Luke chapter 23, a passage that we have considered before. I believe that familiar passages are familiar for a reason. It's good for us to go and drink again from wells that have refreshed us in the past. Tonight we're going to look at the thief on the cross, specifically chapter 23, verses 39 to 43, but I do want to begin reading in verse 26.
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 in 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 was also 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. Let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Father, thank you for this passage of Holy Scripture and thank you for the power of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not only is he powerful to save, he's willing to save. And now we testify collectively as a church that this is the case. We're not here because of our wisdom.
We're not here because of our goodness. We're not here because of our law keeping. We are here solely and alone because of the grace of God. Because you chose us in him before the foundation of the world.
And in the fullness of the time, you sent him forth, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those under the law. We thank you that you sent him to live and to die and to rise again. We praise you as well, Lord God, for the Holy Spirit, who has taken redemption accomplished, and he has applied it to us by grace and for your glory. We ask now that your spirit would guide our thoughts, help us to appreciate what is going on in the passage before us, prepare our hearts to participate in the Lord's Supper.
We thank you that as the householder, as the one who owns the church, you provide this meal to your people. We thank you for this means of grace. We thank you for this opportunity of communion and fellowship. We pray that in this you would be glorified and praised.
And even now we confess our sins to you. We ask for cleansing in the blood of the Lord Jesus. When we look at the standard of your perfect and holy law, we see how far short we have come. And we pray, wash us and purify us in that fountain that is open for sin and uncleanness.
And how we thank you for the blood of Jesus Christ in which we have redemption. We ask now that you would be with us and we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Introduction
Well, as I said, this is a very familiar passage and well it ought to be because it's so full. of encouragement and it displays to us that in the 11th hour of our Lord's life, we see him engaged in that blessed activity for which he came. Remember that Matthew's gospel in chapter 121, the angel announces that it is he who will save his people from their sins. He does that throughout the gospel records. He does that right before the time that he gives up his spirit or he commits his spirit to the Father.
I want to look at two broad categories this evening.
The Conversion of the Thief
First, the conversion of the thief, and then secondly, the response of the Savior. With reference to the conversion of the thief, we have two subheadings. First, the eleventh hour, and then secondly, the glorious change as we see what has come over this particular thief or this criminal, this notorious man. as the scripture elsewhere declares. Note first these two criminals.
We see this in verse 32. There were also two others, criminals, led with him to be put to death. When we compare the gospel records, we find out some interesting things about these particular men. Some of it is by implication, but I think it's a strong implication.
In Mark 15, you can turn there, just as we try and set this criminal in his particular context. When we translate it, thief, or we look only at that aspect, it seems a pretty severe sentence upon a thief. When crucifixion was applied, it was for the most notorious criminals. It was for the worst of the worst.
Typically, persons that walked into Walmart and stole things wouldn't have been crucified in the Roman Empire. So as we look at this and we understand the gravity of crucifixion, we need to understand the gravity of this particular man's crimes. Notice in Mark chapter 15 at verse 7, where it speaks specifically about Barabbas. Well, beginning in verse 6, now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested.
And there was one named Barabbas who was chained with his fellow rebels. They had committed murder in the rebellion. When the crowd cries out that they want Jesus to be crucified, they demand that Barabbas is released. Now Barabbas here, according to verse 7, is chained with his fellow rebels.
There were going to be three crucifixions on that particular day. and there still was three crucifixions. Only now, Barabbas had been released, and Jesus takes the center stage. Most likely, these criminals on either side of Christ are the men referred to here in the plural. He was chained with his fellow rebels, and note specifically what they had done.
They had committed murder in the rebellion. In Matthew 27, in verse 16, we learn that Barabbas was a notorious prisoner. We see these same sorts of emphases throughout the Gospel records on the gravity of the crime that Barabbas had engaged in. Again, probably these men on either side of the Lord Jesus would have been in this position no matter what happened on that particular day.
Only instead of Jesus being between them, it would have been Barabbas had all things gone the way it was planned. So the man on the cross is a great criminal. And the other gospel records, in Matthew 27 and verse 44, and then in Mark 15 and verse 32, it reveals that all or both of these criminals were continually reviling Jesus. It wasn't just the one.
