Good evening, everyone. Turn in your Bibles to Luke 23, please. Luke chapter 23. We're going to begin reading in verse 26.
Our focus will be on verse 38 to verse 43, as we observe the occasion concerning the prince of life and the penitent thief, companions on this day of crucifixion. 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 wombs 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 green wood, 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's pray.
Heavenly Father, we thank you now for this time in your word. We rejoice in this exercise of worship, the preaching of your word. And once again, we would ask for your help. Once again, we would ask for the blessings of your condescending grace and mercy as we worship you in this way.
We do pray that you would help preacher in the pulpit to proclaim rightly the things of your truth. And Lord God, once again, that for those in the pews this evening, that you would strengthen your saints, that you would save sinners. And Lord God, that the exercise of worship now and as we continue would be unto the praise of your glorious grace. and Lord God, that we would give to you all honor and all praise. We do pray in the name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
Introduction
An old 19th century commentator wrote these words with respect to this occasion of the Prince of Life and the Penitent Thief. He wrote, the story of the Penitent Thief has sometimes been considered the most surprising, the most suggestive, the most instructive incident in all the gospel narratives. In the salvation of one of the thieves, vital theology finds one of its finest demonstrations. See, what this occasion of the Prince of Life and the Penitent Thief does is it jettisons from our contemplations any notions of the truth of sacramentology that we need a interceding earthly priest in order to bring favor between us and God, that we need some intermediary agency in order to wash away the transgressions of our sins.
It jettisons from our contemplations any notions that salvation is not solely and alone by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. jettisons from our contemplations any notions that we can merit everlasting life by the doing of good deeds, that somehow we commend ourselves to God by the exercise of good works and obedience to the law. to use the same language, jettisons from our contemplations any notions that there is a purgatory, that there is a limbus patrum, that there is some sort of intermediary state where one must go prior to entering heaven, such a state where he must by his own purgings do away with the stain of sin. No, this sets before us vital theology in its finest demonstration that salvation is by grace, through faith in Christ, and that, as seen with this thief, those who are saved are saved solely and alone by virtue of the doing and the dying and the rising again of the Prince of Life, Jesus Christ, the just, and in Him is our only hope. We want to look at the verses 38 to 43 here. Luke 23, 38 to 43.
And we're going to look at four things, and we'll proceed through these things as we go. But those four things we want to observe are, first, the telling inscription. Secondly, the cursed robber. Thirdly, the dying thief.
And fourthly, the comforting Christ.
The Telling Inscription
And so first, I want us to observe the telling inscription. Notice v. 38. And an inscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. This is the King of the Jews.
First, we want to note that this reflects an accusation. When one was crucified, they received something written, as we see in this case, an inscription written in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. They received something written that disclosed the reason for their condemnation. Now, we know of course that Christ is wholly harmless. and undefiled.
He is sinless. He is that perfect Lamb of God without blemish and without spot. But with respect to these two parties of persons, the unbelieving Jews and the unbelieving Romans conspiring together to bring an end to the life of the Prince of Life, we see that the accusation or this inscription, this is the King of the Jews, reflects the accusation that was against Him. And if you want, we can read some historical context that isn't taken up so much here in Luke 23, but it is in the parallel account in John 19.
And you can turn there with me to John 19. Why do we have this inscription as an accusation? This is the King of the Jews. Very often what would happen is if you see somebody doing their march to their crucifixion, they would have perhaps someone preceding them with a sign upon which was written the accusation for their condemnation, their criminality.
Perhaps they were adorned with that accusation. The inscription was upon their person. In the case of Christ, it's attached and it's affixed. to the cross, but we see with respect to, of course, the false accusation that he is somehow seditious or that he is somehow usurping or that he is somehow criminally liable for his actions against Caesar, these sorts of things. Notice John 19 beginning in verse 10.
Then Pilate said to Him, Are you not speaking to me? Do you not know that I have power to crucify you and power to release you? Jesus answered, You could have no power at all against me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore, the one who delivered me to you has the greater sin.
Now just pause for a moment. Don't you love the response of our Lord Jesus Christ there? that particular point. You see, Pilate assumes to himself too much power and too much esteem. Are you not speaking to me?
Do you not know that I have power to crucify you and power to release you? And Christ answers beautifully, you could have no power at all against me unless it had been given you from above. This is sort of a, for Pilate, a Nebuchadnezzar type event, although Pilate isn't cast out into the wilderness to eat grass like Nebuchadnezzar. Nevertheless, he's humbled by the words of the sovereign Christ here, who from his lips that only ever speak verity, answers with strength, no power could be given to you. unless it had been given you from above." Beautiful.
But moving on, verse 12. Then, from then on, Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, saying, If you let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar. You see, the Jews are playing at this as that which should condemn the Christ.
They're playing at this. And they're playing at Pilate's Caesar-loyal heartstrings here, if you will, by saying, if you let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar. Now, reading on, when Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha.
Now it was the preparation day of the Passover, in about the sixth hour, and he said to the Jews, Behold your king! But they cried out, Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!
