and then secondly
Faith Sees Christ as Lord
the thief sees jesus as the lord who possesses a kingdom think about that for just a moment the thief sees jesus as a lord who possesses a kingdom now you say well that's what every believer does they see jesus as the lord who possesses a kingdom the apostles saw that they knew that jesus was the lord that possessed a kingdom others that jesus had dealings with in his earthly ministry saw jesus as a lord who possessed a kingdom zacchaeus for instance remember he was to hurry down from that tree and the lord jesus was going to eat at his house as i said the apostles witnessed the evidences of of his glory and his majesty when he healed people but think what this thief saw he didn't see him healing people he didn't see him feeding the feeding the the hungry he didn't see him healing the blind he sees a broken bruised and bloody savior on that cross he looks through the gore and confesses him as lord this is why john calvin is able to say lord remember me i know not that since the creation of the world there was ever a more remarkable and striking example of faith you see it's one thing to respond to jesus after having fed five thousand and say you're the lord who possesses a kingdom it's another thing to glance next to you and see a man suffering at the hands of the civil state in the worst possible form ever to see the crown of thorns on his head to see the blood pouring down to see his hands nailed to the cross his feet nailed to the cross and to confess him as lord in that situation that is why calvin says this is a great example of faith
Faith Beyond Earthly Advantage
he was no fair-weather fan he was not one who as long as the bread was coming he confessed faith in jesus but he saw jesus at his place of destitution as nevertheless a lord possessing a kingdom ryle makes the observation in his essay christ's greatest trophy he says he saw only saw our lord in agony and in weakness in suffering and in pain he saw him undergoing dishonorable punishment deserted mock despised blaspheme he saw no scepter no royal crown no outward dominion no glory no power no signs of might and yet the dying thief believed and looked forward to christ's kingdom that's faith that's everything it's not oh as long as he's doing this or as long as he's providing this or oh as long as he's getting me off of this crossing and giving me life happy in in this world no faith looks beyond that and faith seeks sees christ as lord who possesses a kingdom even when he's at this position of great disadvantage and he is suffering in an excruciating way and brethren
Casting Oneself on Christ's Mercy
this man casts himself upon the mercy of god to recognize the afterlife is good to acknowledge christ as lord and one who possesses his kingdom is excellent but to cast oneself by the grace of god on the mercy of christ is absolutely crucial because there are persons that say yeah i believe in an afterlife that end up in hell there are people cognitively that can go to a textual analysis of the bible and say yes jesus is in fact a lord and one who possesses the kingdom but it's essential it is crucial it is absolutely of most importance that we by grace cast ourselves on the mercy of god this means to believe in him it means to look to him jesus uses the passage in numbers 22 and moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness and those who look lived and he equates that to his own suffering he says the son of man will be lifted up and everyone who looks to me will live brethren faith is what it's about
Justification by Faith Alone
this man was not justified by his works he's not justified by his righteousness he wasn't justified by his church attendance he wasn't justified by his knowledge of the catechism he was justified by faith in the suffering savior who went to these lengths to save his people from their sin see why the gospel is good news you don't have works you don't have righteousness you don't have something that god's gonna look at and say wow you're a wonderful person enter into my kingdom no god says look ye unto me all ye ends of the earth for i am god and there is no other what's the implication you look and you live that's the glory of the christian gospel lord remember me i know not that since the creation of the world there ever was a more remarkable and striking example of faith
The Graciousness of the Savior
now as we stop for just a moment to move on to the graciousness of the savior this is beautiful isn't it look at what this teaches us in fact ryle says one thief was saved that no sinner might despair but only one was saved that no sinner might presume it's a good observation and a good a good statement of balance