If you look at verse 39 here in Luke 23, it says, Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed him, saying, If you are the Christ, save yourself and us. Look for a moment at Matthew 27 and verse 44. Matthew 27 verse 44, it says, even the robbers, plural, who were crucified with him reviled him with the same thing. The same thing is indicated in Mark 15 at verse 32.
It says, let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross that we may see and believe. Even those, plural, who were crucified with Him reviled Him. So you see, at a particular point in time, what we find is that this change comes over this man. In this particular time, what we see is the grace of God operative.
He goes from blasphemer to confessor of Christ as Lord and Savior. The thief confesses that he is just or that it is just with reference to his execution. He knows that he is deserving of this crime, this punishment, which we'll look at in just a moment. So
The Eleventh Hour
this man, in many respects, woke up that morning as close to hell as any man could possibly be. He was being executed for a notorious crime He would have died, he would have suffered judgment, and then he would have went on to everlasting punishment in the lake of fire. Matthew Henry says, this malefactor, when just ready to fall into the hands of Satan, was snatched as a brand out of the burning. Don't you love that turn of phrase?
We find that in the epistles. He was snatched as a brand out of the burning and made a monument of divine mercy and grace. And Satan was left to roar as a lion disappointed of his prey. This gives no encouragement to any to put off their repentance to their deathbed or hope that they then 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. We have an evidence or we have an indicator here not to produce despair. We'll have one instance so that we do not produce presumption. Matthew Henry goes on to say, none can be sure that they shall have time to repent at death, but every man may be sure that he cannot have the advantages that the penitent thief had, whose case was altogether extraordinary.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon commenting on the reality that there was this one deathbed conversion. He says, one is saved and we may not despair. The other is lost and we may not presume. So if you are outside of Christ this evening, do not wait for the 11th hour.
Do not wait until you are in such a predicament as this. The Gospel goes forth. The reality is that Christ came, sinners to save. Christ offered up His life as an atoning sacrifice, having fulfilled a perfect righteousness, so that all those who by the grace of God believe in Him will have everlasting life.
It is common for young people especially to want religion when they're older or to defer it until they are older. We come to young people and we say, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and they say such things as, well, you know I'm young and I'll think about it and then I'll perhaps repent or believe later on. Maybe they don't verbalize it quite like that, but that's certainly the indication that is going on in their hearts. You are not sure that there will be such a situation that this particular thief had.
You may be taken out without any warning whatsoever. You may die without any indication whatsoever. As Edward says, there are innumerable ways of wicked men going out of this world. Persons take lots of time and lots of energy to discipline their bodies and to train themselves in the gym and they eat properly and they've got muscles and they're fit and their cardiovascular system works perfectly and then they get into a car wreck and they're dead.
You are never sure of tomorrow. That's another lesson we learned from James Epistle. You ought not to boast about tomorrow. You are here for a bit and then gone.
You are like the vapor that comes out of the teapot. You see it only briefly and then it vanishes. Do not put off to the eleventh hour. Do not stay, do not wait, do not hesitate, do not reject the gospel.
Flee to the Lord Jesus. There is nothing more excellent in all the world than to be found in Him. Not having your own righteousness which is from the law, but having that righteousness which is from God through faith in Christ. There is nothing more excellent than having your sins forgiven.
To eat this bread and to drink this cup in the conscious remembrance that Christ's broken body and Christ's shed blood is what cleanses us from all unrighteousness. It is what restores us. It is what makes us whole. It is what makes us reconciled to God Most High.
There is nothing greater in the world than to be found in that position of safety. The Lord is a strong tower. The righteous by grace run to it and they find refuge there. Do not put off to the eleventh hour.
One is saved and we may not despair. The other is lost and we may not presume. We need to flee to the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to understand that we are sinners. that we are notorious criminals, that we have violated God, exceeding 10,000 talents in terms of our sins, and it is Christ alone who can bring us salvation and safety.
Five Marks of Glorious Change
Now note the particular change that this thief goes through. There are five things I want to look at. Five things briefly.