Pilate said to them, Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. then he delivered him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus and led him away." So getting back to Luke 23 here, we see that there is this accusation that is behind the inscription. The accusation against Christ is, as the Jews would say in another gospel account, don't say this is the king of the Jews, but that he said he was the king of the Jews in order to incite the charges of sedition against this Christ and charges against Caesar.
All of that to come back to this, Christ of course is innocent, any accusation against the Son of God is absolutely false, but the crime for which he was being crucified is seen in this inscription. Must be noted here, perhaps this is in view when we get to Colossians chapter two and we read with regards to the perfect saving work of Christ is the blood of Jesus Christ cleansing us from all iniquity. We see Paul using there in Colossians chapter two the language of Christ having taken away the handwriting which was against us, having nailed it to the cross. Some have drawn a connection to this.
You see, He bore an inscription that our inscription might be taken away. He bore upon His cross an inscription, the King of the Jews. He bore these charges. He bore these accusations, of course, falsely.
And of course, beyond this is the reality of God, according to His determined plan and foreknowledge, sending the Son of His love to the cross to bear the iniquities of His people. But nevertheless, Christ bore an inscription that we might have ours taken away. And notice the title. This is the King of the Jews.
The True Identity of the King
While it may be fuel for mockery by the Jews and the words chosen by Pilate by virtue of his discussion with Christ and the unbelieving Jews, it is nevertheless true. This is the King of the Jews. You see, that was their Messiah. That was their King.
What they confess in mockery, what they confess by this inscription, though not believing it, is nevertheless true. They are putting to death the King of the Jews. They are putting to death their very God and King upon Calvary's cross. It's absolute madness.
That was their Messiah. That was their king. This is something that is recognized at the outset of Christ's earthly ministry. There's an account or some language in John chapter 1 by Nathanael.
Jesus saw Nathanael, John 1, 47, coming toward him and said of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit. Nathanael said to him, How do you know me? Jesus answered and said, Before Philip called you when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Nathanael answered and said to him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God.
You are the King of Israel. See, the confession of the believer is you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel. And so this is the King of the Jews, though again, bearing the marks of Jewish mockery and bearing the unbelieving marks of a pilot who was writing this upon the inscription based upon his conversation with Christ and based upon his conversation with the unbelieving Jews.
Nevertheless, this is a blessed truth. This is the Messiah. This is the King. This is the Son of God.
Remember that the Old Testament anticipates this, doesn't it? That the one who would be the Redeemer of Israel is God Most High, and He is Everlasting King. That prophecy in Micah 5, in chapter 2, those words given to Bethlehem, Ephrathah, Though you are the littlest among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you I will bring forth one to me who will be ruler in Israel. whose goings forth are from old, from everlasting. This is the One who was brought forth to be ruler in Israel.
This is the King of the Jews. And Steve read tonight Psalm 22, the Psalm of the Cross. We see the progression. I mean, the Psalms in their entirety are the prayers of the Messiah, the prayers of Christ, the words of truth.
We have in Psalm 22 what's been called the Psalm of the Cross. We see there clearly the language of crucifixion prophesied a thousand years before the crucifixion by David. We see in Psalm 23, following upon the heels of the crucifixion, we have the psalm of the crook, the shepherd's crook. He is our shepherd.
We shall not want. He leads us into green pastures and all that glorious language concerning Christ as our shepherd. And then when we get to Psalm 24, we have the psalm of the crown. We see the King of Glory.
Who is this King of Glory? This is the King of Glory. This is the King of the Jews. Our blessed and our glorious Savior.
With regards to the inscription, Melito of Sardis, a bishop in the 2nd century wrote these words and and by the way the to we need It's stuff like this that should chase away the conspiracy theories That the deity of Jesus Christ was forced on the church in the 4th century by the Roman Emperor Constantine Which is absolute madness. I read this morning a quote from Marcianus Aristides who was in one from 126 AD, an Athenian philosopher converted by God, by the Christian proclamation in Athens. And if I read more in that quote, he acknowledges that this Jesus, the Son of God, is that God that came down from heaven and took upon himself flesh by way of the Hebrew virgin. 126 AD, the confession of the deity of Christ. Here we have Melito, only a couple handfuls or a few handfuls of decades later, writing these words, and it's at the point, getting back to Luke 23, and the thief on the cross, and the inscription here, notice, and thus he was lifted up upon the tree. speaking not of the thief, but of the Prince of Life, Jesus Christ.
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. Of course, that language, God is murdered or God has been murdered, God can't be murdered, but by virtue of the hypostatic union, Christ taking to himself man's nature, Melito can speak with propriety using that language just the way that Paul can speak in the book of Acts saying God purchased us with His own blood, or the Church of Christ with His own blood.
But back to this point, this title, this is the King of the Jews, is absolutely right. This is the Sovereign One. This is the Christ. This is God.
This is the King of Israel. And notice the madness with respect to the inscription at the point of these Jews and Romans putting to death the king of the Jews. Putting to death the very creator and upholder of all things who took to himself man's nature. Putting to death the very promised king of Israel.
