← Back to sermon library

You can turn in your Bibles back 
to Luke chapter 23. Luke 23, I'll again begin reading 
in verse 26. reading to verse 43. Luke 23, 
beginning in verse 26, the Word of God. Now, as they led him 
away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was 
coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross, that 
he might bear it after Jesus. And a great multitude of the 
people followed him, and women who also mourned and lamented 
him. But Jesus, turning to them, said, Daughters of Jerusalem, 
do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 
For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, blessed 
are the barren wounds that never bore and breasts which never 
nursed. Then they will begin to say to 
the mountains, fall on us, and to the hills, cover us. For if 
they do these things in the greenwood, what will be done in the dry? 
There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. 
And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they 
crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right hand and the 
other on the left. Then Jesus said, Father, forgive 
them, for they do not know what they do. And they divided his 
garments and cast lots, and the people stood looking on. But 
even the rulers with them sneered, saying, He saved others, let 
him save himself, if he is the Christ, the chosen of God. The 
soldiers also mocked him, coming and offering him sour wine and 
saying, If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself. And 
an inscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, 
Latin, and Hebrew, This is the king of the Jews Then one of 
the criminals who were hanged blasphemed him saying if you 
are the Christ save yourself and us But the other answering 
rebuked him saying do you not even fear God seeing you are 
under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we 
receive the due reward of our deeds. But this man has done 
nothing wrong. Then he said to Jesus, Lord, 
remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus said 
to him, assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in 
paradise. Amen. Well, let us pray. God, 
we thank you for, again, the preaching of your word. We pray 
that you would bless preacher and hearer now with your grace 
and with your strength. You might receive glory in the 
act of preaching. We pray, Lord God, that this 
particular exercise in worship would be for your glory's sake 
and for your people's good. And we pray, just we pray each 
and every time when the minister of your gospel proclaims your 
word, we pray that much good would come, that saint would 
be edified, that sinner would be saved, and that the triune 
God would be honored and glorified. We pray that now in Christ's 
precious name. Amen. Well, you'll remember from this 
morning, we noted that this is, of course, that day of day and 
that hour of hours, the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. This 
is the occasion that we were particular focusing on or the 
particular scene and episode that we were looking at was this 
occasion of the discourse with the dying thief, but not leaving 
out a particular individual that precedes the scene with the dying 
thief in the discourse with Jesus Christ, his companion, on this 
day of crucifixion. We noted first the sobering inscription 
this morning, This is the King of the Jews. We noted that that 
is an accusation that's written and placed above the person crucified. It's often hung around the neck 
in the march to the crucifixion or carried before them on the 
way to the crucifixion. And that in Matthew's account, 
it says that this is an ascription of his accusation or rather placed 
above his head was written an accusation against him. This 
is Jesus, the King of the Jews. And we noted something of what 
that meant. Of course, Christ not rightly 
accused and crucified, but rather by lawless hands delivered up 
to the crucifixion. We noted the particular title 
this morning. the king of the Jews, and we 
noted the madness of these unbelieving Jews putting to death their messiah, 
their king, an instance of gross injustice, the height of sin 
and depravity. And we noted the cursed robber 
who is not pleading here for salvation, truly, but rather 
is joining with the soldiers, joining with the mob, joining 
with the rulers who are sneering And crying out, if you are the 
Christ, save yourself and us. Again, not pleading for salvation, 
but with his last breath, and to his last breath, rather, he 
is an unrepentant wretch, marked by sin and marked by depravity. 
