← Back to sermon library

If you would, would you turn 
your Bibles, please, to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 23? Tonight, we will focus on the 
thief on the cross, which is found in verses 39 to 43, but 
I will read verses 32 to 49 to set the context. Let us begin. And there were also two other 
criminals led with him to be put to death. And when they were 
come to the place, which is called Calvary, There they crucified 
him and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other 
on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they 
know not what they do. And they parted his raiment and 
cast lots. And the people stood beholding. 
And the rulers also with them derided him, derided him saying, 
he saved others, let him save himself. if he be the Christ, the chosen 
of God. And the soldiers also mocked 
him, coming to him and offering him vinegar, and saying, if thou 
be the king of the Jews, save thyself. And a superscription 
also was written over him in letters of Greek and Latin and 
Hebrew, this is the king of the Jews. And one of the criminals, 
which were hanged, railed on him, saying, if thou be the Christ, 
save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked 
him, saying, Do you not fear God, seeing that 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 wicked. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, 
Remember me when you come into your kingdom.' And Jesus said 
unto him, Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in 
paradise. And it was about the sixth hour, 
and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 
And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent 
in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with 
a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. 
And having said thus, he gave up the ghost. Now when the centurion 
saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this man 
was a righteous man. And all the people that came 
together to that site, beholding the things which were done, smote 
their breasts and returned. And all his acquaintance and 
the woman that followed him from Galilee stood afar off, beholding 
these things." Well, let us pray. To your Heavenly Father, we just 
thank you so much for this Lord's Day, God, that we can come and 
worship you. We can come and give you praise 
and honor for the wonderful work on the cross done by our Lord 
and Savior, Jesus Christ. We know this was done out of 
your mercy and your kindness and according to your wise and 
holy counsel, Lord God. We know this is done according 
to your justice and to your holiness as well. We just praise you so 
much, God, that you save sinners like us this day and many days, 
Lord God. We just thank you that we can 
lean upon one who was perfect, who did not transgress the law 
as we do, Lord God. We are found condemned justly 
under your law, under your judgment, yet this one died in our stead. And we want to give you praise 
and honor for these things. I pray today that sinners would 
be saved, Lord God. I pray that saints would be edified, 
and ultimately, Lord God, that you would be glorified. I do 
not want to speak today if you are not with me, and I pray that 
you would be with me today, Lord God, for I feel very inadequate 
and I need thy strength. Lord God, help us by your Spirit. 
Give me strength by your Spirit. Open up hearts today, Lord God, 
that we might see the truth concerning you. We might see the truth concerning 
Scripture, and we might learn some wonderful things about your 
free and sovereign grace this day. Father God, we pray that 
you would forgive us of our sins for transgressing those 10 words 
each and every day, each and every hour, and each and every 
second, Lord God. Again, we praise you for your 
goodness and your kindness towards us. We pray that you protect 
each and every one of us, help our minds to be focused on the 
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We pray all these things for 
the glory of your name and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
Amen. I just want to read three stanzas 
of hymn 175 before we begin. Man of sorrows, what a name! For the Son of God who came. For the Son of God who came. Ruined sinners to reclaim. Hallelujah! What a Savior! Bearing shame and scoffing rude. In my place condemned he stood, 
sealed my pardon with his blood. Hallelujah! What a Savior! Guilty, vile, and helpless we, 
spotless Lamb of God was he. Full atonement? Can it be? Hallelujah. What a Savior. The reason I share these first 
lines of this, of Hymn 175 with you today is because this song 
has been in my mind for the past two weeks since I've studied 
this. You can ask my wife this. As I open the fridge, I'm humming 
along to it. I must confess I didn't know 
all the words at that time, I would shout, man of sorrows, what a 
name, and then quietly simmer down and hum just the tune to 
it. But there's one thing I always 
remembered. Savior. What a Savior. We find ourself in the context 
of the crucifixion of our Lord. He's battered, bloody, and bruised. And he's different than all of 
the saviors that the world seeks out. He is one who is glorious, 
one who's wonderful, and one who's just and good and righteous 
and holy. And yet during this time of the 
crucifixion, Luke enhances something, or gives us a story concerning 
the interaction with the two criminals that he was crucified 
with. And we normally call it the Thief on the Cross, and this 
is exactly how I've titled it today. But if we pay attention, 
there are actually three criminals crucified that day. Three of 
them were tried and condemned as criminals. Two justly and 
one unjustly. And this is how I've divided 
up the sermon today. So we will look at them under 
three considerations. Criminal number one, the wretched 
one. That's verse 39. Criminal number 
two, the repentant one, that's verses 40 to 42, and the righteous 
one, verse 43. So let us look at that first 
criminal. One of the criminals having been 
hung. Matthew and Mark tell us that 
these men were thieves. Now, thievery was not necessarily 
punishable by death at this time, so Gill points out that they 
may have committed murder at the same time. As we know, Barabbas 
was a noted murderer who was sentenced to death. Obviously, 
he was released, and our Lord was sentenced to that death. 