The madness of it. The gross injustice of it. This is the one This is their God. This is their Lord.
This is the one who condescended by way of covenant to give them blessings, to give them favor, to condescend in mercy and eternal lovingkindness, to show forth His glorious perfections, pouring out His bounty upon them, giving them the oracles of God and showing forth His faithfulness and His covenantal faithfulness. What a gross injustice. Melito would go on to write, Why, O Israel, did you do this strange injustice? You dishonored the One who honored you.
You held in contempt the One who held you in esteem. You killed the One who made you to live. Why did you do this, O Israel? O frightful murder!
O unheard of injustice! This is the King of the Jews.
Application: Remember Your King
As we observe the Lord's Supper tonight, what's an application that we can take away from this at the point of remembrance? Is that we partake of the Lord's Supper, not only then in the Lord's Supper in a special way, but each and every day to be sure as well, remember your King. Remember that it is the mark of human nature, even with our remaining corruption as the redeemed sons and daughters of God, to be found marked by a languor and a coldness on spiritual things and with a respect to the remembrance of our Christ. That's why we have the Lord's Supper.
That's why the Lord's Supper is given to us. One of the reasons why is because we're so prone to wander, so prone to leave the God that we love, and with this we come back to a remembrance and a reflection upon our King, upon our Christ, upon the Son of God who came into this world, sinners to save. The human heart is drawn to pomp and power. That's the sort of King that we like.
You know, our human minds and our human curiosities and our human, you know, inklings, we're drawn after kings of pomp and power, and no doubt Christ has that. He rises again the third day, He's exalted to the right hand of the majesty on high, He's given glory, dominion and a kingdom. But you see, we are to cast our eyes upon a bloodied and a battered Messiah. Our eyes of faith were to cast our eyes upon this king of the Jews and remember him.
You see, because yes, he's altogether lovely and chief among 10,000 and his resplendent glory, exalted to the right hand of the Majesty on high. But to us who are His people, He's also altogether lovely to us when He's crying and forlorn in the garden of Gethsemane. When He's grieving in the garden of Gethsemane, He's altogether lovely to us. And here, battered and bruised upon Calvary's cross, A bloody mess upon this gibbet of execution.
We are to remember Him, and He is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000.
The Cursed Robber
Moving on then to the cursed robber. Notice what we have in verse 39. Verse 39, the cursed robber. Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, If you are the Christ, save yourself and us.
Notice that his last breath, or to his last breath, he is unrepentant and opposes Christ. Doesn't this picture for us the sinfulness and the depravity of the human heart? He's crucified upon a cross, this cursed robber. He Himself is a bloody and a crucified mess.
He is being put to death for actually being one who is deserved of death. Who does deserve the punishment that He is getting. As the dying thief will say next, or will say later, we receive the due reward of our deeds. This one is being crucified, he is very near death, and yet he breathes out in wicked blasphemy, if you are the Christ, save yourself and us.
Make no mistake, this isn't an honest and a wholesome pleading for salvation. That's not what the cursed robber is breathing out here. I mean, we already have Luke's commentary, Luke's narrative. Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed him, saying, this language that he says here, this language that he speaks, if you are the Christ, save yourself and us, is obviously not then. an honest pleading for salvation.
It is simply to echo those who beforehand said in verse 37, if you are the king of the Jews, save yourself. And previously to that in verse 35, he saved others. Let him save himself if he is the Christ, the chosen of God. Perhaps it is in the heart and the mind of this cursed robber to side with the crowd in the hopes that perhaps the faintest chance of the Romans alleviating his punishment might be in the offing.
But in the very least, we know, or we should mount up from that supposition to the reality that it is blasphemy that he speaks. And it probably carries the same tone of reviling and mockery as the others who are gathered in the crowd looking at Christ upon the cross. This is a reviling. This is a mockery.
And this is their king. This is their Messiah. This is the promised one who came to bring deliverance to Israel and to Gentiles who are afar off. the blasphemy, to his last breath he is unrepentant and opposes Christ. Have a look at a passage in the book of Revelation with me, if you will.
Revelation 16. Because there we have something else that ought to cause us to marvel, like this occasion of the cursed robber, at the wickedness and the sinfulness of men when even faced with doom and certain judgment. Notice in Revelation 16, beginning in verse 8. Then the fourth angel, this is Revelation 16, 8.
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. This is the fourth angel pouring out the fourth bowl.
There had already been judgments previously prior to the fourth. The first, the second, and the third. And even upon this fourth judgment, even upon this fourth righteous judgment poured out by the God of perfect holiness and justice. Nevertheless, these men scorched with great heat blasphemed the name of God, note, who has power over these plagues.
Not only do they blaspheme God, but this is the One who has power over the plagues to stop them. And yet, nevertheless, they blaspheme Him. And they did not repent and give Him glory. We ought to draw a line of relevance to our passage back in Luke 23 here.
