The Seven Sayings of Christ from the Cross: “Paradise”
Have you ever wondered what men sentenced to death ask for in their last requests? It is reported that a man by the name of Victor Feguer requested a single olive with the pit for his last meal as he hoped that it would grow into an olive tree inside his body. John Gacy wanted a bucket of KFC fried chicken as he had served as a manager in three KFC restaurants. James Edward Smith asked for a lump of dirt as his last wish. William Bonin wanted to die of diabetes before execution and therefore had 18 servings of Coke and Pepsi and three helpings of chocolate ice cream. Jonathan Nobles wanted to have the Lord’s Supper as his last meal, as he had become a devout Christian. What do you think your last request will be before leaving this word and walking out into eternity? The first saying of Jesus from the cross was His gift of pardon. The second saying of Jesus from the cross is the promise of paradise to the believing thief. While there is little background given of the thieves hanging beside Jesus, the reality was, they were there, they were dying and soon they would be in eternity based on what they did with the gift of pardon from Jesus.