Concern for Others
First, he manifests concern for others. Notice in verse 39, the other criminal continues to blaspheme Christ. In verse 40, this one begins to rebuke him. That is a good indicator.
That is a good sign. When men are concerned about others, when men want to stop others in a course of sin, When men stand up and they say, it is wrong for you to say such things about this man, about the Lord Christ, a manifestation of concern for others is a good sign of God's grace at work in the heart. This is typical with new converts. Now this particular convert didn't have the ability to leave the cross, to leave this state of crucifixion, and to go about witnessing.
But isn't that the case when people get saved? Isn't it the reality that when sinners come out of darkness into marvelous light, they do what Peter says they do? They proclaim his excellencies? They testify to others?
They tell others, I was blind? but now I see, I was dead but now I live, I was lost but now I'm found. They do this because they're concerned about others. They want these others to learn of Christ. They want these others to know of this salvation.
They want these others to come, as well, out of darkness into light, confessing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He does not want to hear the blasphemy and he directs his brother thief to consider the reality that the Lord Jesus has not done anything worthy of this particular sentence. A manifestation of concern for others. It isn't Christian arrogance, it isn't Christian fastidiousness, it isn't Christian desiring to bother people wherein we manifest a concern for others.
If the Bible is true, and we know it is, And if the reality is that there is a Christless hell that will come to all impenitent, shouldn't we manifest concern? Shouldn't we testify? Shouldn't we take those who are blaspheming and those who are sinning and shouldn't we call them to consider their ways to repent from this wickedness and to come to the one alone who can save to the uttermost?
Fear of God's Judgment
Notice, secondly, he feared God's judgment. Verse 40, the other, this is the criminal that is going through this transformation. The other answering him rebuked him saying, do you not even fear God? What's the implication that he now fears God, right?
He wouldn't say this if he was still blaspheming Christ. He wouldn't say this if he was unconcerned about his soul. He wouldn't say this if he had no regard whatsoever for what lie on the other side of the grave. But now the fear of God has become a reality.
We know that God's grace is at work in his heart. In Romans chapter 3, one of the marks of unconverted men is that there is no fear of God before their eyes. This man, this criminal going through this particular change fears God's judgment. The magistrate was executing them and that justly, legitimately and righteously.
But there is the fear of God that pervades his heart. He doesn't say, do you not even fear the magistrate? Do you not even fear the Roman Empire? Do you not even fear the various situations that we find ourselves in?
Do you not even fear God?
Owning Guilt for Sin
No disturbly, he owns his guilt for his sin. 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." You always know a man who's been touched by the grace of God because he owns his sin. We learned that on Wednesday nights concerning Saul.
What does Saul do when he gets called out for rebelling against the God of heaven and earth? Saul says it was the people. Saul says it was their idea. Saul says it was them.
They spared Agag. They spared the livestock. They did these things. When the author in 15.9 tells us very clearly that it was Saul and the people.
Saul was the king, Saul was the leader, Saul was the ruler, and Saul made the decision on that day to spare Agag and to take that livestock. He doesn't own his sin. He doesn't confess his sin. He doesn't repent of his sin.
He knows nothing of embracing it, wherein the steve, notice, and we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds. He understands that this is righteous. He understands that this is legit. He understands that this is the path he must trod.
You see, brethren, you will never convince someone that the grace of God is in your heart if you blame others all the time. It wasn't me. It wasn't me. It wasn't me.
Or not me. I used to think we'd have the sixth child. His name was not me. Who did this?
Not me. Well, where does this not me live? Does he have his own room? Does he have his own chair?
Does he have his own plate? Because not me is the most wretched member of this particular family. Who did this? Not me.
There is in us this desire to get away from any responsibility whatsoever. It began with Adam the first, the woman whom you gave me. She gave me the fruit and she made the mess that we find ourselves in. You see, this is absolutely unrighteous.
But when God's grace works in the heart of a man, a woman, a boy, or a girl, they assume the posture of that man in Luke chapter 18. He beats his breast. He cannot even look up into heaven. He says, God, be merciful to me, the sinner.
