Evening to everyone. You can turn back to the Gospel of Luke, Luke chapter 23. We noted this morning as we were working through more expositionally the particular text that we would have a look tonight at some of the instructions of Calvary, that is, theological reflections upon the occasion of the King on the cross with the insurrectionist, the robber that is saved. on the cross by amazing grace to the glory of God. So we'll have a look at some theological reflections on this passage tonight.
I'm gonna read from Luke 23, beginning at verse 32 to verse 43. So once again, Luke 23, this time beginning at verse 32, the word of God. 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. Let's go to God in prayer. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we rejoice once again that we can gather together for worship.
We thank you for this. blessed freedom, this opportunity, the gift that you give us in bringing us forth from death to life in Christ Jesus, our Savior, by grace, we thank you that we can now avail of the word preached. We pray that you would help us from on high, that you would send your spirit to illuminate our souls, to illuminate our minds, to shine the light of divine wisdom and revelation upon us, that we might behold your glory and the glory of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's in his name that we pray, amen.
Introduction
I just wanted to read a bit of an extended quote from an old Presbyterian fellow from the late 19th century. He is writing with regards to what the story of the thief, the true history of the king on the cross with the insurrectionist, what this story of the penitent thief brings to the Christian, brings to the reality of the Christian message and the weight of it. He wrote many years ago, the story of the penitent thief has sometimes been considered the most surprising, the most suggestive, the most instructive incident in all the gospel narrative. In the salvation of one of the thieves, vital theology finds one of its finest demonstrations.
Sacramentalism was refuted, for the thief was saved without recourse to baptism, the Lord's Supper, church, ceremony, or good works. The dogma of purgatory was refuted, for this vile sinner was instantly transformed into a saint and made fit for paradise. apart from his personal expiation of a single sin. The teaching of universalism was refuted, for only one was saved of all who might have been saved. Jesus did not say, today shall ye be with me in paradise, but today shall thou be with me in paradise.
The notion of soul sleep was refuted, for the clear implication of the entire incident is that the redeemed thief would be in conscious fellowship with his Savior in paradise, even while his body disintegrated in some grave. Two, it is doubtful whether any other gospel incident presents the plan of salvation more clearly or simply. It's just, you know, 11, 12 verses in a particular gospel narrative, but it captures, if you will, the entirety of the gospel, the entirety of the divine wisdom exercised to the sons of men. in the salvation of sinners through Jesus Christ. And on to that end we want to use this, not use this passage, from this passage we want to consider a number of theological things that come to us by way of its revelation.
Fulfillment of Types and Prophecy
In the first of seven, is the fulfillment of types, shadows, and of prophecy. We noted this morning that there are a number of verses, and we certainly didn't treat all of them one after the other, but there are a number of verses that are pulled from out of, or simply in the fulfillment that Jesus Christ brings to the prophecies of the Old Testament are pulled from out of the Old Testament into the narrative, because simply, the Old Testament was a book concerning the coming Messiah. As we read just with regards to the crucifixion itself, but as we read with regards to the mockings, the sneerings, as we read with regards to the casting of the lots for the Savior's garments, as we read of Christ being crucified in the midst of two criminals, as we read the entire discourse, or narrative rather, were confronted with the blessed reality that this was in fulfillment of the promises of the Old Testament. Our confession speaks this way with regards to the work of Christ and with regards to the weight of this passage as it brings to us the reality of prophetic fulfillment.
The Lord Jesus, by His perfect obedience and sacrifice of Himself, which He through the eternal Spirit once offered up to God, has fully satisfied the justice of God, procured reconciliation, and purchased an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of heaven for all those whom the Father had given unto Him. And then it says this as it brings together types and shadows and prophecies. Although the price of redemption was not actually paid by Christ until after His incarnation, yet the virtue, efficacy, and benefit thereof were communicated to the elect in all ages, successively from the beginning of the world, in and by those promises, types, and sacrifices wherein he was revealed and signified to be the seed which should bruise the serpent's head and the lamb slain from the foundation of the world, being the same yesterday, today, and forever." What that is saying is that from the outset of divine revelation, the first prophecy given by God in the Garden of Eden From there forward, we have the promise of this coming hero who would bring a multitude of sinners to glory. We'll look at some passages here in a moment, but Nehemiah Cox writes this on this particular topic.
