MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(REVISED: 2018)
TEXT: Luke 23:8-43; Matthew 27:27-44
A. Two weeks ago, Palm Sunday, Christians all over the world were remembering Jesus' "Triumphal Entry", a parade in which the crowds erupted in celebration with shouts of "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!" (Matthew 21:9)
So enthusiastically did they honor Jesus that the Jewish rulers, complained, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after Him." (John 12:19)
B. But in the midst of that celebration, as the crowds cheered & tried to make Him their king, Jesus must have been fighting a battle with temptation. He was being pulled in two different directions.
On one hand, Satan was saying, "See how the people clamor after you. They want to make you their king. Why wait? You don't have to go to the cross. It can all be yours right now!"
Jesus must have been tempted to yield to the wishes of the crowd. It would have been so easy to say, "All right, you want me to be your king. I'll do it! Give me a crown. Give me a throne, & I'll wield a sword!"
He knew that He could be a better king than anyone who had ever been king before. How easy it would have been for Him to establish an earthly kingdom right then & there - & completely eliminate the pain & agony of the cross.
But yet, on the other hand, the cross was absolutely essential for our sakes, because only by going to the cross could He pay the penalty for our sins, & prepare a kingdom for us that would never end. So He made the choice that day as He refused the efforts of the crowd to crown Him as their king.
C. Then came all the other events of that week – the cleansing of the temple, the plots of the rulers, their efforts to trap Him with trick questions, the upper room, the last supper, the Garden of Gethsemane, the betrayal by Judas, the arrest, the insults, the false accusations, & the illegal trials throughout the night.
[ PP - PILATE SEATED ]
With no opportunity for Him to rest, early in the morning they took Jesus to Pilate’s Judgment Hall. But Pilate could find no basis for any charges against Him.
Then when Pilate heard that Jesus was from Galilee & therefore a subject of King Herod, he sent Him to King Herod who was visiting in Jerusalem for the Passover.
[ PP - KING HEROD & JESUS ]
Luke 23:8-11 tells us, “When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased,… From what he had heard about Him, he hoped to see Him perform some miracle. He plied Him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer.
[ PP - PRIESTS SHOUTING ]
“The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing Him. Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked Him. Dressing Him in an elegant robe, they sent Him back to Pilate.”
[ PP - PILATE STANDING ]
Luke 23:20-23 says, “Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, ‘Crucify Him! Crucify Him!’ For the third time he spoke to them: ‘Why? What crime has this man committed?
'I have found no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have Him punished and then release Him.’ But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that He be crucified, and their shouts prevailed.”
[ PP - SOLDIERS ]
Matthew 27:27-31 says, “Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around Him. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head.
“They put a staff in His right hand and knelt in front of Him and mocked Him. ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ they said. They spit on Him, and took the staff and struck Him on the head again and again.
“After they had mocked Him, they took off the robe and put His own clothes on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him.”
[ PP - THREE CROSSES ]
Luke 23:32-35 says, “Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with Him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified Him, along with the criminals – one on His right, the other on His left. . .
“The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at Him. They said, ‘He saved others; let Him save himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.’
And Matthew 27:44 adds, “In the same way the robbers who were crucified with Him also heaped insults on him.”
[ PP - CRIMINAL ON CROSS ]
This goes on for some time, but then something very interesting happens. Listen to Luke 23:39?43. "One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: ‘Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself & us!’
"But the other criminal rebuked him, ‘Don't you fear God,’ he said, ‘since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’
"Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.’"
D. As we hear these words, we need to realize that by then Jesus & the two thieves had been hanging on their crosses for several hours. Their pain & agony was reaching its peak. The suffering & misery of hours hanging in the hot sun had taken its toll.
PROP. In the midst of that, these two thieves begin to speak again to Jesus. And as they do, I invite you to listen to their requests, & then listen to the answer that Jesus gives.
I. THE TWO REQUESTS
A. There are two different requests, given by the two thieves as they hang on either side of Jesus. And by their requests it seems to me that both of the thieves showed they knew something about Jesus.
The first thief began with a question, "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself & save us!" It is almost as though the thief is saying, "Everybody thinks you're the Christ. So if you are, then why are you going through all this? Come down from the cross, & take us down from our crosses as well."
B. The 2nd thief looks at Jesus, & in essence says, "Don't do that, because if you do, then the kingdom will never come to pass." We wonder where he got this idea.
Maybe in his childhood, as he sat in the schools of the synagogue & learned about the laws that God had given Moses - maybe he learned that a holy God cannot overlook the unholy activities of man. And that sin requires a blood sacrifice.
Somehow, & we have no idea how complete his understanding was, but somehow he understood that Jesus was a sacrifice for sin, paying the price so that God's eternal kingdom could be realized among men.