It's a beautiful statement there. He doesn't say, a sinner. He says, the sinner. Not concerned about anybody in the rest of the moral universe, he sees himself before God as the sinner.
We consider this on Wednesday night when David confesses his sin, when David psalms about that confession in Psalm 51. He says, against thee and thee only have I sinned and done this evil in your sight. Yes, Uriah suffered death. Yes, Bathsheba suffered the rupture of family life.
Yes, there were a lot of persons affected by King David's sin. But when it comes to repentance, David sees himself before a holy God and he says, against thee and thee only have I sinned. Do you try and deflect? Do you try and blame?
Do you try and blame it on not me? Or do you own your sin? I hope that we see in our studies in Matthew's Gospel of late, and in the consideration of Saul, king of Israel of late, that it never, ever goes well for those who try and cover their sin. Proverbs 28, 13, whoever covers his sin shall not prosper, but whoever confesses it and forsakes it shall find mercy.
Covering sin can take the appearance of blaming others. I was framed. The thief or the criminal doesn't say, you know, we got a bum rap. It was all Barabbas's fault.
We are just yes men. We are affected by peer pressure. We wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for that wretch, Barabbas. He doesn't do that.
He owns his sin. He understands that he has violated God's law. And he says, this is the due reward of our deeds.
Confessing Christ's Guiltlessness
Notice, fourthly, this always goes hand in hand too. He not only owns the guilt for his own sin, he owns the guiltlessness of our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice at the end of verse 43, verse 41, but this man has done nothing wrong. Now, did he understand the doctrine of the impeccability of Christ to the degree that we do?
Hopefully you're not saying, what does the impeccability of Christ mean? I must have missed that study in the confession. The impeccability of Christ deals with the sinlessness of our Lord Jesus. Did the thief on the cross have a fully developed confessional Christology?
Probably not. But this much he knew when he was beside him and he looked upon the suffering Savior, he is able to say, but this man has done nothing wrong. This man is guiltless. This man is innocent.
This man did not sin his way upon this cross. Again, this always goes hand in hand. We see ourselves. Foul, I too, the fountain fly.
Wash me, Savior, or I die. We see our sin and then we see the sinless one, the curse bearer, the one alone who can take away that sin. the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is a confession of the holiness of Christ. Again, albeit not the perfectly developed confessional Christology that we have been richly benefited with in this age.
But this man understood this much, that this Christ has done nothing wrong. And then
Calling Upon the Lord Jesus
notice, he calls upon the Lord Jesus. Verse 42. You see, you see this movement, right? All these things are in place.
He's concerned for the other. He fears God's judgment. He owns his guilt for his sin. He confesses the holiness of Christ, and now he calls upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
You see, call upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't just acknowledge tonight, yes, we understand from the text that this man has done nothing wrong. Yes, we understand from the Bible that we have done everything wrong.
Yes, we have an outstanding debt that far exceeds 10,000 talents. If you can appropriate those truths in your head now, then believe on the Lord Jesus. Call upon him. Call upon him while he is near.
Repent from your sin. Turn from your wickedness and say what this thief says to him. Notice in verse 42, he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. This is an amazing statement that deserves some parsing.
Note first the context. What does Jesus look like on the cross? I don't like early Christian art. I don't like any Christian art that depicts the Savior.
I think it's a violation of the Second Commandment in the first instance, but then as well, they cannot picture it the way it is displayed for us in the Scripture. Spurgeon preaching a sermon on the suffering Savior indicates how our artists like to cover the Son of Man in the private region. He was stripped naked. He was hung upon that cross after having been scourged.
He had been scourged twice. The first was the attempt by Pilate to beat him, not so severely, but to appease the crowd or the mob so that they would be satisfied with that and then he could release him. confessed the holiness of Christ as well. He did it three times. He says three times, I find no guilt in this man.
I find no guilt in this man. I find no guilt in this man. He continues to ponder that in hell today because he gave the final word to deliver him up because of that angry mob. But he was scourged a second time.
And the second beating prior to crucifixion was vicious. It was violent. They took the whip and they put pieces of bone in it, pieces of metal, pieces of stone. And when they would put it on the victim's back, it would rip flesh off.