So in all our search after the mind of God in the Holy Scriptures, we're to manage our inquiries with reference to Christ. Therefore, the best interpreter of the Old Testament is the Holy Spirit speaking to us in the New. There we have the clearest light of the knowledge of the glory of God shining to us in the face of Jesus Christ by unveiling those counsels of love and grace that were hidden from former ages and generations. He caused this light gradually to increase until the whole mystery of His grace was perfectly revealed in and by Jesus Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." And John Owen simply says this, when he uses the term mosaical institutions, he's simply talking about the old covenant sacrifices, ceremonies, and washings, those things that were peculiar to old covenant religion.
He said this, this was the great end of all the mosaical institutions, to represent or prefigure and give testimony unto the grace of the gospel by Jesus Christ. That's why this morning we said this occasion is that day of days, that hour of hours, where all of creation, all of providence, all of redemptive history was bent towards and where the blessed promises were fulfilled. And when we come to the scriptures, if you just turn one page over, to the right, you'll see Christ himself arguing this very point in that blessed Bible study that he gives post-resurrection, pre-ascension to his disciples. We see First to the two disciples that were on the road to Emmaus, Jesus says this, then he said to them, verse 25 of chapter 24, oh foolish ones and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken, ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory?
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. It's often been said, and I think rightly so, what a glorious occasion that would have been for disciples. Here is the God-man, the one who created all things, the one who sustains all things, the one who redeems his elect, the one who assumed our humanity, the one who went to the cross as the Old Testament promised, the one who was raised from the dead as the Old Testament promised, the central figure of biblical narrative and revelation who secures the salvation of a multitude that no man can number, is giving them a Bible study and teaches them, opens up. Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounds to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
And after he gives a display of himself, the wounds in his hands, his feet, his side, after he eats broiled fish. and honeycomb in order to lift their cheer. He says in verse 44, then he said to them, these are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms concerning me. And he opened their understanding that they might understand, that they might comprehend the scriptures. A wonderful scene there.
All of this to say that Christ, the weight, the emphasis, the intricacies, the variegated texts of the Old Testament, all of these things come to us and they testify to Christ upon the cross working out the salvation of man.
Total Depravity on Display
We also see secondly on display here the doctrine of total depravity. Notice the perfect, if that's probably not the word to use, but the accurate display of total depravity on the part of the crowd, but on the part of the other robber, the unbelieving, the cursed robber. He's hung upon Calvary's cross, he's receiving the due recompense for his deeds as the believing robber says, but notice what the text says at verse 39, then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed him saying, if you are the Christ, save yourself and us. We noted this morning the, Man, just the wicked wherewithal that this one had as he's speaking these words.
He's bleeding, he's dehydrated, he has to push himself up from off of that wooden block on the cross in order to blurt out, with the very breath Christ is giving him at that moment, these blasphemies and these oppositions. It's truly these revilings. It's truly a display of total depravity. can reflect on that with the words, again, of our confession. In the context of speaking of the first fall, of the fall, and how it affects all sinners afterwards, our confession writes, our first parents, so Adam and Eve, by that sin, fell from their original righteousness in communion with God, and we in them, whereby death came upon all, all becoming dead in sin and wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body.
That's what we're seeing here. We're seeing a display of one wholly defiled in all the faculties of soul and body, they being the root, that is Adam and Eve, and by God's appointment, standing in the room instead of all mankind, the guilt of sin was imputed, and corrupted nature conveyed to all their posterity, descending from them by ordinary generation, being now conceived in sin by nature, children of wrath, the servants of sin, the subjects of death, and all other miseries, spiritual, temporal, and eternal. Notice these words, unless the Lord Jesus set them free. We have a beautiful picture of one set free upon Calvary's cross.
