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Return in your Bibles to Luke 
chapter 23. Luke chapter 23, we are going to return to Galatians 
probably in the month of October to take up Galatians chapter 
6. I did want to look at this particular instance this evening, 
a passage that we have considered in the past, one I hope that 
we will consider often, the thief on the cross and his conversion 
to Christ. I just want to read, beginning 
at verse twenty-six of Luke, chapter twenty-three. 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 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 
nurse. 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 us pray. Father, 
we thank you for this account and we pray that you would encourage 
our hearts that we would see Jesus Christ and all of his saving 
power and in all of his glory and all of his ability. And our 
Father, may we indeed love him and worship him and adore him 
with all that is in us. How we praise you, God, for this 
Lord of glory. How we praise you for this Savior 
and how we pray that his gospel would be preached from sea to 
sea and that he would indeed have dominion, that he would 
indeed build his church and the gates of hell not prevail against 
it. How we praise you, God, for your mercy and your grace. We 
ask now that you would fill us with your spirit and we pray 
in Jesus' holy name. Amen. Well, as I said, this is 
a wonderful account I hope that we're all familiar with, one 
that we refresh our souls with constantly and regularly. We 
always need to keep Christ fresh in our minds and in our hearts, 
and it's wonderful that we have the gospel accounts. to set him 
before us in his saving ability, in his saving power. There's 
two broad observations that I want to make on this section tonight. 
First, the conversion of the thief, and secondly, the response 
of the Savior. The conversion of the thief, 
and then secondly, the response of the Savior. If we look at 
the conversion of the thief, we'll note that it's this man's 
11th hour. We often use that sort of a language 
to speak of that time right before death. He is in the 11th hour. He is getting ready to die. Matthew 
27 and verse 44 and Mark 15 32 reveals to us that both criminals 
were continuously reviling the Lord Jesus. But this particular 
one, sometime while he was on the cross, sometime while he 
was being crucified, this glorious change came over him. God the 
Spirit came upon him and changed his heart to embrace the Lord 
of Glory. But barring that, consider for 
a moment, he woke up that morning knowing that he was going to 
be punished capitally for crimes. engaged in criminal activity 
in the Roman Empire, and they were delivering them up to be 
executed. I mean, that was the day that 
was before him. This is truly an eleventh hour. The man woke in the morning to 
justly suffer for his crimes, and he was as close to hell as 
humanly possible. Had he passed from this life 
into the next, apart from Jesus Christ, he would have went into 
eternal fire. Albert Barnes says this of this 
particular instance. This was a case of repentance 
in the last hour, the trying hour of death. And it has been 
remarked that one was brought to repentance there to show that 
no one should despair on a dying bed. In other words, this is 
a good example that we can bring to other sinners in the eleventh 
hour. We can show them that God, in 
his mercy and in his grace, snatched this man alive, or snatched this 
man unto himself, prior to his entrance into hell. But Barnes 
continues and says, and but one, that none should be presumptuous 
and delay repentance to that awful moment. So, yes, while 
God may indeed save in the eleventh hour, it is presumptuous to live 
that way. It is sinful, it is arrogant, 
it is rebellious, and it is not counting the fact that you are 
just a vapor. You're here for a time. and then 
you vanish away. So that's the larger context. Now, as we consider the conversion 
of the thief, let's note five particular things that happened 
to this man while he is being crucified. The first is that 
he manifests concern for others. He manifests concern for others. 
At one time, both men are reviling our Lord. But this change comes 
upon this particular thing. He is converted. He is brought 
to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus. And in verse thirty 
nine, it says, 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, At this particular time, 
he not only manifest concern for this particular man, but 
he's ultimately concerned for the glory of God in the face 
of Jesus Christ. He does not want to hear the 
blasphemy, and he directs his brother to consider the Lord, 
to consider the events, to consider what's going on. And I think 
those of us who, by God's grace, have gone out of darkness into 
marvelous light, hopefully that's something of our burden as well. 
Manifesting concern for others, seeking to reprove blasphemy, 
seeking to point people to the Lord of glory, seeking to direct 
them to consider their place before a holy God and what they 
justly deserve. Notice, secondly, he fears God's 
judgment. Again, this is a good sign. What 
we find in Romans chapter three, that is indicative or characteristic 
of the unregenerate, is that there is no fear of God before 
their eyes. Not so with this particular thief. Do you not even fear God? What's the implication this thief 
now does? This thief has been taught to 
his grace that taught my heart to fear. John Newton wrote, certainly 
from Jeremiah 32, God says, I will put the fear of me in their hearts 
and they will never depart from me. Do you not even fear God 
seeing you under the same condemnation? Notice, thirdly, he owns his 
guilt for sin. This is the sign of God's grace. 