By the time Jesus is on the cross, He is bloodied. He is battered. He's got the crown of thorns on His head. The blood is dripping down.
I mean, you poke your finger and what happens? You bleed. You get a bloody nose and what happens? You bleed.
This is the reality of the body, Christ being fully man, bled. So when this criminal looks at the Lord Jesus, he doesn't see what the disciples saw. He doesn't see Him walking on the water. He doesn't see Him say to the waves in the wind, hush, be still.
He doesn't see Him take those loaves and take those fish and bless it and multiply it to the 5,000 and then the 4,000. He doesn't see Jesus at the graveside of Lazarus say, come forth. He doesn't see Jesus cast out demons. He doesn't see Jesus heal paralytics.
He doesn't see all that the apostles saw, and nevertheless, he says, says, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. He had only witnessed the entire nation, along with its religious leaders, shouting, away with him, away with him, crucify him. That was his exposure to the Savior. That's what he knew of Jesus.
He knew he was innocent, to be sure, but he had also seen the way he had been treated. Now he's a bloody, beaten mass hanging on a cross. Ryle, in his book called Holiness, the chapter being Christ's greatest trophy, 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. You see that? It's one thing for somebody to believe on the Lord Jesus after Jesus just fed you, or after Jesus just healed you, or after Jesus just fixed your problem.
But it's another thing to see him in that moment of weakness, to see him in the eleventh hour, to see him bearing not only the wrath of man, but even more the wrath and fury of God Most High. And this thief looks beyond the blood, he looks beyond the gore, he looks beyond all the things that the physical eye sees, and with the eye of faith he lays hold of the glorious Lord Jesus Christ. Notice, he believed the soul lived on after physical death. I'm amazed that people still have this stumbling block and they still don't understand that the Old Covenant held out a hope of everlasting life.
The Old Covenant envisioned a day where there would be eternal state. The Old Covenant puts forth the reality of resurrection. Job testifies, the patriarchs realized it, the rest of the Old Testament ascribes this reality. This thief says, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
He knew there was something beyond the cross. He knew there was something beyond the grave. He knew there was an eternity still. And this thief could tell us something today or teach us something in our materialistic age.
Very often we don't think beyond the end of the day. We don't think beyond our physical sensations. We don't contemplate the reality of eternity. Have you ever witnessed or evangelized or talked to somebody?
One of the most difficult hurdles to jump is just to convince persons as to why they ought to care about what happens when they die. Isn't it? We just don't think that way. If I have food in my refrigerator, I have hockey on my TV, I have gas in my car, and I have just a little less than a madman in my White House, then everything is going to be okay.
That's the reality that we labor with today, just to try and convince men of the thought that there is life beyond the grave. This thief understood it. Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Notice as well, with reference to the specific calling upon Jesus, he sees him as Lord.
That's what he calls him. Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Again, he's got no royal scepter, he's not wearing his royal crown, the train of his robe is not filling the temple, he doesn't have seraphim crying out, holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory. Isaiah saw that, and Isaiah said, woe is me, I am undone, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell among a people of unclean lips.
This man saw blood, he saw gore, he saw a savior in agony, and nevertheless he calls him Lord. He calls him Lord. Notice as well, he acknowledges that Jesus possesses a kingdom. Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
If anybody would have been on the ground and they would have heard this man, they would have concluded, this man is over a kingdom like none I've ever seen. What do you think when you think king? You think money, you think palaces, you think royalty. You think good food, feasting, you think wife, you think kids, you think all those things that are true of royalty as we understand it.
And yet this man acknowledges the reality that Jesus is Lord, Jesus possesses a kingdom, and Jesus is sovereign over it. Notice he casts himself upon divine mercy. Says, Lord, remember me. Isn't that glorious?
Remember me. Since you owe me, I had a bad upbringing. My mother used to put me in the closet. That's why I hooked up with Barabbas and I went out and did notorious crimes.
No. He casts himself on mercy. You see, when you come to the reality that you're a sinner, and you are, and you come to the reality that only Christ can save you, and He is the only Savior, You have no place for arrogance. You have no place for presumption.