When faced with crucifixion, and when faced with the penal sanctions of the civil magistrate unto very death, This one blasphemes Christ. If you are the Christ, save yourself and us. Now this ought to have some echoes as well. I'm not sure if you remember, but back when I was preaching on Matthew 4 and that occasion there in the wilderness where the the fearsome lion of the pit and the lion of the tribe of Judah, that is the devil and the Christ, go toe-to-toe in single combat in the wilderness.
And one emerges victorious. And it isn't the devil. It is Christ who emerges victorious. And some of the daggers of the devil there in that wilderness episode are the same things that the thief here spews out from the cross.
Not the dying thief, Not the blessed thief, but the cursed robber. He takes the same tact as the devil, perhaps even animated by Satan himself. If you are the Christ, save yourself and us. Remember the words of the devil in the wilderness.
If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread. He repeats the same sort of language in the next temptation, or in the last. If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down, because as it is written, He has given His angels charge over Him. The thief is, as if here, animated by the devil.
Perhaps a last-ditch effort. We don't know what the devil knows. We don't know the propositional content of his satanic mind. Is he perhaps making a last-ditch effort at preventing the crucifixion in Matthew 4?
The idea there is perhaps that the devil is trying to stymie, to try and stymie the messianic work of the mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ, and is seeking to tempt him away from being obedient to God, seeking to do a repeat of His damage done to the first Adam. Perhaps here the devil himself is animating the cursed robber. But what we do know is that the cursed robber blasphemes the glorious King of the Jews, Jesus Christ our Lord, and he is wicked and sinful and unrepentant as he opposes our glorious Christ.
Application: Remember Your Former State
Before we move on to point number three, what can we take away from this as a point of application? Again, with the Lord's Supper before us, as we look forward to partaking of it, and it being an act of remembrance, we are to remember our former state. We make a mistake, and I would submit we make a grave one, and we assume too much to ourselves if we think ourselves better than this cursed robber when we were, before we met, were met by divine and condescending grace. We were no better than this cursed robber.
I think a modern hymnist gets it right when he wrote, ashamed I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers. You see, a reflection upon our pre-converted state, a reflection upon our sinfulness when reigning sin was our lot and when the wrath of God abided on us. When we were the sons of disobedience and children of wrath just as the others, we had that reality that we called out with mocking voices among the scoffers and we would have been just like this cursed robber crying out. If you are the Christ, save yourself and us, not out of some honest and wholesome pleading for salvation, but out of reviling and mockery.
Remember your former state. That we were once a cursed robber, but now having been brought in by grace. We are like this one now that we move on to the dying thief. The blessed thief.
Verses 40-42.
The Dying Thief
We want to acknowledge first that he acknowledges, that is, the dying thief acknowledges the necessity of the fear of God and rebukes the cursed robber for the lack of it. Notice what he says here in verse 40. But the other. that is, the other robber, the other thief, answering, rebuked him saying, do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? You know, he's sort of answering the question that we might be brought to at the point of Revelation 16.9.
Do you not even fear God? You've just been the recipients of four bowls of wrath poured out. You've just been the recipients of divine judgment and wholesome and right. The wholesome severity of the divine magistrate has poured out his wrath upon you.
And after the fourth time, you're still blaspheming him, knowing that this one has the power to stop these plagues, and you're unrepentant? Do you not even fear God? These words of the thief are absolutely amazing because remember, let alone when we're not under travail, under physical affliction like this thief would be in the midst of crucifixion, we're all about ourselves. But upon the cross, he takes occasion not to just wallow in the loss, wallow in the misery, wallow in the shame of the cross, but he takes occasion to defend the very honor of God and this Christ beside whom he is crucified, saying, do you not even fear God?
Beautiful response by this thief. Now, remember, at this point, this thief is converted. In parallel accounts, we have the reality that both robbers, that both thieves reviled Christ. That both thieves blasphemed Him.
At some point on this blessed occasion of the crucifixion, this solemn occasion as well, at some point, God by His grace reached down to this dying thief and brought him forth from deadness and sin to life in Christ. And he says here, do you not even fear God, seeing that you are under the same condemnation?
Confession of Sin and Christ's Innocence
He acknowledges sin and the due penalty for sin. Notice the language in 41. And we indeed justly, that is, we indeed receive condemnation. We indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds.
You know, that's a refreshing statement by a sinner, saved by grace. It's a refreshing statement. You see, it's the case, it's the nature of men that we want to blame shift, we want to lie and say we have done nothing wrong. when we're caught in sin, when we're found out in sin, that's sort of one response, well, it wasn't me. Or the other response is to blame shift, or minimize, or try to wiggle out of it one way or another, rather than simply owning it.
Like this dying thief, who is a model of human honesty under the regenerating power of the Holy Ghost, and we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds. He acknowledges sin and the due penalty for sin. He realizes that God is holy, that He has a law that we have violated, that He has violated, and that the just deserts for such violation are the condemnation of the law. Penal sanctions, penalty, It's wonderful, for we receive the due reward of our deeds.
He acknowledges it. He owns it. He knows. He confesses his iniquity before God, and he confesses his iniquity even before this rebel robber.