Notice what he doesn't say, hey, I need a crack attorney, I'm 
up here. for the wrong reasons. I've been framed. This is bad. This isn't right. It wasn't me. No, he says. Do you not even 
fear God seeing you under the same condemnation? And we indeed 
justly, for we receive the due reward of our sins. He embraces 
capital punishment for his crime. He acknowledges the justice and 
the justness of this act of punishment. He is called a robber in Matthew 
27, verses 38 and 44. He's called a robber in Mark 
15 and verse 27. In Mark 15 at verse 7, when it's 
speaking about Barabbas, here is what we read. And there was 
one named Barabbas who was chained with his fellow rebels. They 
had committed, notice, murder in the rebellion. See, Barabbas 
was to be crucified with these two thieves. These three men 
worked in cahoots together. These three men were compadres. They were partners in crime. 
Barabbas, as you remember, was released by Pilate. When he says, 
what do you want me to do with Barabbas? What do you want me 
to do with this man? They said, away with him, away 
with him, crucify him, but rather give us Barabbas. So, you see, 
there were going to be three crucifixions on that particular 
day. But Barabbas is taken out and 
Jesus is put in. And these two thieves on either 
side were robbers, but also participated in murder. They were wretched, 
ungodly, horrible men. The notorious prisoner Barabbas 
and his two companions. They were justly sentenced to 
death by the Roman state. And this man now sees the justness 
of it. That is a blessed reality that 
happens as a result of God's grace. We no longer argue with 
Him. We no longer try to barter with 
Him. We no longer try to say, you 
know, it's not as bad, God, as you say it is. You know, certain 
times you'll hear preaching and the Spirit might begin to convict 
you and you might begin to start making excuses. Well, no, it's 
not quite as bad as that man says. It's not quite as bad as 
what the Scripture says. Well, genuine conversion or a 
work of God's grace finds the sinner owning his wretchedness, 
finds the sinner like that publican beating his breast, not even 
being able to look up into heaven and saying, God be merciful to 
me. Literally, the sinner. Paul, the apostle on the road 
to Damascus, learned this particular truth. Every man that has come 
to grips with Jesus Christ and his saving grace realizes what 
he is apart from God and his mercy. He doesn't argue about 
it. He doesn't fight against it. He doesn't try to minimize 
it. This is the marker. This is one 
of the reasons or one of the areas where we ought to be concerned. 
We're always trying to define ourselves as better than we are. 
We're always trying to describe ourselves as more lawful and 
more righteous and more upright. You know, healing ultimately 
begins with recognizing the great malady that affects our souls. 
Healing always begins by realizing that we are as bad as the Bible 
says. And if we know our hearts rightly, 
we're even worse than the Bible says. When Paul calls himself 
the chief of sinners in 1 Timothy 1.15, Those who have come to 
God, those who understand something of sovereign grace, those who 
know conviction will want to almost wrestle with him for that 
particular title. Certainly, Paul, you can't be 
the chief of sinners. I believe that's something that 
should be said of me. Is that where you've been? Or 
do you always try to redefine it? You always try to find the 
loophole. You always try to promote your 
own self-righteousness. Always try to promote the fact 
that you're not as bad as robbers. You're not as bad as murderers. You're not as bad as child molesters. You're not as bad as kidnappers. You're not as bad as those men 
who run the civil office. Not this man. He owns his guilt 
for sin. We indeed, justly, for we receive 
the due reward of our deeds. This has a long history in the 
salvation of sinners. When Isaiah the prophet is brought 
face to face with the Lord of hosts, He cries out, Will is 
me, for I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips, and 
I live among a people of unclean lips. When Ezekiel is confronted 
with the glory of God, what does he do? Does he say, I'm okay, 
you're okay? Does he say, you know, I'm a 
pretty upright man, Lord? It says he fell at his feet as 
dead. Same thing with John the Apostle 
on the island of Patmos, when he sees the risen and the glorified 
Jesus Christ. What does John do? Does he say, 
let's have a cup of tea together, Lord? No, it says he fell as 
a dead man. That's what conviction of sin 
looks like. Now, I know some sensitive soul 
will say, I never actually fell on my feet as a dead, or fell 
on my face as a dead man. I'm not saying every time and 
every instance always looks the same, but conviction of sin must 
have been there. We'll never see our need for 
the Savior until God shows us our sinfulness. And that's what's 
going on in this particular instance. He manifests concern for others. 