This being most certainly something to marvel at, this instance of 
the grossest sin and the grossest depravity. A man upon the cross 
in the midst of crucifixion, crying out for his companion, 
mocking his companion. the hour of crucifixion to save 
himself. Again, not a plea for salvation, 
but rather mocking and sneering and reviling. And then we noted 
the dying thief, and we noted that The thief is saved on this 
day. The thief, this is a day of salvation, 
an hour of salvation for the thief. Luke doesn't include the 
account that both robbers were blaspheming him. Matthew includes 
that in his account, and Mark, I believe, includes that in his 
account as well. But in this occasion, at this occasion, the 
thief was saved. It was an hour of salvation for 
the thief, and we noted the glory of that. who turned from a reviler 
to one who praises God. And we noted that he exercises 
great faith and that the thief knew more than some or many may 
think. Just engaging in a little bit 
of review here, but the thief knew more than some or many may 
think that he knew. We noted that he acknowledges 
the necessity of the fear of God and rebukes the other robber 
for the lack of it. Do you not even fear God seeing 
you are under the same condemnation? He receiving rightly and justly 
the condemnation of God for his sin. He receiving the condemnation 
for his crimes against the state. Receiving justly that condemnation 
and nevertheless in the midst of the horrific nature of the 
crucifixion that he's going under, uses his breath. to revile this 
savior rather than being like this dying thief and recognizing 
him as savior, as mediator, as the King of Kings and Lord of 
Lords. He acknowledges, that is, the dying thief, the saved 
thief. He acknowledges sin and the due 
penalty for it. He says, and we indeed justly, 
that is, receive condemnation. We indeed justly are under condemnation, 
for we receive the due reward of our deeds. The thief acknowledges 
sin and the due penalty for it. It's a wonderful thing when sinners 
acknowledge that, isn't it? When sinners come to a knowledge 
of their sin. It's a messy thing and it's a 
horrible thing to see a sinner engaged in sin not acknowledging 
and not owning that they are Transgressing the law of Almighty 
God and sinning against God and men and here we have this thief 
once a reviler now a recognizer of the fact that he indeed is 
stood in the crucifixion under the just condemnation of God 
and the due reward for his deeds. He confesses the innocence of 
Christ, their companion on the cross. But this man has done 
nothing wrong. We acknowledge that that's a 
recognition that the thief engages in here and that's a recognition 
an article of the Christian confession A necessary article of the Christian 
confession the innocence of Jesus Christ the Savior on this day 
of crucifixion He's not like these two criminals, but rather 
he is an extraordinary man holy harmless and undefiled the only 
man that ever was holy harmless and undefiled and upon Calvary's 
cross, a lamb without blemish and without spot. And the thief 
confesses the lordship of Christ and pleads for remembrance. These 
wonderful words, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. He confesses the Lordship of 
Christ, and we noted that it is only by the Spirit of God 
that one confesses Jesus as Lord. 1 Corinthians 12, 3. A clear 
evidence of the thief's salvation. We have clear evidence leading 
up to this point, but it's punctuated here by this confession. of Jesus 
Christ as Lord. It is by the Spirit of God that 
a sinner, saved by grace, confesses Jesus Christ as Lord, and he 
pleads for remembrance. Remember me when you come into 
your kingdom. Well, continuing on then with 
an examination of this Luke 23 episode, we want to close the 
section of the dying thief by acknowledging this. Don't you 
love the faith of this dying thief? If it is the opposite 
case that we have this marvel, remember we said this morning 
that there are two types of marveling. The one type of marveling is 
that behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us 
that we can be called the children of God. That positive and glorying, 
that positive marveling in the mercies and in the graces and 
in the immutable love of God, that sort of marveling. And there 
is the other sort of marveling. The marveling that we have to 
engage in here, that Galatians 1.6 type of negative marveling, 
I marvel that you are so soon turning away from the gospel 
of grace. to another gospel, well, if we 
marvel in that second fashion after this cursed robber, who 
in the midst of crucifixion is looking upon the promised king, 
is looking upon him and reviling him and despising him and mocking 
him, well, then we have to marvel likewise in that positive way 
after this dying thief, who in the midst of his crucifixion, 
in the midst of the pains and of the shame of the crucifixion, 
is looking upon Jesus Christ, a bloody mass upon Calvary's 
cross, another one crucified, his companion on this day of 
crucifixion, he's looking upon him and he says, Lord, remember 
me when you come into your kingdom. He exercises great faith. Remember, 
we don't look at kings this way. The human mind wants a king that 
is marked by that regalia, the reds and the whites and the blacks 
of a monarchical robe, you know, the polished scepter, the throne, 
all of the bedeckery of a golden throne in a throne room and those 
sorts of things. That's a king that the human 
mind goes after and is captured by. But this king upon Calvary's 
cross, a bloody massacre upon this Roman gibbet of execution, 
that's not something that the human eye in unregeneracy follows 
after and is captured by. But this thief is captured. This 
thief is captured by his king. This bloody mess upon Calvary's 
cross, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords put to death upon 
that Roman gibbet of execution, but nevertheless, the King, but 
nevertheless, the Savior, nevertheless, the only mediator between God 
and man, and this thief has that faith to look upon this bloodied 
Christ and to rejoice in Him, to have faith in Him. to see 
in him his King of Kings, his Lord of Lords. I think that speaks 
to us that in the bleakest of moments, we are to have the faith 
of the thief. We might not have the strongest 
faith, but we can have the faith of this thief where we might 
be battered and we might be beaten. we might be smacked down and 
we can look with eyes of faith like this thief looked and look 
upon one with eyes of faith who's glorious, who's altogether glorious, 
whether he's in the garden crying on his hands and his knees before 
the Father, whether he's on the cross crying, my God, my God, 
why hast thou forsaken me? Or whether he's exalted to the 
right hand of the majesty on high. can have that faith in 
the bleakest of moments, that our Christ is ours. He's our 
King. He's our Messiah. He is our Lord. Don't you love the faith of this 
dying thief? Well, the last point that we 
have in this particular sermon that continues from this morning 
is the Prince of Life. We noted the sobering inscription. We noted the cursed robber. We 
noted the dying thief. And we have now then the Prince 
of Life, because there is another one. who speaks. There is another one in that 
the narrative discloses, speaks some words here, the cursed robber. 