Remember, both robbers, both criminals, both scoundrels were blaspheming, but as we'll notice in a number of minutes, one is brought forth and set free from Christ. But this is a display, and we'll see from Revelation in a moment, the grossness of the offense and the significance and the severity of the offense. But Wilhelmus Abrakel says with regards to this, by reason of the fall of man has come into a most abominable, excuse me, by reason of the fall, man has come into a most abominable and dreadful condition. He is void of the image of God as well as all light, true love, righteousness, holiness, peace.
He finds no delight in God but hates God. All that resembles God and whatever God commands him. It is his wish that the Holy One of Israel would depart from him. We see a picture of that in these sneers, in these mockers.
We see a display of that by this robber who's hanged along with Christ saying, if you are the Christ, save yourself and us.
Total Depravity in Revelation 16
I want you to turn to a similar passage to this point in Revelation 16. In Revelation 16, the context is that judgment is being poured out upon apostate Israel, or whomever you think the judgment is being poured out on. The judgment is being poured out on the wicked, we would want to say, generally, even specifically the wicked, those found in the madness of their transgression. But notice, like the thief upon Calvary's cross, what happens when judgment comes upon a particular individual or individuals.
Verse 8 of 16, then the fourth angel, poured out His bowl on the sun, and power was given to Him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God, who has power over these plagues, and they did not repent and give Him glory. You see the connection in the picture of total depravity. Like the thief, judgment has come upon these, and yet in the midst of judgment, they don't call out upon the Holy One of Israel, but they blaspheme the One who is the only One who could stop these plagues.
Then the fifth angel, verse 10, poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness, and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. They blasphemed the God of heaven, because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds." So back to Luke 23, this is the very condition, the very reality of the thief upon the cross, as he's blaspheming the one who is the Lord of life, the Savior of sinners, the one who could give him the blessed reprieve of everlasting salvation. Certainly a picture of total depravity.
Effectual and Irresistible Grace
We see thirdly, the doctrine of effectual grace, or the eye in our tulip, which is irresistible grace. We see this in the blessed conversion of the robber. What a wonderful thing that we have. could reflect on it till Christ comes again. The glory of one found in that condition, wholly defiled in all the faculties of body and soul.
Yet, of course, by nothing in him is brought forth to a position where instead of the blasphemy, instead of the reviling, instead of the sneering and instead of the mocking, he's now glorying in the Lord and calling upon that same Lord to remember him when he goes into his kingdom. This is only the result of effectual and irresistible grace. Our confession reads this way, highlighting the blessing of this divine and glorious reality, those whom God hath predestinated unto life, he is pleased in his appointed and accepted time, effectually to call. That means, kids, the power that can accomplish a thing, effectually.
He can do what He has promised to do and He does so with perfect power that does not fail. Affectually to call by His Word and Spirit out of that state of sin and death in which they are by nature to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ. enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God, taking away their heart of stone and giving to them a heart of flesh, renewing their wills, and by His almighty power, determining them to that which is good, and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ, yet so as they come most freely, being made willing by His grace. That is what happened to the robber upon Calvary's cross. You know, the weight of sin and the severity of sin and the graveness of sin is so all of those things that something very powerful must take place, that something very immense must take place, that something with divine strength must take place, and that is God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit visiting the sinner by the power of effectual grace.
We sing it and we call it amazing grace, We can refer to it as victorious grace, that conquering power of the triune God who condescends to lift sinners from out of the miry pit of sin and depravity. And that thief owed his confession not to his own wisdom, not to his own cleverness, not to his own strength or power, but to the amazing grace of Almighty God. John Gill writes on this, when God calls a man by his grace, at effectual calling, he, listen to this, irradiates the minds of his called ones. I love that language.