I just want us to give us a reminder of the pain of the crucifixion 
that went on. And crucifixion was reserved 
for the worst of criminals. The worst of criminals. It was 
a slow, painful process, and the Romans did it to set an example 
so that other people would think twice before they engage in any 
sort of criminal activity. What they would do, I'm sure 
you know this already, but I remember learning something interesting 
about it that just changed the way I thought about it. Obviously, 
they would nail their feet together on that cross. But what I learned 
a couple years ago, as we know, we see pictures of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, and we see nails driven through his hands. And I believe 
that could be the case, that is a possibility. But I have 
learned in other areas that it may have been driven through 
the two bones right in the wrist to hold him up. And it wasn't 
simply just like this. They held them up. and they had to lift themselves 
up in agony and pain in order to get just a breath. This wasn't 
like today, where criminals get to go to prison and watch Sesame 
Street and eat their cookies and have tea. We spend millions 
of dollars on those guys. It was a painful process. A painful process. And this is what makes His comments 
toward our Lord, utterly wretched. Utterly wretched, verse 39, was 
slandering him, saying, are you not the Christ? Save yourself 
and us. Was slandering. It's continuous. He started, so he had done it 
for a long period of time. He kept deriding our Lord. And the word itself is actually 
blasphemy. He's blaspheming our Lord and 
Savior, Jesus Christ. Now, if I had to make a list 
of the top five most wretched people on the planet, I think 
he would be in there for me. I think Hitler would be there. 
I'm sure I should probably say myself would be there. I'm sure 
one day if my wife and I have some kids, I'll probably put 
them in there as well. But nonetheless, this guy ranks up there. Listen 
to Calvin. Calvin points out how wretched 
this man is because even in the midst of his torments, he does 
not cease fiercely to foam out his blasphemies. As we will see 
in a moment, he's been tried and condemned justly. Yet, he still utters blasphemy 
against a fellow sufferer. A fellow sufferer. And notice 
as well the progression of the blasphemy. Verse 35, the Jewish 
leaders. Verse 37, the Roman soldiers. And on verse 39, even this criminal. 
Even this criminal. Now the word not in the text 
suggests a bitter taunt, and the word is expecting the answer 
to be yes. Not only that, to save is an 
imperative. He's commanding our Lord to save 
him. He's commanding our Lord to save 
him. And I think this shows something 
of this man's desire for physical salvation. As much as he's taunting 
our Lord, there's an element of selfishness there. Save yourself 
if you have the power to do it. Why don't you save yourself and 
us? Save yourself and us. But if we really think about 
it, When our physical life is saved, 
it's not really saved, is it? It's more prolonged. So even 
if the Lord did save him from the cross, he would eventually 
die, whether it be old age or some other various circumstance 
that could come. And this highlights the difference 
between spiritual death physical death. There is a difference 
between physical death and spiritual death. Physical death is the 
passageway into eternity. Physical death is that passageway 
into eternity. And there are two ways to either 
be spiritually saved or spiritually die. And we'll see that in a 
moment. We see an excellent, excellent 
display of the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now, 
I couldn't help but think of this man's desire for physical 
salvation and relate it to a modern example. He wants a physical 
example of this man's power. Unfortunately, sometimes that 
goes on in our church, not our church, but in that church today. Does it not? People are more 
concerned with physical healing than they are about spiritual 
healing. And in Matthew's gospel, the 
scribes and Pharisees say that if he saves himself, then we 
will believe him. I remember talking to a lady 
at our former church about what the church needed for young people. 