As well, he confesses the innocence of Christ, their companion upon the cross. Notice the language here continuing in verse 41. But this man has done nothing wrong. You see, I think we do minimize the knowledge and we minimize what this thief knew and what this thief confessed prior to his death and his entrance into paradise.
See, it's a common sort of tact, or it's a mark of our modern era, our watered-down Christianity, to do just that, watered-down Christianity. Let's just boil it down to the most minimum amount of propositions possible. There's a mere Christianity movement. Can we not, again, just all get along, there's so many of us out there, so many denominations, associations, approaches to Christianity, can we not just boil it down to the lowest common denominator?
I mean, come on, the thief on the cross, what did he really know? What did he really know? Three verses. What could he have known?
I would submit that he knows a lot, and that he knew a lot. Remember, he acknowledges the necessity of the fear of God, and he acknowledges it to the point where he has the wherewithal to rebuke the cursed robber. for having no fear of God and blaspheming Christ. He acknowledges sin and the due penalty for it that would reflect or that would have in the back as supporting realities a God of holiness the divine law that that God of holiness demands, and the penal sanction for the law's violation. He knew a lot.
Not only that, but he confesses now the innocence of Christ, their companion. He says, but this man has done nothing wrong. This whole event, this whole occasion, was prophesied by Isaiah. You can turn to Isaiah 53, and no doubt, probably knew I was going to go there at some point, but the language with respect to these robbers is there, and the language with respect to what this dying thief confesses, that is, the innocence of Christ, it is there.
Notice in Isaiah 53, Excuse me. Isaiah 53, beginning in verse 7. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living.
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked, but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth." You see that language there with respect to the confession by this dying thief, this blessed thief? that this man is innocent, this man has done nothing wrong. He has done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. And then notice verse 12.
Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul unto death, and he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." He was numbered with the transgressors. He was set up upon Calvary's cross and had two transgressors as companions. And so, this dying thief, who no doubt would have taken in some truth proclaimed to whatever degree being sure a zealot there in Jerusalem no doubt he would have come into contact with the Old Testament scriptures perhaps on this occasion upon Calvary's cross the Spirit of God is rousing his spirit within him to cast reflection upon nuggets of truth proclaimed and he's reflecting back upon the reality that Isaiah prophesied concerning this one who had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth, he had done nothing wrong." He confesses next, well actually, before we move on, let's just pause for a moment. This man had done nothing wrong.
This was beforehand confessed by Pilate himself, when he says, I have found no fault in this man. And when he says again later on, I have found no reason for death in him. There was there though an unbelieving confession of his guiltlessness, but Christ was sinless. Christ was wholly harmless and undefiled.
Another application as we take this, take and eat this bread and take and drink this cup is to remember, to reflect upon the fact that the Christ that we remember is the only one that was ever innocent and without sin. You know, we know nothing but sin in this lower world as we deal with one another. Sin. Everyone sins.
We traffic in a world of sin. We don't bump up against anyone. who is wholly harmless and undefiled. We don't bump up against anyone who is separate from sinners in the perfection of his obedience and guiltlessness. We don't bump up against anyone who is like a lamb without blemish and without spot.
I think sometimes, perhaps it's hard for us to wrap our minds around this because we just don't come into contact with this. But Christ, this man, has done nothing wrong. He was innocent. He was sinless.
Adam had thrust us into sin and depravity by his disobedience, yet by this one man who only ever perfected obedience, who only ever was obedient to the law of God. Every jot and tittle, there was no jot and no tittle, wherein Christ broke the law of God, but at each and every point of the way, it was His will to do the will of His Father, or it was His meat to do the will of the Father who sent Him, and He never failed in doing that. This man has done nothing wrong. Absolutely beautiful.
Confession of Christ's Lordship
Next, he confesses, that is, the dying thief. He confesses the lordship of Christ and pleads for remembrance. Notice verse 42. Then he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
He confesses the lordship of Christ. and he pleads for remembrance. Unlike the cursed robber, who isn't confessing the Lordship of Christ, he's only reviling and mocking and saying, if you are the Christ, save yourself and us, this blessed and dying thief says, Lord, confessing the Lordship of Christ. And what follows after that is a repetition of the acknowledgement and the confession of His Lordship. Remember me when You come into Your kingdom.
He recognizes that this Christ has a kingdom. That this Christ perhaps, not perhaps, but that this Christ is the one of Daniel 7 who ascends to the ancient of days and is given glory, dominion, and a kingdom. This One is the One of Isaiah 9.6. That Child that is born.
That Son that is given. The government will be upon His shoulder and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And of the increase of His government, there will be no end. He has a Kingdom.
This King. This Glorious One. This Jesus. This Lord.
I love this. You know, we noted a number of minutes ago that this thief is converted. This thief having just, at some point earlier, having blasphemed Christ, having reviled and mocked Him. God has pulled him forth from the darkness of sin to life in Christ.
And he's now the Son of God. He's now the brother of Christ. He's now the saved of Christ. Cyril of Jerusalem makes these remarks.