He fears God's judgment. Thirdly, he owns his guilt for 
sin. And fourth, notice he confesses the holiness of Christ. It's a beautiful thing. What 
God is doing on the cross here with this particular thief, this 
robber, this participant in the crime of murder is nothing more 
or nothing less than amazing and astounding. I mean, you might 
have been on the ground that day. If you knew this was actually 
happening, you might have reviled God. Why would you save him, 
Lord? You ever heard of a notorious 
criminal coming to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? But 
you respond. Praise God, from whom all blessings 
flow. Is that it? Really? Or do you 
say, I bet it's not really true? Maybe it isn't. Maybe you guys 
are fake. But what is your attitude like? It's almost this one-upmanship. Now, God should save me, because 
I'm a garden variety sinner. I mean, I'm a sinner. I'll own 
that. But I've always kept my lawn cut, I've always paid my 
taxes, I've done my civic duty, I've done jury duty, I've done 
all the things that I'm supposed to do. But these robbers, these 
murderers, these men that are wretched and vile to the core, 
how dare God save them? You're going to stumble with 
a man named Saul of Tarsus. You're going to have a real problem 
with the chief apostle, with that man whom God saved and dispatched 
to be the apostle to the Gentiles. What did he do while Stephen 
was being stoned to death? He stood by. He held the floats. He held the robes. Why did the 
men take their robes off when they stoned Stephen? Probably 
because it was hot. Right? You wouldn't wear your 
jacket in here tonight. You ever drive down the road 
on a day like this and see someone in their jacket and you wonder, 
what is the deal? How could you possibly wear a 
jacket? Well, I suspect that was what 
was going on at the stoning death of Stephen. They were hot, but 
also it inhibited their mobility. You can't throw a stone really 
hard, really accurately if you're bound up in rows. So they take 
off their robes and they lay them at the feet of a young man 
named Saul of Tarsus. It says that Saul of Tarsus was 
agreeing, he was consenting, he was in hearty approval of 
this act of murder upon Stephen, God's martyr. It's interesting, 
Paul uses the same word in Romans chapter 1, verse 32, who not 
only practiced these things, but give hearty approval to others, 
who consent to the wickedness of others. Brethren, God's grace 
is amazing. We sing that. We rejoice in that. We exalt in that. When we see 
it displayed, we ought not to revile God. It ought not to rise 
up in us. Well, why would God save that 
man? He's particularly beastly. What about King David of Israel? 
He did some pretty beastly things himself. And yet God's grace 
overcame even that man's sin. Reverend, this is glorious. He confesses the holiness of 
Jesus Christ. Notice in verse forty one, we 
indeed justly for we receive the due reward of our deeds. 
But this man has done nothing wrong. Now, that could be taken 
one of two ways. He has done nothing wrong to 
merit the cross. He has done nothing wrong in 
the sight of the Roman state such that he should be executed 
for a capital crime. But I think by this time, this 
thief knew better than he even spoke. This change came over 
him based on what we read, what we'll continue to see. And he 
understood something about the sinlessness and the perfection 
and the glory of Jesus Christ, the Lord. He joins the ranks 
of the seraphim who cry, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. Interesting, in the latter chapters 
of Luke, another heathen, another pagan, confesses the holiness 
of Christ. Three times does Pilate say, 
I find no guilt in this man. They sound theologically correct, 
don't they? This is what the writer of the 
Hebrews says. He's holy, harmless, and undefiled. Separate from 
sinners. You see, when you come to have 
dealings with God, not only is your sin obvious, but his purity 
is obvious. Not only is your sin highlighted, God's glory, God's 
perfection, God's purity is highlighted as well. That's what's happening 
on the cross. And then fifthly, with reference 
to the conversion of the thief, notice he calls upon the Lord 
Jesus. Then he said to Jesus, Lord, 
remember me when you come into your kingdom. Now, this statement 
alone deserves attention. How does he address it? He says, 
Lord, right. How does Jesus look at this particular 
time? Does he look like a Lord? I understand 
several weeks ago when I was away, Pastor Porter preached 
Pastor Porter preached from Revelation 19, that glorious picture of 
the warring Christ on his white horse, riding prosperously in 
truth, humility and righteousness, wielding that sword that proceeds 
from his mouth, which is the very word of God. That is a glorious 
and wondrous depiction of Christ making war against his enemies. Is that what this thief saw? No. This thief saw a bloodied, battered, 
Broken, burly man hung upon a cross. This man saw with the physical 
eye something that others were sneering at. The rulers sneered, 
saying, he saved others. Let him save himself if he is 
the Christ, the chosen of God. Little did they know that in 
that sneer, they were declaring the very truth that was going 
on right before their eyes. In the midst of agony, in the 
midst of woe, in the midst of his own eleventh hour, Christ 
is exercising that powerful salvation. But look at what this thief saw. 