spoke those words, if you are the Christ, save yourself and 
us. The dying thief spoke those words of faith. And now we have 
our precious Prince of Life speaking these words in verse 43. And 
Jesus said to him, Assuredly, I say to you, today you will 
be with me in paradise. Before we move to an examination 
of those words, though, we need to remind ourselves of Christ's 
kingship here. The things I neglected to speak 
about this morning was how in or where in do we discuss Christ 
as a king. Christ is first a king by virtue 
of his deity. Psalm 95.3, for the Lord is the 
great God and the great king above all gods. Melito of Sardis, 
in this particular occasion, speaks with respect to this aspect 
of the kingship of Christ, and he says, And thus he was lifted 
up upon the tree, and an inscription was affixed identifying the one 
who had been murdered. Who was he? It is painful to 
tell, but it is more dreadful not to tell. The one who hung 
the earth in space is himself hanged. The Lord is insulted. God has been murdered. The King 
of Israel has been destroyed by the right hand of Israel. Jesus is King by virtue of His 
deity. Again, for the Lord is the great 
God and the great King above all gods. As we cast our eyes 
upon creation as we cast our eyes upon the stars, the sun, 
the moon. We're casting our eyes upon the 
evidence of the Son of God who made all things in the space 
of six days and all very good. We're casting our eyes upon this 
King of creation, this Lord, who is the great God and the 
great King above all gods. That language of Spurgeon draws 
our hearts to the one who has created all things and who is 
King by virtue of that creation. In the expanse above us, God 
flies as it were his starry flag to show the King is at home. 
That's our God and that's our Christ and that's this one upon 
Calvary's cross. who speaks these words. Assuredly, 
I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. Christ 
is also king, however, by virtue of his office as mediator. The 
psalm that we read this morning, Psalm 2, speaks with regards 
to this. Turn there for a moment, because 
I want you to notice something interesting that perhaps you 
haven't noticed before. Maybe you have, and this is repetition, 
but there's a particular There's language of king being used in 
Psalm 2, and we're going to notice the manner in which it is delivered 
by God. Notice in Psalm 2, beginning 
in verse 1, Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain 
thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, 
and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against 
His anointed, saying, Let us break their bonds and pieces, 
and cast away their cords from us. So just pause there for a 
moment and consider that these are the words spoken by the kings 
of the earth and the rulers who are setting themselves and taking 
counsel together against the Lord and his Christ. This is 
what they say. Let us break their bonds and 
pieces and cast away their cords from us. Now we read on. He who 
sits in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall hold them in derision. Then notice, He shall speak to 
them in His wrath and distress them in His deep displeasure. This is His response. This is 
the response of God to their statement, let us break their 
bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us. And notice 
what the response of God is. Yet I have set my King on my 
holy hill of Zion. Christ is king with respect to 
his deity. He is also king with respect 
to his office as mediator Remember the words of Christ that we noted 
in his discourse with pilot this morning It is for this reason 
that I was born and for this reason I have come into the world 
to be king and to make known His truth. Here we have this 
blessed reality that Christ as mediatorial king has been set 
up by God in opposition to the kings and the rulers of the earth 
who take counsel, seeking to break in pieces and to snip the 
cord of God's moral government and His sovereign reign over 
the affairs of man. And this is the Christ who, back 
to Luke 23, speaks these words to the thief. Assuredly, I say 
to you, today you will be with me in paradise. Secondly, just 
before we look at those words, particularly spoken by Christ, 
We want to notice this with regards to the inscription. Remember 
verse 38, and an inscription also was written over him in 
letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. This is the king of the 
Jews. And this is what we want to note. 
