Jesus promise that this man—even this man—would go to heaven; He also emphasized the immediate nature of that reality for this dying man: “today”! We may imagine them finishing their conversation not hanging on crosses at Calvary but sitting in the kingdom of God.

This criminal offered nothing and asked the King for everything. And He said yes. This should never fail to strike us and reassure us, for you and I are in the same position as that criminal. We have nothing to bring to Jesus, as though our deeds might be the key that opens the way into His kingdom. All we bring is all that the criminal brought: our sin. But that is why Jesus hung on the cross: so that we might bring our sin to Him and that He might take it and bear it. That is why Jesus’ promise to the criminal is also His promise to every believer who dies: “Today you will be with me in paradise.” Let that knowledge be your joy and fuel for your praise today. One day, you—even you—will be with your King in paradise.

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Devotional material is taken from Truth For Life: 365 Daily Devotions by Alistair Begg. Copyright © 2021, The Good Book Company, thegoodbook.com. Used by Truth For Life with written permission.

The first Easter did not look like a typical Easter celebration.

Before Jesus’ resurrection was discovered, the day was marked by tears, devastation, and bewilderment—not joy, hope, and praise. The disciples were gathered out of fear, to protect one another, not to sing “Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!”[1] They sat in sadness; their story had come to a grinding halt, with the next page blank.

Or so they thought.

The Bible does not attempt to deny or idealize the grief felt by Christ’s followers after His crucifixion. They didn’t understand what had happened, and they certainly didn’t know what would happen next. Their sadness reveals humanity’s limitations in knowing the bigger picture. Despite the Old Testament prophecies and Jesus’ own foretelling of His death (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34), John’s Gospel tells us that they “as yet did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead” (John 20:9). They didn’t understand that when Jesus said from the cross, “It is finished” (19:30), He was not expressing defeat but declaring victory.

This victory meant resurrection. And as the resurrected Savior came to the disciples in their darkness, fear, and sadness, He brought transformation. Their unbelief turned to belief and their sadness to gladness. That gladness was rooted in the fact that they understood that Jesus had risen from the dead. Their faith and their future returned and were rooted in this wonderful reality. The darkness of their despair made the light of the resurrection all the more glorious.

If you are looking for a god that will just make you glad, you shouldn’t look for the God of the Bible. He does make us glad—more so than anyone or anything else—but He often starts by making us sad. We are saddened by this broken world, saddened by our own sin, saddened that on the cross Jesus died for our wickedness, disobedience, and disinterest. It is only through truly feeling such sorrow that we can fully understand the gladness that comes with our account being settled, our debt being paid, and our wrongs being forgiven.

We can know the gladness of a love that loves us even though we are not worthy of it—that loves us when we don’t want to listen. What kind of love is this? It is the love of God for men and women, for you and me! Today, look away from yourself and look at Him. This is love, and when we know we are loved in this way, we are able to see the healing in the harm and that sadness can be the soil in which eternal gladness grows. About which part of your life—perhaps a part full of pain, or regret, or anxiety—do you need to hear this today? Remember that whatever you are walking through, it remains true that Christ the Lord is risen. Hallelujah!

1. Charles Wesley, “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” (1739).

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Devotional material is taken from Truth For Life: 365 Daily Devotions by Alistair Begg. Copyright © 2021, The Good Book Company, thegoodbook.com. Used by Truth For Life with written permission.

What turns fear to faith?

After Jesus’ crucifixion, the disciples were in complete shambles, dejected and huddled together in fear of persecution. One of them, Judas, was already dead by suicide. Another, Peter, had caved in under pressure and denied Jesus, their leader and teacher, whom they had witnessed being brutally killed. Their hopes and dreams had seemingly died along with Him. Yet just weeks later, this same dejected bunch were on the streets of Jerusalem boldly declaring Jesus as the resurrected Messiah. What turned these men from craven fear to courageous faith? What can make the same change in us? Only the risen Jesus.

The disciples’ Jewish background led them to believe that the Messiah would appear and remain forever. This initially caused them to be crushed by Jesus’ death, for it seemed to mark utter defeat rather than glorious victory. Their shift to confidently proclaiming Jesus as Messiah after His death has only one possible explanation: they must have seen the resurrected Jesus. If they had not, they would have just fondly, or perhaps bitterly, remembered Him as their beloved teacher—but nothing more. What possible forgiveness and hope can be found in a dead man? But with a risen Messiah, suddenly everything changes.

The Bible tells us in firsthand accounts that the disciples encountered the risen Christ (see for instance John 20:11 – 21:23). Some make the argument that the disciples hallucinated, only “seeing” Him because of their all-consuming faith. But remember, they didn’t initially have faith in a resurrection! In fact, Scripture tells us that they sat behind locked doors in fear and disappointment (20:19). And even if they had imagined a risen and reigning Christ, they probably wouldn’t have imagined a Jesus who cooked and ate fish on the beach, who still had scars from His brutal death, and who walked the streets and encountered them in numerous ways. Nor would they have portrayed themselves as so cowardly or included the reports of women (whose testimony was not considered valid in that culture). Rather, they would have presented themselves as the brave and prominent figures who first discovered the empty tomb. Any kind of alternative explanation for the empty tomb demands even more “faith” than trusting in what has been revealed to us in the word of God does.

The resurrection changes everything. We must consider the facts surrounding Jesus’ return from the dead—but we must also consider the glorious good news that it offers us. Without the literal bodily resurrection of Jesus, Christianity is worthless; “Your faith is futile” (1 Corinthians 15:17). But since Jesus has indeed risen and is indeed reigning, then in Him is forgiveness that can be found in no other, and in Him is a future hope like no other. Have you, with the eye of faith, seen the Lord risen and reigning? Then you will, like Mary and like the disciples, see your doubt-filled fear turn to trusting faith as you boldly proclaim this hope to your own heart and to this fearful world.

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Devotional material is taken from Truth For Life: 365 Daily Devotions by Alistair Begg. Copyright © 2021, The Good Book Company, thegoodbook.com. Used by Truth For Life with written permission.

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.


Words by Isaac Watts, tune by Lowell Mason