He irradiates the minds of his called ones with a divine light in which they see light, see what sin is, what an evil thing it is, and the exceeding sinfulness of it. See themselves lost and undone by it. see their incapacity to save themselves, and then see the glory, fullness, and grace of Christ, the completeness and suitableness of Him as a Savior. That was the thief. That's all of us, if you're saved by amazing and victorious grace.
If you're a Christian, If you're a sinner who now believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, still sinning with that remaining corruption, but you've been brought forth from deadness to life, you've been caused by divine irradiation of the mind, of the divine light, of grace, of the power, in being found as those who are marked by the incapacity to save themselves, you by divine power now see the fullness, the grace of Christ, and the completeness and the suitableness of him as a savior. One of my favorite verses of hymnody is from Charles Wesley in that hymn, And Can It Be, and it reminded me, this reminded me of that, reading John Gill's quote. Of course, these words, long my imprisoned spirit lay, fast bound in sin and nature's night. That's total depravity.
Long my imprisoned spirit lay, fast bound in sin and nature's night. Thine eye, the divine eye, irradiated, or thine eye diffused, a quickening ray, I woke, the dungeon flamed with light, my chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee. That's the blessed reflection of every saint saved by amazing grace. That should be your confession.
If you're a Christian here this evening, that's your confession. It wasn't your brilliance and your genius and your goodness and your righteousness and your act or exercise of your will devoid of grace, but rather it was the divine eye diffusing this blessed ray of salvation causing you to arise, causing you to awake, that dungeon of sin flamed with light, your chains fell off and your heart was free and you got up alive in Christ and went forth and followed the blessed one.
The Power of Divine Illumination
This language of 2 Corinthians 4, 6 speaks to this reality. It's the very power, this is how bad sin is, and this is how glorious God is. Sin is so bad that it takes the very power that was exercised in creation, that was exercised at the resurrection of the Savior, that very power to bring a sinner from the deadness of sin to life in Christ. 2 Corinthians 4, 6, for it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. That very light, that very power, that very word spoken by God to bring forth creation, it's the same power that brought forth the thief on the cross to life and salvation in Jesus Christ.
And that's the same power that brings forth us, that brings forth the sinner. We are just as the thief, and praise God, for the grace poured out upon us."
The Person of Christ: Deity and Humanity
Fourthly, we see the doctrine of the person of Christ. We see both the deity and the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ brought forth in this particular passage. In verses 38 and 42, we see Him declared and confessed as King and Lord, and of course we see his humanity as he dies upon the cross, as he thirsts, as we noted in that example of the soldiers mocking him and coming and offering him sour wine upon the heels of him crying out, I thirst. We see the blessed reality of very God and very man, yet one Christ, the only mediator between God and man.
Our confession of faith reads, it pleased God in His eternal purpose to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, according to the covenant made between them both to be the mediator between God and man. The prophet, priest, and king, head and savior of the church, the heir of all things, and judge of the world, unto whom he did from all eternity give a people to be his seed, and to be by him in time, redeemed, called, justified, sanctified, and glorified." It goes on to say, regarding that precious Christ, which person is very God and very man, yet one Christ, the only mediator between God and man. This thief, on this day, at this hour, availed of the one who is very God and very man, confessing his power, witnessing his power, and witnessing his glory, even as one crucified upon Calvary's cross, and one who laid eyes upon his true humanity, as one suffering with him, and yet worse than him, He suffers the physical travail, the physical madness of crucifixion, but it was only Christ, of course, of the three crucified, that was bearing the full wrath of God for the sins of all the elect upon Calvary's cross. The weight of the divine wrath, the weight of divine pure holiness, the most holiness of God, exercised in his His juridical severity and in holy justice, hot justice, poured out upon the Son as He bears the punishment due all who believe in His name.
The blessed Christ upon Calvary's cross. Nehemiah Cox writes these words with regards to our Savior. The common faith of Christians about the matter is that the same Jesus who suffered made satisfaction to divine justice for their sins. But that His sufferings were in His human nature only.