Christ bore an inscription that we might have ours taken away. Your thought of that, Christ 
bore this inscription as you read this gospel account, this 
gospel narrative concerning the crucifixion, and we noted a little 
bit about the inscription this morning, but Christ bore this 
inscription. He bore the cross. He bore this 
inscription that we might have ours taken away. That's the language 
of Colossians 2. It's the language of Colossians 
2. When we cast our eyes upon the text that we're reading here 
in Luke 23, and we land upon this inscription, many things 
can be brought to mind. But one of the things I submit 
that should be brought to mind is this very thing that we're 
rehearsing now, that the inscription was born, born by Christ, that 
we might have ours taken away. Notice in Colossians 2 at verse 
13, being dead in your trespasses 
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together 
with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped 
out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was 
contrary to us, and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed 
it to the cross. Many draw a link, many commentators 
will draw a link in their comments on that passage in the gospel 
account of the inscription that Christ bore to this particular 
verse. And we have in Christ upon the 
cross, we have Christ upon the cross working out the salvation 
of men. Remember, he's crucified. For 
what reason is he crucified? We noted from the human vantage 
point this morning, because of the hatred of the unbelieving 
Jews, because of envy, that passage in Matthew 27, 18, but with respect 
to the grand design of God who, according to his determined purpose 
and foreknowledge, delivered Christ up to the cross, We have 
Christ upon the cross, working out the salvation of men. We 
have this blessed truth, having wiped out the handwriting of 
requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. 
He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 
Christ bore that inscription that we might have ours taken 
away. We, along with that thief, availing 
of the fountain that was opened up that day for sin, and for 
uncleanness. Well, moving on then to these 
words, assuredly I say to you, today you will be with me in 
paradise. We want to note a number of things 
here. First, we want to note that Christ 
communicates the certainty of the dying thief's salvation. 
Christ communicates the certainty of the dying thief's salvation. 
Notice, "...and Jesus said to him, Assuredly, I say to you, 
today you will be with me in paradise." Hopefully, as Christians, 
you love that word, assuredly, here. No doubt the dying thief 
enjoyed, loved, cherished the word assuredly here. Assuredly, 
I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. This 
assuredly brings with it the weight of divine promise, immutable 
love, and the perfection of the blood and righteousness of Christ. I just want to read a portion 
of our confession of faith for a moment, because on this particular 
topic, the assuredly that Christ speaks here, we have a portion 
of the confession speaking on the perseverance of the saints 
and talking about the stuff of assuredly and the stuff of which 
I just spoke, the divine promise, the immutable love of God, and 
the perfection of the blood and righteousness of Christ. Notice 
paragraph 2 of chapter 17 of our confession of faith. This 
perseverance, speaking of the perseverance of the saints, this 
perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own free will, 
but upon the immutability of the decree of election, flowing 
from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father, upon 
the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ, 
and union with him, the oath of God, the abiding of his spirit, 
and the seed of God within them, and the nature of the covenant 
of grace, from all which ariseth also the certainty and infallibility 
thereof." I would submit that it's the stuff of that that is 
undergirding Christ's assuredly that he renders from the cross 
to this dying thief. All of that blessed reality all 
of that divine stuff all of that glorious theology Undergirds 
the assuredly that the thief hears that Christ speaks to him 
Let's engage in a little bit of an exploration of this particular 
Assuredly the first off as we've already said divine promise I 
want you to turn with the with me to a passage in Ezekiel for 
a moment just to see if This we're speaking in Ezekiel 36 
turn there with me. We're talking about this assuredly 
exploring this assuredly and Speaking that it comes with or 
it brings with it this language of Christ the weight of divine 
promise notice in Ezekiel 36 Beginning at verse 22. We need 
to understand something here with regards to the new covenant 
promise the new covenant realities There would be an inauguration 
of a new covenant. There would be a bringing in 
of blessed new covenant realities. And there's something of an announcement 
of that truth here by the prophet Ezekiel. Notice Ezekiel 36 beginning 
in verse 22. Therefore say to the house of 
Israel, thus says the Lord God, I do not do this for your sake, 
O house of Israel, but for my holy namesake, which you have 
profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify 
my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which 
you have profaned in their midst. And the nation shall know that 
I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when I am hallowed in you 
before their eyes. For I will take you from among 
the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you 
into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water 
on you, and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your 
filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new 
heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of 
stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will 
put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, 
and you will keep My judgments and do them. Don't you like this 
divine promise? Hopefully you do. As Christians, 
you like this divine promise made by the prophet, made by 
God to the house of Israel through the prophet. And notice the language 
here, this glorious language that is repeated throughout this 
promise. It's the language of assuredly. It's the language as we read 
here, I will. I will take you. I will sprinkle 
clean water on you. I will cleanse you. I will give 
you a new heart. I will take the heart of stone 
out. I will put my spirit within you. 