And she asked me what I thought about that and what I thought 
the church needed. And I said to her, I think it 
needs truth, sound doctrine, and expository preaching. And 
while I said that, she interrupted me and said, no, people need 
to see healings. and not and they need to see 
the Lord at work and not the idea of understanding but actually 
physically seeing the Lord. We don't need physical salvation. We need spiritual salvation. 
The only way we can get that is through our Lord and Savior 
Jesus Christ. I want you to notice as well 
the response of our Lord There isn't a response of our Lord. 
Turn with me to 1 Peter 1 verse 20. 1 Peter 1 verse 20. who verily was foreordained before 
the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last 
times for you, who by him do believe in God, that raised him 
up from the dead and gave him glory, that your faith and hope 
might be in God. Seeing ye have purified your 
souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit, unto unfeigned love 
of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure 
heart fervently, being born again not of corruptible seed, but 
of incorruptible seed. Excuse me. 2 verse 20. Sorry, my bad. Chapter 2 verse 
20. I felt a little weird reading 
that. For what glory is it, if when you be buffeted for your 
faults ye shall take it patiently? But if, when you do well and 
suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called, 
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example 
that ye should follow his steps. who did no sin, neither was guile 
found in his mouth. When he was reviled, reviled 
not again. When he suffered, he threatened 
not, but he committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. who his own self bore our sins 
in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, 
should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes you were healed. For you were as sheep going astray, 
but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls." 
Hallelujah! What a Savior! You know what 
I would have said to that guy? What do you think I'm doing, 
you idiot? Of course I'm saving people right now. It's wretched and vile and it's 
wrong. This man did. It just shows the 
dark hearts that permeate through people. And we all understand 
that, who are believers now, we know the sinfulness in our 
heart and the wonderful blessedness of the Savior. But if you are 
an unbeliever today, this remains true of you, that you do have 
a dark heart, a sinful heart, and you've sinned against the 
Lord God Most High. Now let us look at the repentant 
one. Criminal number two, verses 40 to 42. May I say right off the bat, 
what an amazing display of the free and sovereign grace of our 
Lord. Of the free and sovereign grace 
of our Lord. He saves one, yet not the other. And we will look at the one whom 
he saves right now. verse 40, but having answered 
the other, he rebuked him. He rebuked his comrade. He rebuked 
him. He chided him. What are you doing? Do you not know what you are 
saying? I wish I had the courage that 
he did. I really do. I'm kind of a pansy sometimes. 
I don't have enough courage to stand up to people when they 
blaspheme our Lord. I have to be honest with you. 
One of the commandments that I've been thinking about a lot 
lately is that taking the Lord's name in vain. I've been hearing 
a lot. Hearing it a lot. And every time, 
it just grinds my gears. And that's because of the work 
of the Lord God Most High. It's nothing within me, but it's 
the Lord God Most High that does that. And people do it so flippantly. I'm a landscaper for what I do 
now until we moved to California. And we have a policy. If there's 
dog business in someone's yard, we don't mow it. So one time, 
a lady whose yard I skipped came and found me. And she asked me 
to come and back and do the yard if she cleaned it up. And so 
I walked back to do the yard. And I said, oh, there's a few 
more pieces. She goes, Jesus! Jesus! Over doggy doo-doo. Again, pansy coming out again. I didn't say anything, but I 
should have. Do you not know what you are saying? Do you know 
what words you are saying? Do you not know who it is you 
blaspheme? And so quickly? And look at our penitent friend, 
he rebukes him. What an excellent example of 
one who does it also in a kind and gentle way, because I probably 
wouldn't have done it in a kind and gentle way. But I just, before 
I go any further, I just want to look at an issue that may 
come up as you're reading the other Gospels. It could be that 
there's a contradiction between Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Because 
in Matthew and Mark's gospel, it says that both the criminals 
taunted him. In my studies, I came across 
two explanations. The first revolves around the 
Greek language. The word employed in Mark's gospel, 
the force behind it focuses on the classes of men, that even 
robbers would revile him. Even robbers 
would slander him. And we sometimes speak in this 
way today as well. If the whole nation is watching 
Canada go for the gold, is it really true that the entire nation, 
every single person is watching Canada go for the gold? I gotta 
be honest, I didn't watch it. So there's one example. So that's 
one explanation, that the force of the word focuses on the categories 
of men, and that's exactly what it's called, a categorical plural. And that's one explanation. The 
other is this, that they reviled, he reviled first, and then repented. They were crucified at nine, 
darkness came around noon until three. That's six hours. I mean, you don't have a whole 
lot of time to do anything else when you're up there. You have 
time to think about what's going on. Time certainly flies when 
you're having fun. I'm sure it's not flying very 
much when you're hanging on the cross. So I'm sure he had lots 
of time to think. And even, too, relating back 
to how our Lord did not respond and how Pilate was amazed that 
our Lord did not respond, maybe this man was amazed as well that 
our Lord did not respond. That's not necessarily explicit 
there, it's just something I thought of, but that could be the case 
as well. That could be the case as well. 
