March 31, 2026

LIVING WATER VINEYARD — HOLY WEEK DEVOTION

Five Days Until Resurrection Sunday ✝️

TUESDAY — “TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE”

📖 Luke 23:43 (NLT)

“And Jesus replied, ‘I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.’”

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PASTOR TO A FRIEND — THIS MOMENT CHANGES EVERYTHING 🤍

Friend…

As we continue looking at the seven statements Jesus made from the cross,

we talked yesterday about forgiveness—

“Father, forgive them… for they do not know what they are doing.”

And now…

we come to the second statement.

A criminal.

A dying man.

At the end of his life.

And Jesus says something that changes everything:

👉 “Today… you will be with Me in paradise.”

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THE MOMENT JESUS DIED ✝️

📖 Luke 23:46 (NLT)

“Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!”

And with those words he breathed his last.

His body is placed in a tomb.

But His spirit…

descends.

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JESUS ENTERS PARADISE

Remember what He told the thief:

👉 “Today… you will be with Me in paradise.”

So where did Jesus go?

To the place He just described in Luke 16.

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ABRAHAM’S SIDE — THE PLACE OF THE RIGHTEOUS

📖 Luke 16:22 (NLT)

“The poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham…”

This was the place of:

• comfort

• waiting

• promise

Those who trusted God before the cross…

were there.

Waiting.

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BUT JESUS DOESN’T JUST ARRIVE…

HE CONFRONTS THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS

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THE VICTORY DECLARED

📖 Colossians 2:14–15 (NLT)

“He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.

In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.”

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UNDERSTAND THIS IMAGE

In that culture…

When a debt was paid:

👉 The record was nailed up

👉 Marked “paid in full”

Jesus did that…

with your sin.

With my sin.

And then—

He publicly humiliated the enemy.

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A DEFEATED ENEMY

Satan is not negotiating here.

He is defeated.

Scripture says:

👉 disarmed

👉 stripped of authority

👉 made a public spectacle

The picture is not subtle.

The enemy is dragged in defeat.

The victory of the cross is declared in the realm of the dead.

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JESUS PREACHES IN THE REALM OF THE DEAD

📖 1 Peter 3:18–19 (NLT)

“He went and preached to the spirits in prison.”

📖 1 Peter 4:6 (NLT)

“That is why the Good News was preached to those who are now dead…”

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WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Friend…

This is critical.

Jesus didn’t just win the victory—

He announced it.

To those who had died before the cross…

He revealed:

👉 The Savior has come

👉 The price has been paid

👉 Life is now available

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THEN—HE SET THEM FREE

📖 Ephesians 4:8 (NLT)

“When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives…”

📖 Ephesians 4:9 (NLT)

“He also descended to our lowly world.”

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DON’T MISS THIS

Jesus:

• descended

• declared victory

• preached life

• and then…

👉 led them out

Those who were waiting in Paradise…

were no longer waiting.

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AND THEN SOMETHING SHOCKING HAPPENS…

THE TOMBS OPEN

📖 Matthew 27:52–53 (NLT)

“The tombs opened, and the bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead.

They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.”

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THIS IS NOT SYMBOLIC

This is real.

Those who had been waiting…

were now raised.

Why?

Because Jesus had:

👉 defeated death

👉 broken captivity

👉 opened the way

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THE RESURRECTION MORNING

Jesus rises.

Victory complete.

But then something very interesting happens…

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JESUS SPEAKS TO MARY

📖 John 20:17 (NLT)

“Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

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WHAT IS JESUS DOING?

Friend…

The work is not just resurrection.

It is presentation.

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THE SON RETURNS TO THE FATHER

📖 Daniel 7:13–14 (NLT)

“I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven…

He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world…”

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DON’T MISS THE PICTURE

Jesus doesn’t come back empty-handed.

He brings:

👉 the redeemed

👉 the freed

👉 those once held in captivity

As His inheritance.

A people.

A family.

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WHAT HAPPENED IN THOSE THREE DAYS?

From the cross to the resurrection:

Jesus:

• descended into Paradise

• defeated Satan

• declared victory

• preached the Good News

• freed the captives

• raised the righteous

• and brought them to the Father

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THIS IS WHY THE CROSS IS EVERYTHING

Friend…

This is not just forgiveness.

This is total victory.

Across:

• heaven

• earth

• and even the realm of the dead

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TWO DESTINATIONS STILL REMAIN

As Jesus taught in Luke 16:

• one place of comfort

• one place of torment

And Revelation tells us:

📖 Revelation 20:11–15 (NLT)

“…anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.”

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BUT FOR THOSE IN CHRIST 🙌

We do not face that judgment.

We stand before Him in a different way:

📖 1 Corinthians 3:13–15 (NLT)

“The fire will show what kind of work each builder has done…

The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.”

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CORE TRUTH

Friend…

Jesus didn’t just die for you.

He:

👉 went after you

👉 fought for you

👉 defeated the enemy

👉 and made a way for you

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THE INVITATION ✨

The thief said:

“Jesus… remember me.”

And everything changed.

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REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. Do you truly understand the victory Jesus won for you?

2. Are you living like the enemy is defeated—or like he still has authority?

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PRAYER 🙏

Jesus…

Thank You for the cross.

Thank You that when You died…

You didn’t stop.

You descended.

You fought.

You won.

You defeated the enemy.

You paid our debt in full.

You set captives free.

And You made a way for us to come to the Father.

Today we trust You.

We surrender to You.

And we choose to live in Your victory.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.