This repeated language of I will. If there was ever any doubt, 
and there shouldn't be, but if there was ever any doubt that 
salvation is solely and alone from first to last, midst and 
throughout, of the triune God who saves without a helper, we 
arrive at this task and any doubt is dashed, at this text, and 
any doubt is dashed to pieces. We have the I wills of divine 
promise being made here by our great God. And we have to see 
that the assuredly of Christ is undergirded by the stuff of 
divine promise like this. The thief himself had clean water 
sprinkled on him. He was clean. He was cleansed 
from all his filthiness and from all his idols. He was given a 
new heart. A new spirit was put within him. The heart of stone was taken 
out of his flesh, and a heart of flesh was given. A spirit 
was put within him, and he was caused by divine power to walk 
in the statutes of God, even in that eleventh hour. The dying 
thief was the blessed recipient of these promises. That assuredly 
of Christ rests upon divine promise. And also we have the glorious 
reality of immutable love. Immutable love. You can turn 
with me to John 10. I've often noted, as I've had 
occasion to note and opportunity to note, that the stuff of John 
10 is the stuff that ought to be one of those addresses of 
hope. This is something that a preacher can say about almost 
any text, I guess, sometimes, but it's one of those texts that 
the Christian ought to have near and dear to his heart, because 
it speaks with regards to the immutable love, that inviolable 
grip of immutable love that Christ, that God has upon his people. And notice with respect to the 
stuff of assuredly that Jesus speaks to his companion on this 
day of crucifixion. Notice first in John 10, beginning 
in verse 14, I am the good shepherd and I know my sheep and am known 
by my own. And as the Father knows me, even 
so I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And 
other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also I 
must bring, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one 
flock and one shepherd." Now move to verse 22. Now it was 
the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. Jesus walked 
in the temple on Solomon's porch. Then the Jews surrounded him 
and said to him, How long do you keep us in doubt? If you 
are the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, 
and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's 
name, they bear witness of me. But you do not believe, because 
you are not of my sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear my voice, 
and I know them, and they follow me. And I give them eternal life, 
and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them 
out of my hand. My Father who has given them 
to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them 
out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one." If you're ever doubting your 
assurance, and I think as a Christian, if you're doubting your assurance, 
you're in a good place. Because that means you're seeking 
after God. The unrighteous, the wicked don't 
seek after God. If you're struggling in your 
assurance, it's a good struggle. But if you're struggling in your 
assurance, a text that you ought to go to is a place like, you 
see, when you're struggling with your assurance, you don't look 
with one eye on God and with one eye on yourself trying to 
find the motions of the Spirit. your own perfection and your 
own deeds and in your own doing for God. You look with both eyes 
of faith upon God and see in Him your assurance and see in 
Christ, the risen and exalted King, your assurance. We are 
to come to text like this and to be girded up in our assurance. We come to places like this and 
we see the stuff of assuredly. You see, it's stuff like this 
that undergirded those words given by Christ to the dying 
thief. Assuredly, I say to you, today 
you will be with me in paradise. Why? Because I give them eternal 
life and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them 
out of my hand. a blessed and viable grip that 
Christ has upon his people, that blessed and viable grip that 
the Father has upon his people, that blessed and viable grip 
that the triune God has upon his people. And the dying thief 
receives these words assuredly, and undergirding that assuredly 
is the stuff of this immutable love. Also, behind the stuff 
of assuredly is the perfection of the blood and righteousness 
of Jesus Christ. We can think of verses, can't 
we? Speak to the assuredly in this 
regard. The announcement to Mary and 
Joseph, the natal announcement with regards to Christ. You will 
call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. 
