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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. 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. 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. 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 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. Now note the particular change 
that this thief goes through. There are five things I want 
to look at. Five things briefly. 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? 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? 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. 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 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. 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. 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. 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 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. 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.