You have no place to say, well, you owe me because you brought me into this world. No, he says, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Hill says, this was great faith indeed to be exercised on Christ at such a time as this, when he was under the greatest reproach and ignominy, while he was insulted and derided by all sorts of people, and when he was forsaken by his own apostles and was suffering a shameful punishment and now dying. Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
Calvin says, Lord, remember me. I know not since the creation of the world there ever was a more remarkable and striking example of faith. You see that? He sees blood, he sees gore, he sees a man that is crucified, and he sees a sovereign Lord who possesses a kingdom and he casts himself upon his mercy and he says, remember me.
The fact that Jesus does, the fact that Jesus gives him this word of assurance in verse 43 is the fact or highlights the reality that those who today say, remember me, those who today cast themselves wholly upon his mercy, those who come to God through Christ in faith will find this merciful Savior. Marshall says, Jesus himself is revealed as Savior even while dying for the outcast and criminal who turns to him in faith. It is a remarkable passage. I don't think Calvin is off the mark when he says, I know not that since the creation of the world there ever was a more remarkable and striking example of faith.
Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
The Response of the Savior
Now note the response of the Savior. In the first instance, let us recall what's going on. Let us remember what is happening. They led him away to be crucified.
He had been scourged twice. He has a crown of thorns in his head. He is dying on the tree. He is at the place soon where he will give up the ghost.
He will commit his spirit to the father. I think I've shared with you before that if I get a cold or some sort of a malady, I could be the biggest baby and the biggest whiner. My wife will probably testify to that. Remember that bug that went through here last year?
I think 20 or 25 of us that Sunday night got it. My dear wife had to deal with me and Lindsay, one in one room and the other in the other room. It's hard to think about others when you're in a situation like that. It's hard to be holy when you're sick.
Brethren, pray for your brothers and sisters that suffer with ongoing physical difficulties and challenges. It's hard to be holy when you are stricken with illness. It's hard to think about others. It's hard to engage your mind and thoughts and hearts into what you ought to be doing.
Jesus is in the 11th hour, true humanity, suffering for the sins of all those whom the Father had given Him. And notice what verse 43, And Jesus said to him, Jesus said to him, The dying, bruised, broken Savior takes the time out of His busy day to say to this criminal on His side, 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 come to God through Him. It's encouragement. This is what we want to see.
He is a willing Savior. He is a willing Savior. And this indicates it when He said to him. Notice, secondly, He is an able Savior.
Assuredly, I say to you, that's the word Amen. Oh man, highlights, or punctuates, or underscores, or boldfaces, the statement that is about to follow. Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. He is able.
He's not just willing, he is able. We considered that in our studies in Matthew's Gospel back around chapter 9. If we had a willing Savior that wasn't able, it would be nice. I may be willing to help you to pay off your 10,000 talent debt, but I don't have the ability to help you.
I mean, it might be nice for you for about, oh, five seconds to say, oh, he'd like to help me if he could. Only that doesn't pay debts. It doesn't get creditors off your back. We need not only a willing Savior, we need an able Savior.
And we need not only an able saviour, but we need a willing saviour as well. Because if he has omnipotence, and he has all power, and he has all authority, but he doesn't extend it, he doesn't give it, he doesn't bring men to his Father, we have in Jesus Christ both willingness and ability. He says assuredly, I say to you today, You will be with me in paradise. Notice there's no contingency here.
There's no condition here. There's no if we get a stay of execution. It is, you will be with me. Christ has the ability to say that.
And it's today you will be with me. Which incidentally, you all know the Apostles' Creed that speaks about the descent into hell. And very often persons ask the question, did Jesus spend three days in hell? There is a huge tradition of interpretation over that particular clause in the Apostles' Creed.
We do not have time to take it on right now. But suffice it to say, when Jesus says, today you will be with me in paradise, this indicates that Jesus would be in paradise. The Jehovah's Witnesses do err. They put the comma after today, as if Jesus says, assuredly I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise.
That's just folly and ignorance. Of course he says it to him, today. Do I ever say to you, I'm talking to you today? You know I'm talking to you today because guess what?