There's assuredly, all over that passage, He will save His people 
from their sins. When Christ Himself speaks words 
from His own lips, such as, I did not come to be served, but to 
serve, and to give my life a ransom for many. Or, the Son of Man 
did not come to be served, but to give His life a ransom for 
many. Did I say that right? Did not come to be served, but 
to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. There's assuredly 
all over that. From the lips of our Savior himself, 
to needy sinners, to guilty sinners, to saints, he came to save. He came to save and to save perfectly. He came to ransom a multitude 
which no man can number, and he does. If he came to do it, 
if the Son of God comes to engage in a task, make no mistake, He's 
going to execute to perfection. And that's what Jesus Christ, 
our precious Savior, does. When He comes to give His life 
a ransom for many, when He comes not to be served but to serve 
and to do that great act of redemption, to execute the plan of salvation, 
He comes and He does it perfectly. And the thief was a blessed yet 
undeserved beneficiary of that perfection. We are the undeserved 
and blessed beneficiaries of that perfection. And that undergirds 
the assuredly that is spoken to the thief on that glorious 
day. And I would want to say that 
Matthew 26, it kind of bookends with the promise of the new covenant 
that we read in Ezekiel 26, but in Matthew 26, 26, drink from 
it, all of you, or 27, drink from it, all of you, for this 
is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the 
remission of sins, the perfection of the blood and righteousness 
of Christ. You see, this cup of the new 
covenant or this blood rather of the new covenant, which is 
shed for many is not shed in vain. This scene that we're reading 
about is not a scene of vanity, it is not a scene full of any 
emptiness or lack, but rather it is a scene full of the wisdom 
and of the power of God. Christ upon the cross working 
out the salvation of sinners is not an exercise of vanity, 
it is an exercise of absolute success and perfection. And Christ 
speaks here prior to His crucifixion. On the night in which He was 
betrayed, He engages in the institution of this Lord's Supper, and He 
promises that the new covenant, which had been promised by divine 
promise, the stuff of assured divine promise, is that new covenant 
which would be ratified in His own blood, and that perfectly. 
This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the 
remission of sins. Finding our way back to Luke 
23, when the thief is looking upon his savior. Remember, we 
ought not to engage in any vain imaginings as we're engaging 
in this exercise. We look with eyes of faith and 
we hear that by the preaching of the word, it is as if Christ 
is crucified before our very eyes. But the thief looked upon 
the savior, bleeding, shedding the blood of the new covenant. 
this assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me and 
paradise is delivered. I wonder if, you know, if we, 
well, maybe we ought not to engage in a vain wondering, but we can 
say this, that the thief was looking upon the blood being 
shed by the ratifier of the new covenant, and he had faith in 
him. He had faith in that blessed king, that blessed mediator, 
that blessed Secondly, Christ brings words of highest comfort 
to the dying thief. Now, you might say, well, that's 
pretty much the same thing, or that's related, but wait a minute. 
We move beyond the assuredly to the stuff of that which follows. 
I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. He brings 
the words of highest comfort to the dying thief. And these 
are, we would want to say, mediatorial words. rich with theology and 
rich with gospel. Today, you will be with me in 
paradise. Cyril of Jerusalem simply says, 
Adam, by the tree, fell away. This is Cyril of Jerusalem. Remember 
we noted this morning that Cyril preached this sermon at the site 
that we're reading about now. He preached a sermon there to 
his congregation. And we noted this morning in 
a different quote that he interviews the thief. And he interviews 
the thief by saying, what power, O robber, led thee to the light? 
What heavenly instructor advised you to worship this despised 
man, your companion on the cross? And the thief answers, O light 
eternal, which gives light to them who lives in darkness. Well, 
Cyril here is speaking to the thief and he says these simple 
words with regards to this particular statement, today you will be 
with me in paradise, and he says, Adam by the tree fell away, thou 
by the tree art brought into paradise. Isn't that wonderful? Adam by the tree, speaking to 
the dying thief, As if he's speaking as Christ to the dying thief 
Adam by the tree fell away thou by the tree art brought into 
paradise There's rich theology in this statement today. You 
will be with me in paradise Adam thrust by his transgression man 
into sin and depravity the incurring of the wrath and condemnation 
of God because of sin original sin and the reality that we transgress 
God's law each and every day and Adam by the tree fell away 
and thrust all of his subsequent progeny into sin and condemnation, 
the power of sin, the condemnation for it. But Christ, the second 
Adam, the last Adam, by him and by a tree, we are brought into 
paradise. Adam lost the goods, Christ restores 
the goods. Adam lost the goods, Christ restores 
them in a much more excellent way. And he bears in this scene, 
in this episode, he bears the curse incurred by the first Adam. 