And while his knowledge must have been incomplete, he did possess enough knowledge to say to Jesus, "Don't come down, but please remember me when you come into your kingdom."
C. By the way, the Greek verb tense that Luke uses here indicates that these two thieves kept saying these words to Jesus. It wasn't just once, but again & again they spoke to Him in this way.
One was saying, "Save yourself & save us. Come down from your cross." The other was saying, "Stay on the cross. Set up a kingdom for us that will last forever & ever." Their words kept coming at Him again & again.
Jesus could have said, "All right, I will come down from the cross." Folks, please realize that Jesus had the power to do that. He could have come down from the cross, & taken the thieves down as well.
You see, the cross was real. The nails were real. The blazing sun was real. The pain & suffering was real. And Jesus must have wanted to come down from the cross. Don't ever think He didn't want to come down.
It would have been the easiest thing to do ? to end the pain, to heal the wounds, to stop the misery, to come down from the cross. And all of heaven waited to see what He would do.
SUM. Two requests. One says, "Come down." Another says, "Stay, & please remember me." What would His answer be?
II. WHAT WOULD HIS ANSWER BE?
A. Jesus gave His answer in two parts. The first part of vs. 43 says, "Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth.’"
I think that the English language does not do these words justice. First of all, the Greek word we translate "answered" is in the aorist tense, which means that it is a "completed, definite, once?for?all" answer. Jesus was saying, "I have already decided, & I'm only going to say it once."
And then the first word of His answer is the Greek word we often translate as "Amen." Some Bibles translate it as "Verily," or "Truly I say unto you." The N.I.V. translates it as, "I tell you the truth." But the word that Jesus used was "Amen."
Do you realize what Jesus was doing? He was answering the prayer of the second thief. What was his prayer? "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." And Jesus answers, "Amen."
Do you know what "Amen" means? It means "So be it." It means, "It is certain. It is decided." Jesus had made up His mind. To this thief who said, "Stay on the cross," Jesus says, "Amen. It is definite. I will stay here."
B. Then Jesus gives the rest of His answer, "Today you will be with me in Paradise." The 2nd thief got more than he bargained for, didn't he? He was asking for something in the future. "When you come into your kingdom, I want to be a part of it." And Jesus answers, "Today you will be with me in Paradise."
C. You know, one of the consistent teachings of Scripture is that the message of salvation cries out "today," not "tomorrow." Hell will be full of people who intended to be saved from their sins "tomorrow."
Those who are saved must have a "today" when they look at the old rugged cross & say to Jesus, "Remember me when you come into your kingdom," a day when God cleanses you of all your sin. That will never come if you wait for "tomorrow."
This thief hoped that Jesus would remember him someday. But Jesus said, "Today you will be with me in paradise."
D. The word "paradise" suggests broad fields & beautiful gardens. I like that. During those years when I lived in large cities there were times that everything just seemed to be closing in around me.
Every once in a while I would dream of sitting at the edge of a field or mountain meadow, listening to the sounds of nature without inter-ruptions from honking horns & noisy freeways, breathing fresh air, looking & listening & feeling the things of God. Paradise!
"Soon the pain of the cross will be over," Jesus promised. "Soon the heat of the day will have ended, & you will be with me in Paradise."
ILL. Now, I've tasted some of the best that life has to offer. I've been privileged to stand on a mountain top & feel the breeze in my face, & experience a feeling of freedom that defies description.
I've lived in the heartland of our country, & watched fields of golden grain sway in the breeze, & wagon loads being brought in at harvest time.
I’ve had the privilege of living in the warmth of the tropical sun, of hearing the wind in the palm branches, seeing waves as they crash against the rocks, & smelling the fragrance of flowers in the air.
I've seen the glory of sunrises & the beauty of sunsets. I've gazed at the stars blinking in the sky, & marveled at the glory of a full moon.
I've been loved as a son, as a father, as a husband, as a grandfather, & now as a great-grandfather. Truly, I've tasted of the best that life has to offer!
But within the first few moments after I breathe my last breath, my eyes will see sights more glorious than they have ever seen before. And in Paradise I will experience things that are beyond my wildest expectations.
"Today you will be with me in Paradise." And when Jesus said that, there was no power, not Pilate, not Herod, not Roman guards, not the Sanhedrin, not Satan, not all the forces of evil could take Him down from that cross, until finally He could say, "It is finished. Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit."
So the price was paid for our salvation. Paradise, heaven, was purchased. And Jesus offers it to us. It is His to offer to any who will come.
INVITATION: I pray that you will decide for Jesus today. I pray that you will hear His voice, & that you will respond to it as we stand & sing.