He saw Jesus broken. The disciples previous had witnessed 
Jesus mighty miracles. They had watched Jesus walk on 
the water. They had seen Jesus say to the 
grave, Lazarus, come forth and then watch Lazarus come out. 
They had seen Jesus take a few fish and a few and a few waves 
and multiply it and feed great multitudes. They saw mighty miracles 
and wondrous deeds. They saw things that were absolutely 
incredible and amazing. Not so this. He saw a bloody, 
broken, bruised Savior hanging on the tree. Ryle says this. Ryle's sermon on this is called 
Christ's Greatest Trophy. This book called Holiness is 
a specific sermon or essay on this account, and it's called 
Christ's Greatest Trophy. Lyle says he only saw our Lord 
in agony and in weakness, in suffering and in pain. He saw 
him undergoing dishonorable punishment, deserted, mocked, despised, blasphemed. He saw no scepter, no royal crown, 
no outward dominion, no glory, no power, no signs of might. 
And yet the dying thief believed and looked forward to Christ's 
kingdom. He calls him Lord in this instance. And then notice, with reference 
to his statement here, he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when 
you come into your kingdom. This is Pat. He understood things. He understood there is a life 
after the physical life, isn't there? Lord, remember me when 
you come into your kingdom. He knew something a lot of people 
today don't give any thought to. They think that all we're 
in this life for is to make all we can, to do all we can, to 
enjoy all we can. They make bumper stickers that 
say things like, he who dies with the most toys wins. Oh, 
really? What is it that he wins? Jesus' 
bumper sticker, to speak foolishly, says that he What shall a man 
profit if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? This 
man looked beyond the physical. He thought in terms of eternity. 
He understood at least that much from the Old Testament. He believed 
the soul continues after physical death. Secondly, he recognized 
that Jesus was a Lord and that Jesus possessed a kingdom. Again, 
without all of the witness, without all of the palm, without the 
Revelation 19 declaration, without the walking on the water, the 
raising of the dead, the healing of the sick, the giving sight 
to the blind. Without all that, he knew that 
Jesus was a Lord who possessed a kingdom. He asks to be remembered. What's this mean? Casting himself 
upon divine mercy. He doesn't say, Lord, remember 
that my good outweighed my bad. Lord, remember that I did do 
a few nice things in my earthly sojourn. Sure, I was a robber. 
Sure, I participated in murderous insurrection. Sure, I was a real 
crime and a criminal. But, you know, Lord, I did do 
some certain things that I want you to remember. No, that's not 
it. He's casting himself fully upon 
the mercy of God most high. He is casting himself upon the 
mercy and the grace of Jesus Christ here. Calvin Calvin says, 
Lord, remember me. He says, I know not that since 
the creation of the world, there was a more remarkable and striking 
example of faith. I know not that since the creation 
of the world there was a more striking and remarkable example 
of faith. Lord, remember me when you come 
into your kingdom. He casts himself wholly upon 
Jesus. You see, that's what you need 
to do if you haven't done it. On the Day of Judgment, it's 
not going to do for you to say, well, you know, I gave some money 
over here. I did some nice deeds over here. I've got to try and 
I've got to try to make the scales tip in my favor. That's the religion 
of man. That's the logic of the devil. 
That is the philosophy of every religion apart from Jesus Christ. 