And the worth of them, for satisfaction to justice, did arise from the union of the human nature with the divine in one person, so that the Godhead of Christ put an infinite value into his sufferings. This the priest latched onto, if you will, upon the cross when he says, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. He gripped with the grip of faith the reality that the Lord Jesus Christ is one who has infinite value in his sufferings. He could look upon Christ suffering the bloody massacre of the crucifixion, and he could say, not that this one is defeated, but that this one is victorious, putting infinite value upon the sufferings that he bears. upon this cross beside me, that the Son of God might become the author of eternal salvation unto lost sinners.
He took upon Him, Christ did, the Son of God did, the office of a mediator betwixt God and them, and in order to the accomplishment of what He had undertaken on their behalf, it was necessary that He should take hold of their nature and be manifested in the flesh. When we read of things like I thirst, Like the shortest Bible verse in all of the Bible, Jesus wept. When we read of him hungering, and when we read of him wearying, and when, of course, we read of him bleeding and dying, our Christian minds are to latch upon the wonder and the glory and the mystery of the hypostatic union. that in this person of Christ, we have the union of divine and human natures in one blessed Christ. The divine, immutable, unchanging nature, unchanged in the incarnation, yet having assumed our humanity, Christ, the immutable one, takes to himself mutability in the human nature, takes to himself a nature that can hunger, that can thirst, that can be weary, that can weep, that can sleep, that can bleed, and that can die.
The Hypostatic Union in Luke 8
In our own text, we see this, as already noted, we see it as well in passages like in Luke 2. You need not turn there, but you could turn there if you'd like. Notice in Luke 8, the display of both the divinity and the humanity, and this is just one of a multitude of instances where we see both things displayed. Notice in Luke 8 at verse 22, now it happened on a certain day that he got into a boat with his disciples and he said to them, let us cross over to the other side of the lake and they launched out.
But as they sailed, he fell asleep, and a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to him and awoke him, saying, Master, Master, we are perishing. Then he arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water, and they ceased, and there was a calm. But he said to them, Where is your faith?
And they were afraid and marveled, saying to one another, Who can this be? For he commands even the winds and water, and they obey him. What a wonderful complex of truths that we have going on here. First of all, we read in verse 23, regarding Christ, but as they sailed, he fell asleep.
And then we read this same one, sleeping, in verse 24, he arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water, and they ceased, and there was a calm. a wonderful picture of the deity and the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ in that simple narrative. Truly, He is the One of Psalm 107. He raises the stormy winds which lift up the waves of the sea. He calms the storm so that its waves are still.
Justification by Faith Alone
We see, fifthly, the doctrine of justification by faith alone. the reality that this thief, upon the cross, brought nothing in his hands to the table of salvation. Well, he brought the sin that drove Christ to the cross, like we all do. The only thing that we bring to the complex, the economy, the plan of salvation, is the sin that makes it necessary, to quote some old words. And that the thief did.
Justification by faith alone is on display. Salvation by Christ alone, through grace, by faith in Christ, is on display at Calvary, generally speaking, but specifically with regards to this occasion of the thief. The thief brings nothing to the cross. He brings alone and only the sin that drove Christ there.
And this is the language of the Scriptures everywhere. We've already noted that the weight and the severity and the madness of sin is already such that there is no one, no man, no woman, no boy, and no girl who could work their way up to a confession of Christ, there is the requirement, the blessed reality, of amazing and victorious grace. And this passage itself brings to us the weight of that glory. We are not saved by deeds of righteousness, which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.
Truly the dying thief could sing along with all of us, nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling.
The Doctrine of Assurance
And we see, sixthly, the doctrine of assurance. The doctrine of assurance. And we see that, as we briefly noted this morning, in verse 43. And Jesus said to him, this blessed reply, assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.
That comes with the weight of assurance. The weight of certainty we noted this morning, but of course, the weight of assurance, which is very close to that word and that concept and that idea. And let's make a note here. Christ is, remember, on the cross, he himself dehydrated, he himself bleeding, he himself parched, he himself having already been beaten, he himself on the brink of death, but not only those physical things, but bearing the wrath of God in the stead of all who believe in his name, and yet he has the redemptive wherewithal to push up off of that wood of the crucifix and of the cross and say, assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.