And notice what he says to him, how he rebukes him. Do you not 
fear God, since you are under the same condemnation, and I'll 
add a qualification, under the same condemnation as I? since you are not, since you 
are under the same condemnation as I." And this refers, I think, 
to the conviction of sin, especially in light of him being tried and 
found justly condemned. I think Gill amplifies these 
words actually very well. Will thou do the same as the 
priests and the soldiers, and show that thou art an impious 
wretch, Now thou art just going out of the world, and neither 
fears God nor regards man, and art without compassion to a fellow 
sufferer, adding sin to sin." Adding sin to sin. He's been 
tried and condemned, and yet he still doesn't fear God. And that relates, I think, even 
though he's tried and condemned physically, I think there's a 
relationship as well to spiritually. He's been tried and condemned, 
and he's been found guilty before the Lord God Most High. And the 
repentant one is rebuking the wretched one for that. Unbeliever 
today, this is true of you as well. You are found condemned 
justly for what it is that you have done. And look at his repentance in 
verse 41. And we indeed deservedly. And we indeed deservedly. He confesses his sin. He confesses 
his sin before in the eyes of our Lord and before the Lord 
and before his comrade. And we indeed deservedly, for 
the suitable things that we committed, we are receiving what is due. And look at this as well, when he 
repented. I just find, again, an excellent 
example of faith and repentance in this one man. He did not complain. that he 
was placed there because of a false accusation. He didn't make up 
excuses for why he's there. He just said, I did it, and I'm 
wrong. And there's no other way that 
that could happen except by the regenerating work of the Holy 
Spirit in this man's life. We indeed deserve it. They were deserved, both of them. 
They both deserve what they're getting right now. They both 
deserve that. Again, this highlights the idea 
of physical versus spiritual conviction. He understood that God was over the magistrate 
and that his sin was against the Lord God Most High. He understood 
something of that gill. For sins committed against the 
law, our sentence is just. We are righteously punished, 
which shows that he had a true sense of sin. he had a true sense 
of sin. Is this not what repentance is? 
The change of mind concerning what sin is and who our Lord 
and Savior Jesus Christ is? And even the men in the Scholastic 
era, I believe that's, I can't remember the timeframe for that, 
but they defined it in such a way that he had deep anguish and 
remorse, deep anguish and remorse over his sin. Do we not fear God in our own 
lives sometimes? Do we not understand the seriousness 
of sin? It is a serious, serious thing. Very serious thing. And I know 
I've been convicted of that too often, often, often. And again, a good example for 
us of one who didn't complain. How is it when we get a speeding 
ticket? We usually try to think of excuses. Oh, we were going 
with traffic, or I had to get somewhere very quickly. How about 
we just say, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I was speeding. 
Give me what is due to me. Sometimes we just get our knickers 
in a twist because of little things. How about we just say 
we're sorry and repent? I pray the Lord would give us 
strength and that gift of repentance to do that, both for salvation, 
unto salvation, also in our sanctification as well. And we see something 
of his confession about what he thought of our Lord and Savior 
in verse 41. Oh, but this one committed nothing 
wicked. This one committed nothing wicked. This one who's being condemned 
with us, who's been punished with us, who is suffering with 
us, has done nothing wrong. And I think this is Luke's point. This bruised, battered, and bloody 
Savior is innocent, is perfect. If we notice in verse 32, he's 
highlighting the criminals went with him. Verse 33, the criminals 
were crucified on either side. Verse 39, the criminal blasphemed 
him. and in verse 23 at verses 1 to 
4, highlighting his innocence. And the whole multitude of them 
arose and led him unto Pilate. And they began to accuse him, 
saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation and forbidding 
to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a king. And Pilate asked him, saying, 
Art thou the king of the Jews? And he answered him and said, 
Thou sayest it. Then said Pilate to the chief 
priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man. Verse 14. And Pilate, or verse 
13, anyone? And Pilate, when he had called 
together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, said 
unto them, ye have brought this man unto me as one that perverted 
the people. And behold, I have examined him 
before you. Have found no fault in this man 
touching those things where ye accuse him. Verse 47, the acknowledgment 
of the centurion in verse 47. Now when the centurion saw what 
was done, He glorified God, saying, certainly this was a righteous 
man. In another translation, it was 
an innocent man. Do we not have so great a high 
priest who is not unable to sympathize with our weakness, but was tested 
as we are, yet without sin? He became sin, who knew no sin, 
that we might become the righteousness of God. God, in His justice, 
would have been legit to send us all to eternal damnation. 