I love these comments. What power, O robber, led thee to the light? What taught thee, or who taught thee, to worship that despised man, thy companion on the cross? O light eternal, which gives light to them that are in darkness.
Make no mistake, you see, we don't have the language, and perhaps this is for a designed reason, which I may offer up in a moment. But you see, we don't have this elevated narrative of the conquering power and the grace of God ripping down and the heavens open and light shining down and a voice coming from heaven, Thou art now my Son, O dying thief. I think What we're supposed to be brought to here is the reality that God's amazing grace is seen in the silent course of events where a sinner is brought from a blasphemer to a confessor of Christ. You see, we are not to seek after and we reflect upon our lives.
We are not to plague ourselves to try and find some penetrating moment where the heavens opened and like Saul on the road to Damascus, we're just knocked off of our horses and there's this amazing conversion event. Make no mistake, it is amazing grace. It is sovereign and victorious grace. But you see, sometimes it is the simple report that we're brought from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of the Son of God's love.
We're brought like this dying thief from blasphemy to glorying in this blessed Christ.
Application: Remember Your Conversion
And so an application at this particular point, remember when by grace you came to know Christ. It was, there was a time, perhaps you know the day, perhaps you only know the month, or perhaps you only know the year. Perhaps, you know, those of us out there in the midst who, as Spurgeon said, whose hair is whitened by the sunlight of heaven, it's hard for you to remember the day on which God pulled you from the darkness of sin to light and life in Christ. But you see, remember when by grace you came to know Christ.
Remember that blessed time. Remember, in the very least, that you were once without hope and without strength in the world. But God reached down, and by His grace and for His glory, brought you into the kingdom of the Son of His love.
The Comforting Christ
Now notice, lastly, we have the comforting Christ. The comforting Christ. And Jesus said to him, Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. Christ brings words of highest comfort to the dying thief.
It's as if he's saying, for but a moment longer, endure the nails. For but a moment longer, endure the pain. Endure the wicked sneering. Endure the shame.
Because assuredly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. Isn't that glorious? Isn't that blessed? You know, it brings much comfort not only to the thief.
None of us will most likely be crucified for crimes or in an act of martyrdom. Some of us will endure, some of us will incur affliction, trial, suffering, however that may providentially come upon us. Perhaps we observe family members, believers, struggling with the horrors of cancer, some sort of a disease. We have these blessed words of comfort that come to us.
Endure the affliction. Endure the suffering, because assuredly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. Christ brings words of highest comfort to the dying thief.
The Certainty of Salvation
As well, as we look to close here, Christ communicates the certainty of the dying thief's salvation. He says, I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise, but this is introduced by an amen. This is introduced by an assuredly. Assuredly, I say to you.
You know, perhaps when others say that, assuredly and certainly, and I promise, and those sorts of things, there's a possibility that it won't come to pass, or that it's not true. But you see, from the words of the Word of God, from the words of Christ Himself, who only and ever spoke verity, that really is true. Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise. Christ communicates the certainty the dying thief's salvation.
This assuredly brings with it the weight of divine promise. The weight of divine promise. You see, our perseverance, our assurance does not depend upon our own free will, but upon the immutability of the decree of election flowing from the unchangeable love of God the Father. Divine promise is in view behind this, assuredly.
And not only divine promise, but the very thing that Christ was working out at this very time. The perfection of his merits, the perfection of his righteousness, the perfection of his blood. What is behind this assuredly? What is behind this amen?
What is behind the certainty? It is divine promise. The very character and nature and the very integrity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is behind this, and the very act of perfect salvation, the shedding of blood and the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. This assuredly brings with it the weight of glorious promise.
I love these words of Cyril as we move to one more application and then we pray. Cyril says this, connecting Adam and Christ. He says, Adam by the tree fell away, thou by the tree art brought into paradise. He's speaking here as if he's speaking as Christ.
Christ's intercourse on this day of crucifixion, that means communication with, discussion with, this Christ's intercourse with the thief on this day of crucifixion. He says, Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. And so Cyril, paraphrastically speaking as Christ says, that this is Christ speaking to the thief, Adam by the tree fell away, thou by the tree art brought into paradise. And this is true for each and every one of us.
By one tree, that is, by Adam's fall in the garden so many years ago, we are thrust into sin and depravity. Adam, by the tree, fell away, and so all of his progeny, that includes us afterwards, we fell away. And yet by Christ on this tree, yet by that tree, art we all brought into paradise. Blessed truth. our Savior, our King, our Christ, our God.
And so finally, in application at this particular point, remember that the word of the Savior to the dying thief are our words. The words of the Savior to the dying thief are our words. They were spoken peculiarly to the thief. But I would submit that just as Thomas' words are on the day of the resurrection, the Sunday after the resurrection, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God, or my Lord and my God.
So too, the words of Christ to the thief are ours. Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise. Not this day, because hopefully none of us die on the way back from church. But these words, when that day comes, are ours.
And remember that these words cannot be snatched away from us. These words cannot be stolen away. These words cannot be kidnapped from the reality of our own salvation, but they are abiding and they rest upon certain promise and the blood and on the righteousness of Jesus Christ. They are our words, blessed truth, and glorious reality.