We've got to do enough good to counteract our bad. That's not 
Christianity. We're all bad. We sin. We're 
vile. It was a preacher in the 60s 
by the name of Brother Ralph Barnard, preached in the Southern 
Baptist churches. It's a powerful preacher, powerful 
Calvinistic preacher. And he spoke of the Southern 
drawl and he would preach in Southern churches and he would 
say the doctrine of total depravity means that you are plumb bad. That's it. Plumb bad through 
and through. If it isn't mercy, if it isn't 
grace, it's hell. And this dying thief cast himself 
upon the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, let's look at the 
response of the Savior. The thief says to Jesus, Lord, 
remember me when you come into your kingdom. What is Christ's 
response? This is instructive. This is 
helpful. This is hopeful. This is a display 
of the ability and power of our Lord Jesus. One man says Jesus 
himself is revealed as savior even while dying for the outcast 
and criminal who turns to him in faith. It's Christ's eleventh 
hour. It's Christ's time of woe. It's 
Christ's time of drinking the cup of God's wrath. Is he consumed 
in that? Is he caught up in that? Is he 
like us when we're affected or when we're hurting or when we're 
plagued or when we're tried or when we have trouble or when 
we have difficulty? We tend to focus simply and solely 
upon ourselves. Not so with Christ. Remember, 
they sneered, saying he saved others. That's what he's doing. 
That's what he's doing right before our very eyes. Notice 
the response of the Savior. First, he is a willing Savior. Jesus said to him. Does it reprove him? Does it 
rebuke him? Does it pretend that he doesn't 
hear him? We don't find Jesus ignore him. We don't find Jesus pretend like 
the man isn't there. That he hasn't addressed the 
question. Your kids ever asked you something and you didn't 
know the answer and you just ignored them? like they didn't 
even open their mouths? That's not what Christ does. 
Christ directs his attention to this particular man, the suffering 
Savior, the mocked-at Lord, the agonizing Son of Man. Even during 
the agony of the cross, just prior to the sixth hour, when 
darkness would come upon the land, Jesus is willing to save 
to the uttermost all that draw nigh unto God through him. He is a willing Savior. Secondly, 
he is an able Savior. Notice in verse 43. Assuredly, 
that word we met with this morning in Matthew 5. Amen. Verily, truly, assuredly, I say 
to you, Jesus underscores it. Jesus punctuates it. Jesus highlights 
it. Jesus boldfaces it. Jesus wants 
this man to know of a truth that these good things are going to 
be his particular lot. Assuredly, I say to you, today 
you will be with me in paradise." Notice how the thief posed the 
question. Lord, remember me when you come 
into your kingdom. That's the casting of oneself 
upon mercy. Lord, remember me when it's convenient 
for you, Lord. I don't want to try to jock you 
to the front of your priority list, Lord. I just want, in the 
annals of time, some point down the road, I want you to remember 
me, and if you are willing, accept me into your presence. Not so, 
Jesus. Assuredly, I say to you, today 
you will be with me in paradise. This is how we know that the 
Lord did not physically descend into hell for three days. Jesus 
cast his soul, or cast his spirit, into the hands of his Father. 
He's able to tell this converted thief that today you will be 
with me in paradise. In verse 35, it says that people 
and rulers sneered. And in verse 43, Christ is acting 
upon this particular statement. And then thirdly, he is a glorious 
savior. He is a glorious savior. Who's 
his last companion before his death? Doesn't this bear forth 
all that was said of him in his earthly ministry? Remember in 
Luke 15, This man receives sinners and eats with them. Absolutely. He did it in his life. He did 
it in his ministry. He does it in his death. He is 
glorious. He is saving to the uttermost, 
even in the most difficult time in his earthly existence. He 
is drinking the very cup of God's wrath. He is suffering hell on 
the cross, and he is saving to the uttermost. Paradise is ultimately 
paradise because of what he says here. Assuredly, I say to you, 
today you will be with me. You know what makes paradise 
paradise? It's not those pearly gates. 
It's not those streets paved with gold. It's not those beautiful 
gates. It's not all the beautiful people 
that are in that land. It's not the myriad of angels. 
Paradise is paradise because Christ is there. Christ is the 
glory of Emmanuel's land. Assuredly, I say to you today, 
you will be with me in paradise. Well, in conclusion, we learn 
a lesson about the Savior, don't we? I hope it's a lesson that 
you'll remember. I know it's hot. I realize that. I'm not immune to the heat myself. 