Yet He sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 
to redeem those who are under the law. And he had to be perfect. He did. The only way to satisfy 
a perfect God is for a perfect sacrifice. We needed our Savior 
to live the law in perfection and die as that perfect sacrifice. He was innocent. And that is 
Luke's point. This Savior is innocent. Hallelujah, 
what a Savior. Hallelujah, What a Savior! Again, what a remarkable instance 
of free and sovereign grace in this confession and repentance 
of faith. Again, Calvin highlighting the 
work of God in this. For it was not by the natural 
movement of the flesh that he laid aside his fierce cruelty 
and proud contempt of God, so as to repent immediately. But he was subdued by the hand 
of God, as the whole scripture shows, that repentance is his 
work. Salvation really is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. Now verse 42, this man's confession 
of faith. We've seen his rebuke, we've 
seen his repentance, and now we see his confession of faith. Jesus. Some translations say, 
Lord, remember me. Jesus, Lord, remember 
me. Notice what he didn't ask for. 
Physical salvation. He didn't ask for physical healing. Not saying that's bad to ask 
for physical healing. But he asked to be remembered. 
Remember me, Lord, when you go into your kingdom. Remember me, 
Lord, when you go into your kingdom. And this idea of remember me, 
Reinecker and Rogers, two grammarians. If you actually are into language 
studies, they have an excellent little book to help you with 
understanding the Greek language. It's very short, very concise, 
and they have some excellent insights into the ancient language. They kind of sound like a show 
as well. Reinecker and Rogers is next. 
But no one would go because they teach Greek, but I would go. 
This is what they say concerning Remember Me. A prayer petition 
found on gravestones that one be remembered at the resurrection. Remember me, Lord. Remember me, 
Lord. After he repents, who does he 
cling to? The Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, 
the only one that can save him from his sins. Now this is an, 
if you're ever thinking about an example where faith is the 
instrument by which the Lord God grants us acceptance into 
his kingdom, look no further than this man. He only lived 
for, like, what, three more hours, potentially, three to six more 
hours, maybe. And this is an excellent example 
to combat the workspace theologies of Rome, of the new perspective, 
N.T. Wright and some of his colleagues, 
and even some other men known as the federal vision within 
reform circles. They mix justification and sanctification. This man was sanctified only 
for a couple hours, but he was justified fully. He was justified. He was clothed with the righteousness 
of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He says, remember me 
when you go into your kingdom. Remember me when you go into 
your kingdom. He understood something of this 
Savior. He understood something of this 
man that was crucified beside him. That this one was an eternal 
King. Christ has a kingdom. Christ has authority in that 
kingdom. Christ has the power to save 
those of His kingdom. And Christ has a kingdom that 
has no end. Christ has a kingdom that has 
no end. And this is the poster boy for 
faith. Calvin highlights how this man 
even exceeded the apostles. The apostles sought a temporal 
kingdom. This one sought an eternal kingdom. Here's Calvin. It's a lengthy 
quote, but I'd like to read it. A robber who not only had not 
been educated in the school of Christ, but by giving himself 
up to execrable murders, had endeavored to extinguish all 
sense of what was right, suddenly rises higher than all the apostles 
and the other disciples whom the Lord himself had taken so 
much pains to instruct. And not only so, but he adores 
Christ as king while on the gallows, celebrates his kingdom in the 
midst of shocking and worse than revolting abasement, and declares 
him, when dying, to be the author of life. To be the author of 
life. He looked upon a broken savior 
and believed. He looked upon a broken Savior 
and believed. Calvin also gives us an admonition 
concerning this as well, a warning. If this thief believed on a crucified 
Savior, woe to our sloth! If we do not behold him with 
reverence, while sitting at the right hand of God, he has died, 
he has rose again, and he now sits at the right hand of God, 
according to Hebrews. If we do not fix our hope of 
life on his resurrection, if our aim is not towards heaven 
where he has entered, woe to our sloth. An excellent example of faith 
in the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And finally, the third 
criminal, the righteous one. Verse 43, obviously he's not 
a criminal, but he is the righteous one. He was tried and condemned 
as one. His response to this one who claimed to him, look 
at his goodness. Truly, I say to you, you will 
be with me in paradise. Truly, I say to you, you will 
be with me in paradise. An exhibition of Christ's authority 
is in. Truly, truly, I say to you. He could have said, sure. Yes. Yet, while this one was suffering, 
notice what he says. You will be with me In paradise. I'm not talking 
about Fiji, or Tahiti, or wherever your paradise is. If you think 
Chilliwack, it's totally allowed. You will be with me in paradise. Look at His goodness in that. 