See ourselves here in this thief, this dying thief, not the cursed robber, but having been brought from that state as cursed robbers, we're now like this dying thief, this blessed thief, who rests not upon his own deeds of righteousness done and holiness of heart, but rests solely and alone upon the perfection of the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ.
Closing Prayer
Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for this account of Jesus Christ, the Prince of life and the penitent thief. We pray, Lord God, that You would cause us to reflect with great joy upon the doing and the dying and the rising again of the Son of God, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of the Jews.
We do pray, Lord God, as we now observe the Lord's Supper, that You would help us to do so solemnly with great joy. We do pray that you be with us as we observe this ordinance and that the risen Christ would by His Spirit strengthen us in the inner man and we pray that we would be nourished, that we would be strengthened and that we would be all the more conformed to the image of the Son of God. We do pray that you would continue to be with us in worship and we pray in Christ's precious name. Amen.
Lord's Supper Administration
Well you can turn with me to Matthew 26 Matthew 26, where we have the Lord Jesus Christ instituting the Lord's Supper on the night in which He was betrayed. This is an ordinance that was not to die off with the age of the apostles, but the Lord's Supper rather is an institution of our Christ. It is an ordinance of the New Testament ordained by Him to be observed in His churches unto the end of the world. We tonight here are doing that which Christ commanded.
So many years ago, Matthew 26, what I'm going to read very briefly is the account leading up to the institution of the Lord's Supper. We'll make some comments and then we'll have the brothers come up to pass out first the bread. This is Matthew 26 beginning in verse 17. Now on the first day of the feast of the unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus saying to him, where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?
And he said, go into the city to a certain man and say to him, the teacher says my time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples. So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover. When evening had come, he sat down with the 12.
Now as they were eating, he said, assuredly I say to you, one of you will betray me. And they were exceedingly sorrowful. And each of them began to say to him, Lord, is it I? He answered and said, he who dipped his hand with me in the dish will betray me.
The son of man indeed goes just as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the son of man is betrayed. It would have been good for that man if he had not been born. Then Judas, who was betraying him, answered and said, Rabbi, is it I? He said to him, you have said it.
Amen. Just very briefly, we are to marvel in a good way that this isn't a haphazard institution of the Lord's Supper. Oh great, isn't it lucky that it fell within the observance of the Passover? No, this is by divine design that that particular meal that pointed forward to Christ, or first off, that particular meal that pointed back to the Exodus and called the Israelites in remembrance to reflect upon their Exodus, their deliverance physically from out of bondage in Egypt, it also pointed forward to this one who would now institute the Lord's Supper.
Christ is our Passover sacrifice. He is our Passover who has been sacrificed for us. So Christ, anticipating that, and again, by divine design and by divine decree, He institutes the Lord's Supper in the midst of the Passover meal. The Passover ultimately foreshadowed the Passover lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, who would shed his effectual blood for the remission, for the forgiveness of sins.
And so it's right, and it's providential, and it's glorious that the Lamb of God is instituting the Lord's Supper in the context of the Passover celebration. Now, as we take the bread and as we drink the wine, Remember that this is an ordinance for Christians only. If you're not a Christian here tonight, you're not to take of the bread and take of the wine. If you're hungry and if you're thirsty, I believe there's some food upstairs so we can find something for you.
But this is a solemn matter, and this is a serious matter. This is an ordinance that, as we'll find, is instituted by Christ for believers only. And it is for believers who are living consistent with their profession. If you're a Christian tonight, and you're harboring sin, and you are not repentant, you have not repented of that sin, but you're holding on to it for whatever reason, you are not to take.
Now, remember, and I say this every time, and hopefully it never gets old, and hopefully that you see it as true. We have forgiveness with God that He may be feared. And so if you are harboring sin, repent of your sin. If you haven't repented, if you're remaining impenitent at a particular point, repent.
Find forgiveness immediately with God. There is no biblically prescribed season of self-flagellation and walking up mountains with sacks of tires. There is immediately the reality that when we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. who himself is the propitiation for our sins. And in him we fly, and we fly quickly, forsaking our sin and knowing the blessed reality of forgiveness, that he is secured by his shed blood.
The bread and the wine remain bread and wine, not only to the outward senses, but also with respect to the reality of the things. We reject the Roman Catholic blasphemy of transubstantiation. The bread does not change into the body, blood, and divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, nor does the wine change into the blood of Jesus Christ, but rather these remain what they are. They are consecrated from a common use unto a holy use here in the Lord's Supper. but they remain what they are, and in that, emblems of the broken body and the shed blood of Christ.
We are ingesting bread and we are ingesting wine. And yet, just as sure as those physical elements are to our physical senses, so too is the grace of God, so too is the empowering Spirit of Christ to our souls who strengthens us in our faith as we walk in Him. the language of the gospel of John at this particular point very briefly, and the brothers can come out to pass out the bread, but in John chapter 6, we have this wonderful language with respect to eating and drinking. I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.