With those dying breaths, about to die, about to finish the work that the Father sent him to do in that most important of hours, he says, assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. And in so doing, He gives this thief assurance. Our confession writes, with regards to assurance, such as truly believe in the Lord Jesus and love Him in sincerity, endeavoring to walk in all good conscience before Him, may in this life be certainly assured that they are in the state of grace and may rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, which hope shall never make them ashamed. This certainty is not a bare conjectural and probable persuasion grounded upon a fallible hope, but an infallible assurance of faith founded on the blood and righteousness of Christ revealed in the gospel." We should note that assurance is not of the essence of faith.
That is, if a Christian lacks assurance, that doesn't mean that they don't have faith. just means that they have a weaker faith that needs to be strengthened by the ascended Christ and his spirit working by and with the word, and that's something to pray for. But that we may have assurance in this lower life is certain. Samuel Rutherford wrote, our hope is not hung upon such an untwisted thread as I imagine so, or it is likely, but the cable, the strong rope of our fastened anchor is the oath and promise of Him who is eternal verity. Our salvation is fastened with God's own hand and Christ's own strength to the strong stake of God's unchangeable nature.
That's what the thief is enjoying here upon the cross as he's about to breathe his dying breath. That reality of assurance, the oath and the promise of him who is eternal verity, the one who is eternal verity, that simply means truth, the one who is eternal truth speaks to him, assuredly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. And this is the language of the Bible, this assurance that can be had by those who have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. John wrote his gospel in order that men and women, boys and girls, sinners would believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.
And then he writes his first epistle so that those who believe may know assuredly that they have everlasting life and that that life is in his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, this precious one upon Calvary's cross who says, assuredly I say to you, today you will be with me.
Immediate Conscious Glory at Death
And lastly, we have the doctrine of immediate conscious glory. Again, verse 43, and Jesus said to him, No soul sleep, no delay, no deferred hope, no distant hope and no distant mercy. But again, today you will be with me in paradise. Our confession reads, the souls of the righteous, being then that is at death, made perfect in holiness, are received into paradise where they are with Christ, and behold the face of God in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies.
Isn't that a glorious thing to think of? Where they are with Christ and behold the face of God in light and glory? Words absolutely escape the glory and the majesty of what that is, what that will be like. But that's why we sing, when our faith will be sight.
It's, I'm trying to remember who it was, it might have been Dr. Dolezal, and we can continue to pray for him. And one of his, I think it was in one of his sermons that I, that I listened to down in Texas when I was down there with, with him and a bunch of the men down there. And he said something like, and he said, he said, bear with me while I say this, but there will be no believers in heaven.
And what he meant by that is that there's no one who will just be believing on the Lord Jesus Christ in a faith without sight. That's what we do now. There will be seers in heaven, those who behold the glory believers. in this lower world become seers. They become those who cast their eyes, not of faith now, but those eyes of sight upon the crucified, risen, and exalted one.
Thomas Watson wrote, there is an immense passage from death to glory. It is but the twinkling of an eye, and we shall see God. This day shalt thou be with me in paradise. By paradise is meant heaven.
The third heaven into which Paul was taken. Christ said to the thief on the cross, this day shalt thou be with me in paradise. His body could not be there for it was laid in the grave, but it was spoken of his soul that it should be immediately after death in heaven. Let none be so vain as to talk of purgatory.
A soul purged by Christ's blood needs no fire of purgatory, but goes immediately from a deathbed into a glorified state. What a beautiful promise and what a beautiful reality for those whom we love that pass from this life to the next, who are believers. We grieve, and that's okay. We mourn, and that's okay.
But as believers, we have the precious confidence and the certain knowledge that they are passing into the presence of Christ where they are with Him, beholding the face of God in light. and in glory. Today you will be with me in paradise. It carries the weight of 2 Corinthians 5, 6 to 8 of Philippians 1, 23, that absent with the body, present with the blessed Lord.
