God's Timing and The Criminal on the Cross

The other day, a thought popped into my head about the criminal on the cross—the one Jesus said would be with Him in paradise the day they were crucified next to each other. Here’s the scripture:

32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. 39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:32-34, 39-43)

This is such a powerful moment. It’s possible this man lived a messy life, and he’s honest that he deserves to be crucified. He must’ve done something pretty bad to end up with that punishment.

That alone can encourage us. No—we’re not too far gone for Jesus to love us. If this man could be forgiven, we certainly can too.

But that’s not where my mind went the other day. It went to God’s timing.

When you read the chapters before this, it’s clear there was a specific time God had set for Jesus’ crucifixion.

In the book of John in particular, there are four separate occasions where the verses say Jesus’ time had not yet come. Here’s one example:

So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. (John 7:30)

For reasons only God fully knows, Jesus’ life was prolonged until it was officially His time to make the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf.

And that brings me back to the criminal on the cross. If Jesus’ time had come earlier or later than that specific day, this man would not have had that encounter.

Although it’s certainly not the only reason God chose that particular day (we can’t possibly know all of them), one reason must have been to rescue this man in his final moments of an otherwise difficult life.

There are no coincidences with God. He knew that man would be next to Jesus that day.

So, what’s the point?

This reflection personally encouraged me to trust God’s timing.

Sometimes I wonder why I’m in a certain situation. Sometimes I wish God would move faster.

But God’s timing is always perfect, even when it feels difficult in the moment.

There are so many things He’s putting together that we can trust will ultimately be for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

There are people whom He is giving time to repent (2 Peter 3:9).

There are things we don’t even know about that are necessary for His work to come to completion.

God is aligning every specific detail, leading to just the right moments that reveal more and more of His love.

So hang in there if His timing doesn’t feel right. Don’t lose hope.

We can trust that God is in every detail for our good—and one day, we will be with Him in paradise.