He secures the salvation of a multitude which no man can number. One 
more time, Adam by the tree fell away. Thou by the tree art brought 
into paradise. By the cross, you're brought 
into paradise. The dying thief and all who have 
faith in him are brought into paradise by virtue of Jesus Christ, 
our precious Savior, the second or the last Adam. By a tree was 
sin introduced, and from a tree are sins taken away. These glorious 
words, today you will be with me in paradise. And I think this 
brings to the four, some application that we can hopefully appreciate 
as Christians 2,000 years removed from this particular episode. 
That's a statement I often make and hopefully you appreciate 
the statement. 2,000 years removed for the reason 
I say that often is because We have the same Christ. We have 
the same gospel. We have the same glorious God. 
We're 2,000 years removed from this particular occasion, but 
we have this same king, this same mediator, this same Christ. These words are no more strange 
to us, but rather they are no less familiar to us, we might 
say, than they were to the thief in a particular way, assuredly 
I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. Now, 
I don't mean by that to say you are meeting your hour of death 
soon. That's not what I'm saying. But I'm saying the certainty 
and the assuredness of salvation is ours, and the truth that paradise 
is ours. It's the same truth for the thief 
and for us. And a particular application 
first with regards to assuredly is the assurance of our salvation. I might have mentioned that already, 
but this thief was assured of his salvation by the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Assuredly, he said to the thief, 
today you will be with me in paradise. We have the same assurance 
as this dying thief. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory 
divine. We have the certainty of salvation 
in Jesus Christ, our Savior. John wrote to the recipients 
of his first letter in this particular manner, I write to you so that 
you might know that you have eternal life. That's for us as 
well. We preach to you so that you 
might know that you have eternal life in Jesus Christ, your Savior. If you believe in Him, you have 
eternal life in Him, and it can never be taken away. We read 
about the Jesus of inviolable grips. He has an inviolable grip 
upon us. In His sovereign and His glorious 
mediatorial power, He has an inviolable grip upon your heart. 
and we can be certain of our salvation. Just jumping into 
mind, there's another section of our confession, and hopefully 
you find this a blessing as well. Because there can be times where 
we may doubt. Perhaps you've fallen into a 
particular pattern of sin. Perhaps you've been struggling 
with a particular sin, or you're struggling with something in 
your walk with Christ, There are words of comfort undergirded 
by scriptural testimony that come from the confession. If 
anybody ever tells you that the confession of faith is impractical, 
you can tell them that they're wrong, because it's immensely 
practical. And I want you to hear these 
words with regards to assurance, with regards to what we're rehearsing 
in the words of Christ to the thief. Assuredly, I say to you, 
notice in chapter 18 in paragraph 4, this is the chapter on assurance. True believers may have the assurance 
of their salvation diverse ways shaken. Kids, that just means 
many ways shaken. We might have our assurance of 
salvation shaken in many ways, diminished and intermitted, as 
by negligence in preserving of it, by falling into some special 
sin which woundeth the conscious and grieveth the spirit, by some 
sudden or vehement temptation, by God's withdrawing the light 
of His countenance and suffering even such as fear Him to walk 
in darkness and to have no light, yet are they never destitute 
of the seed of God and life of faith. That love of God, or that 
love of Christ and the brethren, that sincerity of heart, and 
conscience of duty, out of which, by the operation of the Spirit, 
this assurance may in due time be revived, and by the which, 
in the meantime, they are preserved from utter despair." Isn't that 
glorious? You see, that's the assurance 
that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord. We have our assurance 
diverse ways shaken. We fall under this removal of 
the light of His countenance. We suffer even such as fear Him 
to walk in darkness and all of that sort of thing. But let it 
be known that we are never destitute of the seed of God and life of 
faith. Christ, the one who spoke assuredly 
to the dying thief, is the one who speaks assuredly to each 
and every one of you who are his. And you see, the assurance 
does not rest upon our own free will. The assurance does not 
rest upon our own deeds done in holiness of heart. The assurance 
rests upon divine promise, immutable love, and the perfection of the 
blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. Secondly, with this language 
of, today you will be with me in paradise, a particular application. Remember that the words of the 
Savior to the dying thief are also words to us. We have paradise 
to look forward to. Paradise is ours now. It is an 
inheritance, undefiled, reserved in heaven for us. That's the 
language of 1 Peter. We have an inheritance that is undefiled, 
reserved in heaven for us. We're kept by the power of God 
unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last day. We have that 
blessed inheritance awaiting us. But this particular language 
is also for you in a manner with respect to family 
members who have perhaps died in the Lord, or family members 
that may be in that 11th hour, who are in Christ. There's great 
comfort for you here. Great comfort for you in assurance, 
but comfort as well if you've lost a family member who is in 
Christ. If perhaps there is the prospect 
of losing one who is in Christ, you need to know that those words 
are true for them. Assuredly, today you will be 
with me in paradise. The blessed language of Christ 
to the thief is language for your comfort in those instances. 
