Sayings on the Cross Part 2 :: Deeper Devotion

Sayings on the Cross Part 2

April 3, 2010

by Tim Wade

Editor’s Note: Within the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John there are recorded seven (7) phrases that Jesus said just prior to His death. Today we continue our study with the second saying in this series.

Part 2

Luke 23:43
And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

Two words come to mind when I hear these words spoken by Jesus; they are chronos, and kairos. Both words come from the Greek language spoken during the New Testament era and both mean time. The difference in the two words however is as unique as night and day.

Chronos is the manner in which you and I measure time. We call it linear time, and it is where we get our English word chronology. It has a beginning and goes on and on to eternity. Imagine a straight line that has a beginning point, and then goes on forever.

Kairos on the other hand is different. It is not a line. In fact, it has no beginning, and it has no end. Kairos time is heaven’s time. When we who have been saved go to live with Jesus for eternity we will leave chronos time and enter kairos time where we will experience no awareness of the passing of time.

When I hear Jesus say to the thief on the cross, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise”, I am reminded of the fact that this disgusting foul sinner was the last person on earth that He forgave during His earthly ministry, before His death. Some might say that this guy slipped in at the last second, and indeed he did. But Jesus didn’t see it that way.

I am confident that despite it being the hour of His death, Jesus never lived in chronos time. Yes, He knew that the hour had come for Him to die, but it was all part of a bigger picture that existed apart from a world bound by sundials, or watches. It did not matter when the thief got saved because it was all part of a plan.

The sad reality to this picture is that too many people live is kairos time without the aid of deity. In other words, they act like they are God, and believe that they have all the time in the world to get saved. They think they will always have time to get around to it, but not today. So, if this is you, and you don’t know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, or perhaps you know someone who does not know Him, please hear me loud and clear. You and I live in chronos time; kairos time doesn’t begin until you die, regardless of whether you experience it in Heaven, or in hell.

Today, if you would hear His voice, do not harden your hearts…(Psalm 95:7-8)