It's today! That is to support the foolish doctrine and the heresy that Jehovah's Witnesses propound. But Christ says to this man, assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. You will be with me.
So the three days of physical location in hell is not what the scripture teaches. Again, there are ways to explain what the creed meant or means in that particular statement. But later Jesus will say, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. Not after three days.
So he assures this man. He is willing, he speaks to him. He is able, he says, today you will be with me in paradise. And then notice, he is a glorious savior.
His last companion before his death was a sinner. His last companion before his death was a notorious criminal. His last companion before his death is one that you and I probably would have been very happy to see die and go off into hell. And notice, what makes paradise, paradise?
He says, today you will be with me in paradise. You see, that's the essence of heaven. Jesus is heaven's jewel. Jesus is heaven's gem.
Jesus is heaven's altogether lovely and chief among 10,000. If you don't read the Song of Solomon, you should. And don't read it the way Mark Driscoll tells you to read it. Read it the way John Owen tells you to read it.
It is a picture of Christ and his church. And how does the bride explain or describe the bridegroom? He is altogether lovely and he is chief among 10,000. After that description of her beloved, after she tells the daughters of Jerusalem how beautiful he is, and how glorious he is, and how wondrous he is, they say to her, tell us where he is that we might find him too.
I've often thought that if believers testified concerning Jesus in his ability and in his power and in his excellence and in his glory, maybe God would produce in our hearers that longing. Tell us where he is that we may find him too. The joy of heaven, brethren, is to be with Christ. Today, you will be with me in paradise.
You wouldn't want pearly gates and streets paved with gold. if no Jesus was there. You want Christ. You want the altogether lovely. You want to eye Him and view Him and see Him.
You want to say with the hymn in 599, that blessed statement concerning Emmanuel's land. Don't want to misquote it. I've got a lot in my head. I don't want to ruin it.
The bride eyes not her garment, but her dear bridegroom's face. I will not gaze at glory, but on my king of grace. Do you understand that? When you see the pearly gates and you see the streets paved with gold, they're just background.
They're just backdrop. They're just framing the blessed scene that is occupying your attention. The bride eyes not her garment, but her dear bridegroom's face. I will not gaze at glory, but on my king of grace.
Not at the crown he gifteth, but on his pierced hand. The lamb is all the glory of Emmanuel's land. Paradise is paradise because Christ is there.
Application and Conclusion
Well, in conclusion, we learn first a lesson about the Savior. A lesson about the Savior, and I cannot reiterate this enough, He is willing, He is able, He is glorious. He is willing, He is able, He is glorious. The Bible says all those who, by God's grace, believe on Him will have everlasting life.
And notice that this criminal confesses him as Lord in his death. He was Lord in his mother's womb, according to Luke 1 and verse 43. And it's very intriguing that on the cross, what are the religious leaders sneering? And what is this other criminal sneering?
He saved others, but he cannot save himself. The very moment they are sneering these things out, he is saving a notorious one among them. Truly, it is glorious.
A Lesson on Sovereign Grace
Notice, secondly, a lesson about sovereign grace. I saw an interesting YouTube interview that Tim Brocking, you all remember Tim Brocking, or probably not all of you, sent. It's about 15 minutes, and it was an interview with the pilot of American Airlines Flight 11. You say, well, what was American Airlines Flight 11?
That was one of the planes that went down on September 11th. And this particular man is a believer, and this particular man was scheduled to fly that morning, that plane. And the whole point of this particular video, well, there were a couple of very salient points, but one of them was the providence of God. His name was on the computer screen.
He was going to show up the next day to fly that plane. He says it was providence. It was God's providence. Consider that and go back to Calvary.
Look at God's providence. Barabbas and these two criminals would be crucified for murder and insurrection. Barabbas and these two criminals would be crucified rightly and justly so. Barabbas and these two criminals would be sent to everlasting punishment for their sins against a holy God.
Consider the providence. Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!
What do I do with Barabbas? Give us Barabbas! So now we plant Jesus in between these two criminals. I mentioned that that morning that criminal woke up as close to hell as humanly possible.
God in His providence, God in His mercy, God in His grace puts the criminal next to the Lord of glory in the eleventh hour. What about the other thief? He died and went to hell. What about Barabbas?