We have a spiritual Savior. I can just picture that thief 
sighing in relief if only but for a moment, you'll be with 
me in paradise. Oh, what a wonderful picture, 
he says. The word paradise is used in 
the Greek translation of the Old Testament to refer to Eden. 
In the New Testament, it means that celestial city, Revelation 
2.7, the paradise of God. Again, Reinecker and Rogers commenting 
on this. It's a Persian word used in Judaism 
as the abode of the redeemed between death and resurrection, 
between death and resurrection, you will be with me in paradise. And notice what makes paradise 
so incredibly wonderful. You will be with me. You will be with me. Why would you want to go to paradise 
if our Lord and Savior is not there? This is what makes death 
such a wonderful passageway into eternity for believers. It is 
an encouragement for us as believers, when we're suffering and trudging 
through life, that one day we will be with our Savior in paradise. where there'll be no more sin, 
no more pain, and no more sorrow. And I do long for that day. I 
do long for that day where I get to see my Savior. And notice, obviously, with the 
idea of Eden and Paradise relating to one another, Henry makes a 
comment concerning the relationship between the first Adam and the 
second Adam. In the second Adam, we are restored 
to all we lost in the first Adam. and more to a heavenly paradise 
instead of an earthly one. A heavenly paradise instead of 
an earthly one. We can go to a paradise where 
the law of God has been fulfilled and we cannot break it because 
of our Savior who did not break it. In Eden, there was that chance. If you eat from the tree of knowledge 
and good and evil, you will surely die. There's that condition there. As to steal the title from Barcelos' 
book, it's better than the beginning. It really is. This highlights something of 
the power of our Savior. Even in His weakness, our Savior 
still saves sinners. And not from physical death, 
although He has the power to do that, from spiritual death. Calvin sums this up wonderfully. And in this way, he shows that 
he was never deprived of the power of his kingdom. For nothing 
more lofty or magnificent belongs to a divine king than to restore 
life to the dead. Hallelujah, what a Savior. Hallelujah, what a Savior. And as I alluded to already, 
Jesus does have power to save that wretched one. But notice, 
he's carrying out the eternal plan according to the will of 
his Father. Luke 4, verses 34 and 35, Jesus 
demonstrates his power over demons. In Luke 5, verse 24, he heals 
that paralytic. And as we see in relationship 
to the idea of the will of his Father, Luke 22, 42, the prayer 
at Gethsemane If not my will, Lord, let yours 
be done. Not my will, Lord, but yours 
be done. Acts 2, 23. When Peter is condemning 
the people of Israel, what does he say? You killed the Messiah. according to the plan of God 
the Father. According to the plan of God 
the Father. Our Lord and Savior is truly 
able to save for all time those who draw near unto Him. Gail also admonishing us upon 
this as well. This instance of grace stands 
on record not to cherish sloth, indolence, security, and presumption, 
but to encourage faith in this one and hope in sensible sinners 
in their last moments and prevent despair. This one was not in 
despair after he heard the words of our Lord and Savior, Jesus 
Christ. Hallelujah, what a savior. I just want to close with a few 
applicatory comments. There is a difference between 
physical death and spiritual death. There is that difference 
between physical death and spiritual death. Now, these guys, I know 
they're in a lot of pain, but you know, they knew their death 
was coming, which is kind of an interesting circumstance, 
isn't it? Normally, we're probably not going to know when we're 
going to die. We could be smacked. We could be hit. We could be 
shot. Something could happen. But we may or may not know when 
that's coming. They're hanging there, and they 
know it's coming. They can think about it. They can understand 
that. We may not be so lucky. I call you now to repent. Believe 
on the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Because physical death 
is inevitable. It is coming. And if you do not 
believe on him, spiritual death is coming as well. Why would 
you not believe on him and have everlasting life? Henry highlighting 
this idea of the difference between physical death and spiritual 
death. Note that there are some that have the impudence to rail 
at Christ and yet the confidence to expect to be saved by him, 
and conclude that if he does not save them, he is not to be 
looked upon as the Savior. That is not true. He can save 
you from spiritual death. Death is fixed, but the day is 
unknown until it's coming. Believe now on that Lord and 
Savior, Jesus Christ. Second comment. I think this 
is for believers. We need to learn how to rebuke 
and reprove those who blaspheme our Lord. We need to do it with 
meekness and with gentleness, which is something I struggle 
with sometimes. I just want to say to them, you're an idiot. 