No doubt it's language for their comfort in that 11th hour, but 
for you as well who remain, that's comfort of comforts. I love that 
language of Rutherford. They are not lost to us who are 
found in Christ. They are not lost to us who are 
found in Christ. They have not gone away, but 
they've gone before. like unto a star, which, passing 
out of view, does not fade away, but shines in another hemisphere. 
They're with their Savior, they're with their Christ, they're with 
this one who, upon Calvary's cross, spoke those blessed words 
to the thief. Assuredly, I say to you, today 
you will be with me in paradise. For you yourselves, if you are 
believing, these are words for you. And if you are presently 
unbelieving, Cyril of Jerusalem spoke these words as well in 
the same sermon. He said, For if thou shalt believe 
that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that God raised him from the 
dead, thou shalt be saved, and shalt be transported into paradise 
by him who brought in Thither the robber. And doubt not whether 
it is possible, for he who on this sacred Golgotha saved the 
robber after one single hour of belief, the same shall save 
thee also on thy believing. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 
and you shall be saved. Some of the final words from 
preachers in almost every sermon. That this glorious Savior upon 
Calvary's cross who spoke those words, assuredly I say to you, 
today you will be with me in paradise. As I mentioned this 
morning, you want those words to be your words. You don't want 
the words delivered to that cursed robber, no doubt, to be your 
words. Don't be the cursed robber. Don't be the one who mocks and 
reviles. Don't be the one who rejects 
this Christ. Don't be the one who puts the 
hand up to this Christ, who in unregeneracy and in unbelief 
rejects the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Blessed One, 
the Glorious One, the Prince of Life, but rather believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ. God is holy, God is glorious, 
God is majestic. He will punish sin. It is just 
for Him to do so. All sin deserves punishment, 
both in this life and that which is to come. Condemnation, everlasting 
damnation. All have sinned and have fallen 
short of the glory of God, yet there is one who spoke words 
of glory to a thief. one who is the Maker of all things, 
one who is the Upholder of all things, one who is the Sustainer 
of all things, who took to Himself our nature for man's redemption 
and recovery. Don't cast Him off, but own Him, 
and those words will be yours. Assuredly, paradise will be yours. Let us pray. God, we thank You 
for this time in Your Word. We rejoice in Your truth. We 
thank you for this narrative account that we've been able 
to examine. However briefly, we rejoice in Jesus Christ, our 
Savior, that one who spoke good things to the thief. We rejoice 
in the faith that you have given to that thief and the faith that 
you've given to us as we can identify no doubt with this thief, 
a sinner saved by grace. And we do pray that you'd cause 
us to rejoice in your grace, to sing the praises of your amazing 
and victorious grace as we walk each day to reflect with great 
joy upon that. As we go through dark seasons, 
might you impress upon us the glory of Christ and the glory 
of your grace, and might you always lift us up out of those 
times. And we do pray, Lord God, that 
you would once again go with us into this week. We pray, Lord 
God, that you would bless us as we seek to live in a crooked 
and perverse generation, that we would be able to hold forth 
your word of truth, that we'd be able to shine as lights, We 
do pray, Lord God, even now, because it's possible only with 
you that you would cause each and every mouth in this place 
to give honor and praise to Christ, that they would worship Him, 
that they would cry out, Hallelujah, what a Savior, and that each 
soul leaving these two doors would be safely in Christ, not 
having their own righteousness, which is from the law, but that 
righteousness which is from God through faith in Christ. Do go 
with us now, and might you be honored and glorified in Christ's 
precious name. Amen.