We don't have any indication of what happened. He got his freedom. He probably went out and committed more murder and more insurrection. may have been ultimately crucified or executed by the state and went off to hell as well. The narrative not only demonstrates the saving power of Christ, but the fact that that power is sovereign.
It is sovereign. This is another reason you don't put off until the eleventh hour. This is another reason you don't say, well, I'll think about this when I have another time or another day. I wonder how many times in the preaching of the Word the Spirit starts to work upon a heart.
And after the sermon closes and the Amen is rendered and we walk to the back of the church and we talk about work or we talk about boxing or we talk about hockey or we talk about dinner, How many times, if we could just picture it, persons at least got close to thinking about their never dying souls? How many times in God's providence do we reject? Matthew Henry makes this perceptive statement. He said, to whom this was spoken?
To the penitent thief. To him and not to his companion. Christ upon the cross is like Christ upon the throne. For now is the judgment of this world.
One departs with a curse, the other with a blessing. Though Christ himself was now in the greatest struggle and agony, yet he had a word of comfort to speak to a poor penitent that committed himself to him." So there is a lesson about the Savior, a lesson about sovereign grace, and
A Lesson on Salvation
finally, a lesson about salvation. Notice, this passage destroys the idea of works righteousness, doesn't it? Doesn't it? There's no work in this thief to commend him to God.
There is no law keeping in this thief to commend him to God. There is no, look Lord Jesus, I've done 51% better than the 49% that I'm being crucified for. That's not what he proffers. That's not what he offers.
That's not what he presents. He casts himself upon sovereign mercy, and he says, remember me. If you think for one moment that your works will commend you to God, you have another thing coming. The entirety of the Bible, from that declaration in Genesis 15-6, to its exposition by the New Testament apostles, everywhere declares we are justified by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.
It is not works righteousness. Notice as well, the thief on the cross destroys the idea of sacramentalism. Sacramentalism is the idea that sacraments are the means by which we gain salvation. That when we are baptized, our original sin is washed away.
When we engage in the Eucharist, we are imbibing the grace that keeps us in a state of salvation. There is no sacramentalism in the Bible. When we take this bread and we drink this cup, we do so in remembrance of Christ. It is a means of grace whereby God does confirm the faith of His people.
There are many benefits, but one of them is not the salvation of a sinner. Consider, the thief was never baptized, he never joined a church, he never went to the Lord's table, he never engaged in acts of charity or service to the Lord, but he was with Christ, or he is with Christ in paradise. Now, don't take the thief, because people do that. Well, I don't need to get baptized, the thief wasn't.
I don't need to join a church because the thief wasn't. I don't need to take the Lord's Supper because the thief wasn't. In case you haven't noticed, you are not the thief. This was an interesting and unique situation in the history of redemption.
But we do need to understand it's not through baptism that we are saved. It's not through Lord's Supper that we are saved. It's not through church membership that we are saved. Those are facts of the grace of God in saving us through faith.
William Cooper was right on when he wrote, the dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day and there have I, as vile as he, washed all my sins away. Praise God for the supper as it does call us to reflect upon not our good done in the last month, but it calls us to reflect upon the glory of the Savior who is able, who is willing, and who is most excellent and deserves our remembrance.
Closing Prayer
Well, let us pray. Our Father, thank you for this account of the thief coming to the Lord Jesus Christ Thank you for the sovereign grace that taught his heart to fear, and thank you as well that we too have been plunged into that fountain, that we too have been washed in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus. God, I do pray for young people in this congregation. I do pray for children, that they would not put off, that they would not reject, that they would not refuse, that they would not resist.
God Almighty, we pray that they would come to the Lord Jesus in their youth. that they would heed the preacher's words. Remember your creator in your youth. God, keep them from the temptations of this world. Keep them from the evil one.
Keep them from those many things that will ultimately land them in the pit of hell. I pray that through your grace and through your spirit, you would bring conviction for sin and bring an acknowledgment that Jesus alone can save. And may sinners, even tonight, call upon him who saved this thief. in the final hour. And we pray through Christ our Lord.
Amen.