But I thank the Lord I don't all the time. We need to do it 
with gentleness and respect. And we pray that the Lord would 
give us courage to do that. When someone utters a blasphemy 
against our Lord, do you not know what you are saying? Do 
you not fear God? Don't forget, we have the truth. 
They do not. Who cares what they have to say? 
We have the truth. It means to rebuke and reprove 
in meekness and gentleness. Thirdly, for believers as well, 
we need to develop, even for us, a right and holy fear of 
God and a proper understanding, I think, of the seriousness of 
sin. Our God is just. Our God is a consuming fire. 
But by His goodness, by His mercy, we can believe on Him. And we 
have, some of us have believed on Him and we are saved. Yet 
even in our daily lives, there is still a seriousness to sin. 
There is still a seriousness to sin. Praise the Lord God Most 
High that those sins are no longer covered. Nonetheless, we pray 
that we ask the Spirit to give us strength and aid in our sanctification 
that we might be conformed more and more to the image of the 
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Fourthly, an encouragement. Believers, 
you will one day be with our Lord in paradise. That makes 
me happy. You will be with our Lord in 
paradise one day. No more pain, no more sorrow, 
no more suffering, no more sin. Praise the Lord God Almighty. What a Savior. And fifthly, this is for unbelievers, 
and a good reminder for us as believers, the Lord saves the 
worst of sinners. The Lord saved the worst of sinners. If he can save a wretch like 
that guy, if he can save a wretch like me, he can certainly save 
a wretch like you. He certainly can do that. cast 
yourself upon the One who can take away your sins, who bore 
your shame and scoffing root, who procured full atonement. Believe on that One You will 
die in your trespasses and sins. Why would you not want to go 
to paradise? Why would you not want to go be with our Lord and 
Savior Jesus Christ? Believe on him now and do it 
now because I we don't know when death may come do it now Hallelujah 
what a Savior let us close in prayer Dear Heavenly Father, 
we just thank you for this day, Lord God. We just thank you for 
your immense grace upon us. We thank you for this wonderful 
work that you have done to save this sinner, Lord God, to save 
this wretch. And we know that you save wretches 
like us all the time. We give you praise and honor 
for those things. We thank you for your strength 
each and every day, Lord God. Help us to be conformed more 
and more to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ Give us boldness 
to rebuke those who contradict you who do not understand you 
help us to do with meekness and respect Lord God help us to have 
a healthy and holy fear of you and understand the seriousness 
of Sin, even in our in our justified lives Lord God can we praise 
you and give you honor for your goodness? goodness and kindness 
in sending the lord and savior jesus christ that that you procured 
justification you you atone for our sin in him we just thank 
you for that wonderful gift lord god we pray that you would strengthen 
us each and every day as we go out into the world lord god can 
help us to be conformed more and more into that image of the 
lord jesus christ help us to follow his example to look to 
him for aid and would you sanctify us by your holy spirit this day 
we thank you for an incredible savior lord god And we pray that 
you would be glorified, you would be lifted high, and all these 
things would happen according to the name of the Lord Jesus. 
Amen.