Application
In closing, just two simple things that we could observe and reflect upon. We see in this passage the whole gospel in 12 verses. every doctrine this might be an overstatement let's say many of the doctrines the church confesses and many of the doctrines or many of the errors she has fought are are addressed in this scene at calvary we can come to this passage and we can glory in the narrative itself, but also glory in it as a minefield of blessed theology that warms our hearts. Salvation by Christ alone, salvation by a Christ who is very God and very man, yet one Christ, the blessed mediator who brings many sons to glory. That salvation is by him and him alone, that we will enjoy the certainty of that salvation in this lower world as we lay hold of him by faith, but also in that world to come where we lay hold of him by sight.
This blessed reality, the effectual grace that we see here overturning total depravity in the heart of and in the blessed life of this Formerly cursed robber who is now the blessed robber confessing Christ. As we think about persons in our own lives who are unbelieving, who are like the cursed robber, like the one who blasphemes, who are like him, standing under divine judgment and in opposition to God, we pray for them and we implore them and we beseech them and we talk with them and we give them the gospel. There is much hope for them. Imagine that, just remember that this robber now enjoying shortly paradise with the Savior, he was only a couple hours ago or whatever the time was, on that same glorious afternoon, blaspheming the one he is now confessing.
There is much hope for those who are presently outside of saving realities because there is a God of effectual grace who overturns blasphemies, blasphemers, mid-crucifixion. We have as well the reality again that every dying thief, or the dying thief rather, is every believer. Remember that this is not an extreme case. the most unlikely convert, or a last-minute exception, or a dramatic deathbed rescue, but it is a paradigmatic, a pattern, a blessed formula that we have, or a pattern set forth by God for every believer. We come with nothing in our hands to a Savior on the cross.
And that Savior on the cross, by grace through faith, will bring us to everlasting glory. Tonight, for all Christians here tonight, I pray that you would go to bed and rest your head upon the blessed Amen of Christ, who says assuredly today, you will be with me in paradise. I say that not that I hope you die tonight. What I mean by that is that paradise is yours if you believe in Christ.
The blessed reality of being with Him everlastingly is yours if you are with Christ. You can have the blessed and the certain knowledge that you are His and He is yours and you will see His glorious face in the everlastingness of the bliss of our future beatitude. If you're outside of Christ this evening, the message from Christian preachers ought always to be the simple summons that comes upon the heels of a gospel account. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.
The weight of glory that is in the future for all who believe in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is juxtaposed with the absolute horror of hell. where those outside of Christ will endure the just recompense for their deeds, for having transgressed a holy and a righteous God. And so if you are outside of Him in unbelief, having not confessed the name of the Savior, know that you are presently like the revilers, like the scoffers, and like the mockers. And the message comes to you as it would have come in some flavor, in some shape to this thief upon the cross. Believe on this precious King who was on the cross, who is now raised and exalted.
Believe on Him and you will have everlasting life. And you will have not horrors in your future, but blessing upon blessing in your future as you in due time will lay hold of the Savior with eyes of sight. Well, let's pray.
Closing Prayer
God, we thank you for your truth. We rejoice in your goodness to us. We thank you for what we read concerning our Savior and this dying thief. We rejoice in this salvation.
We rejoice in your amazing and victorious grace. We do pray that you would help us as we rest our heads this evening to reflect with sweetness and joy upon the glories of our triune God, the victories of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ is riches and excellencies, and that we might be wholly resolved to grow in the knowledge of our precious Savior, that we might grow in the grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord, and that you might be magnified and glorified in all things. We pray that you would save sinners, that by amazing and victorious grace, by this effectual grace that this thief enjoyed, we do pray that by that same grace you would bring forth sinners, even now, to salvation in Jesus Christ, that they may in due time behold the face of the Savior, the King of kings and Lord of lords. And it's in His name that we pray.
Amen.