Sometimes when it's hot, our eyes get a little heavy. You 
might hear the buzz of the fans and it just seems to work on 
the psyche in such a way that it causes your eyelids to get 
heavy. But you need to see Christ in this passage. He is a willing 
Savior. He is an able Savior. He is a 
glorious Savior. Do not leave. Do not pillow your 
head tonight. Do not enter into another work 
week without first casting yourself upon the mercy of Jesus Christ. Paul says in Romans chapter 10, 
whoever believes on him will not be disappointed. You will 
never cast your soul upon saving grace, upon the mercy of God 
in Jesus Christ. And 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, 
30 years say, wow, I wish I never would have done that. That is 
absolutely inconsistent with the Christian life. The only 
thing I've ever heard is, I should have came to Christ a lot sooner. I should have looked to sovereign 
grace a lot sooner. If you have not come, if you 
have not tasted, if you have not seen that Christ is good, 
realize that if he's saving a robber, murderer on the cross, he is 
able, willing, and glorious to save you. There is a lesson in 
Luke 23 concerning the Savior. Secondly, there is a lesson about 
sovereign grace. A lesson about sovereign grace. Remember I said that morning 
this particular thief woke up. This particular thief knew that 
he had to die for his crimes against the Roman state. So did 
Barabbas. Barabbas woke up on that particular 
day, sentenced to the same death, ready to be executed. That green 
mile, if you will. These men were on the green mile 
waiting to be executed. Barabbas probably counted it 
as a wonderful stroke of luck to be freed from this particular 
deed, right? I mean, face it, you're in the 
eleventh hour, you're going to be executed, and then the crowd 
says, give us Barabbas, and away with him. You're probably secretly, 
inwardly, and publicly rejoicing. I was going to be crucified today, 
but now I get to go home, or I get to go rob and murder and 
carry on and do whatever it is I want to do. But you notice 
something about sovereign grace here. Notice how God is in control 
of all these things. Notice how God wants these things 
in such a way as to put this center right in the place where 
Christ is. What about the other thing? Didn't 
he make these remarkable discoveries about the person and work of 
Jesus Christ as well? It's grace. Sovereign mercy, 
so we say the number 96, it's not that I did choose the Lord 
for that could never be. If you hadn't chosen me, we wouldn't 
be in this place of great blessing. This narrative not only demonstrates 
the saving power of Jesus Christ, but the fact that that power 
is not ultimately applied to everyone. Matthew Henry says 
this gives no encouragement to any to put off their repentance 
to their deathbed or to hope that they shall find mercy. For 
though it is certain that true repentance is never too late, 
it is as certain that late repentance is seldom true. Back to that 
whole idea of the 11th hour and the way that we started. It's 
in there to show so you don't despair. There's only one instance 
so that you don't presume. You're ultimately dependent upon 
grace, mercy. Salvation isn't like a light 
switch. We just flip it on when we're ready for it. Salvation 
isn't simply like our water fountain that we just flip on when we're 
ready for it. It is God's doing, it is God's 
mercy, it is God's grace. And then thirdly, there is a 
lesson here about salvation. Salvation is never by works, 
is it? This man had no works. This man 
had no contribution, he had no covenant faithfulness, he had 
no ability to seal the deal that was initiated by Jesus Christ. It was solely grace alone, through 
faith alone, in Christ Jesus alone. The thief was never baptized. Now, this shouldn't be an argument 
against baptism. You know, you meet that sometimes. 
People are sort of unsure. Pato Spranklinger, believers' 
baptism. Well, the thief was never baptized. 
That's not normative. That's not descriptive. That 
is not to be our pattern for the Christian life. We are to 
believe and be baptized and to join Christ's church. But this 
particular point needs to be made. The thief was never baptized. He never joined the church. He 
never went to the Lord's table. He never engaged in acts of charity 
or service to the Lord. But he is with Christ in paradise. Salvation is by grace alone, 
through faith alone, in Christ the Savior alone. You cannot 
mistake that. You cannot miss that. You cannot 
evade that. William Cooper was bang on when 
he wrote, The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day. And here have I, as vile as he, 
washed all my sins away. Praise God for our Lord Jesus. Believe on Him, and see Him as 
that one alone who is able to save you from your sins. Well, 
let us pray. Father, thank You for the Word 
of God, and thank You for this account and the salvation of 
this thief. And we pray that we would be encouraged, that 
we would see and marvel at the glory of Jesus Christ saving 
on the cross. And our Father, I pray for any 
and all here that have not looked and lived, I pray that You would 
work in their hearts, God, that it would be grace that teaches 
them to fear, that it would be grace that would promote conviction 
for sin and that realization that Christ alone can save. Father, 
do that work, Father, and do that for your glory and for your 
honor. And we pray that you would go 
with us now into this week, grant us grace to shine as lights in 
a crooked and perverse generation and to hold forth the word of 
truth. And we pray in Jesus' name, amen.