And these reflect that truth, that in Christ we have our meat. In Christ we have our drink. Well, if the brothers could come up and pass out the bread, a reminder that when we get to the wine, the juice is in the outer ring. The first hymn that we're going to sing this evening is hymn 192.
You can stay seated, and we'll sing 192 to a familiar tune. To have been smitten and afflicted, see Him dying on a tree. Tis the Christ I have rejected, yes, my soul disease is healing. "'Tis the long-expected prophet, David's son, and David's Lord.
By his Son God now hath spoken, "'Tis the true and faithful word. "'Tell me, ye who hear him roaming, was there ever ♪ Caused it slowly, those exalting his distress ♪ ♪ Many heads were raised to rule him ♪ ♪ None were interposed to save him ♪ ♪ But the deepest stroke that pierced him ♪ ♪ Was the stroke that justice gave him ♪ O suppose we, O great, Hear and view its nature mightily, Near its guilt may estimate it, Are the sacrifice appointed? See who bears the awful load. Tis the word the Lord's anointed, Son of man and Son of God.
Here we have the firm foundation, here the refuge of the lost. Christ, the rock of our salvation, is the name of which we boast. Lamb of God for sinners wounded, sacrifice new, cancel guilt. None shall ever be confounded, who on him their hope hath built.
Amen. In Matthew 26, at verse 26, we read, And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat, this is my body. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the fact that we can now take of this bread.
We rejoice in what it represents. we thank you knowing that it represents the broken body of the Lord Jesus Christ that upon Calvary's cross he bore in his own body our sins upon that tree that we having died to sin might live for righteousness and we thank you for his death upon the cross we know that we are not saved by our own deeds of righteousness but solely and alone by the deeds of Christ and we thank you for that work of obedience upon Calvary's cross, wherein He took the punishment, do all those who believe. We pray now that as we partake, we would reflect with great joy upon the doing, the dying, and the rising again of the Son of God. We pray in His most precious name. Amen.
Let's take together. You can stay seated and turn in your hymn books as the brothers come up to pass out the wine, a reminder that the juice is in the outer ring. We're going to sing hymn number 186. That's 186.
You can stay seated. When I surveyed the wondrous cross, On which the Prince of Glory died, ♪ My richest king I count but a dose ♪ ♪ And more contempt on all my pride ♪ ♪ For it o'er that I should boast ♪ Save in the death of Christ my God, all the weak things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to thee. His head, His hands, His feet. Sorrow and love flowing no doubt.
There's such love and sorrow ♪ O'er th'arts now glow so rich of brown ♪ ♪ Were the old Elm of nature thine ♪ ♪ That were a present far too small ♪ It's so divine, deep as my soul, my life, my all. In Matthew 26, we continue reading at verse 27, Then he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, 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. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Amen. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you now that we can take of this wine, we rejoice in what it represents, the blood of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. As we reflect upon the biblical witness as it testifies to this fact, without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin.
We know that there is no hope and there is no strength in anything unless we are covered by the blood of the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Only therein do we find the forgiveness and the remission of sins. And we thank you that having been found, having been saved by virtue of the shed blood of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and so receiving the forgiveness of sins, we thank you that we can now partake of this emblem, this symbol, And we do pray that we would, as we take, and even after, as we focus, and as we continue in worship, Lord, that we would reflect with great joy upon the shed blood of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's in His name that we pray, amen.
Let's take together. Well, let's stand together and sing a familiar tune. And when we gather together for the Lord's Supper, 175, Man of Sorrows, what a name for the Son of God who came. Let's stand and sing together, 175. ♪ Can the sorrows quite die in ♪ ♪ For the Son of God who came? ♪ ♪ Ruined sinners to reclaim ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, what a Savior! ♪ ♪ There in shame and scoffing grew ♪ ♪ In my place none empty stood ♪ ♪ Still my pardon with his blood ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, what a Savior! ♪ ♪ Guilty, vile, and helpless be ♪ ♪ Spotless Lamb of God ♪ All eyes open, and in me, Alleluia, what a Savior!
When up was He to die, His finish was His pride. Now in heaven exalted lie, Alleluia, what a Savior! Then he comes, our glorious King, All his ransomed home to bring. Then a new day's song we'll sing, Alleluia!
What a Savior! Ah! Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Heavenly Father, go with us now. We rejoice in the fact that we are able to gather on the Lord's Day Sabbath to worship Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and to reflect upon the riches and the excellencies of Jesus Christ. We do pray that you go with us into this upcoming week that having been saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, that we would, by Your aid, seek to live in light of our calling by grace, that we would live in light of so glorious a gospel. We do just pray that You would strengthen us by Your Spirit to do so, and that we might even throughout this week, each and every day, rejoice and reflect upon the glories of our Savior, His doing, His dying, His rising again.
So do go with us now, and bring us back again in a week's time to do this all again, that we might render unto you the honor and the praise that is due your Most High Name. And we pray in the name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, please be seated.
We'll have a brief time of prayer, and then when the piano's finished, you're dismissed.