Luke 23:32-43 NIV
32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed.
33 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.
34 Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
35 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."
36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar
37 and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."
38 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.
39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence?
41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."
42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
43 Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
Introduction:
Two Thieves, Two Different Perspectives
Have you ever listened to two people describe an event from completely different perspectives?
A car accident, perhaps, or maybe a sporting event…
Their descriptions sound so different that you may wonder if they are talking about the same thing…
We see in the text, Luke recorded something like that in 23:39–41
Two criminals, at the same scene,
On opposite sides of the cross of Christ
One saw another failed opportunity to get himself free from Cross
The other saw and understood that the way of salvation was not to be free from the Cross,
But to be free from sin & inherit life everlasting
The first man died in his sins
The second received forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life
Perspective makes all the difference
I think sometimes we want the Lord to free us from our situations
We want freedom from our circumstance
But we should find our delight in Jesus Christ
And His Salvation
And that is more than enough!
Text Setting:
Three crosses stand on the Hill of Golgotha
A crowd has gathered there to witness all of whats taking place
Not that crucifixion was unusual
But this day is different. An unusual man is being crucified.
Jesus wasn’t an ordinary criminal, Not a thief, not a murderer
But still, there he was on the middle cross
On either side, two men were crucified with him
Luke 23:40-41
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence?
41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."
One criminal rebuked the other criminal
Pointing out that they deserved their sentence, but Jesus did not
They were being punished justly,
But Jesus had done nothing wrong
How this one criminal understood this truth isn’t known
Maybe he was familiar with Jesus
Maybe it was all what he witnessed that day
But either way he then said in v 42…
42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
And you have to take notice of this criminal’s faith in this moment
There is something about times of crisis
Times of hardship that causes one’s faith to increase
Many people who wouldn’t normally call on Jesus
They do in the hospital, They do in split second before car wreck
And in this man’s crisis, in his dying moment
The criminal had more faith than all of Jesus’ disciples
Although the disciples continued to love Jesus,
their hopes for the kingdom had been shattered
Peter outright denied knowing Jesus
Most of them had gone into hiding
As one follower on Road to Emmaus would say two days later,
“We had hoped that he was the one who would redeem Israel”
But the criminal looked at the man who was dying next to him and said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”
By all appearances, the Kingdom was finished
Jesus didn’t take Earthly Throne that they thought He would
But this criminal saw beyond the Cross to the coming glory!
He understood, it’s not an Earthly Kingdom - - It’s Heavenly!
43 Jesus answered him,
"I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Jesus assured him that today—that very day,
After they breathed their last,
The criminal would be with him in paradise.
The criminal may have lived an evil,
lawbreaking life that had resulted in execution
But Jesus is not merely the God of this World
He is God of a Heavenly Kingdom
To which there is no end
And that very day, He entered into Paradise with Jesus!
This Saying is…
1. Word of Forgiveness
The words that Christ says in response to this man’s prayer are some of the most wonderful in all the Word of God
We do not know very much about the repentant thief
We do not know his name, his age, or even the crime for which he had been condemned to death
All we know it that he was guilty, that he deserved to die,
and that he knows that he is a sinner
Perhaps the reason we’re not given this information is to make us see that this man is representative of all of humanity
We are all sinners. We are all guilty. We all deserve to die.
But this man came to Repentance
And you’ll see a few points where this is evident
1. He has a reverence for Christ that others did not possess. - Dost not thou fear God - Luke 23:40b
2. He sees himself guilty. - And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: - Luke 23:41a
3. He knows that Christ is sinless. - . . . this man hath done nothing amiss. - Luke 23:41b
4. He recognizes Jesus as the King - remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. - Luke 23:42b
He knew enough to know that Jesus could forgive him of his sins
This speaks of the blessed assurance that everyone can have if they will just confess, repent, and follow Him
Aren’t you glad that you can know that you can have your sins forgiven?
Aren’t you glad that your sins, which are many, can all be washed away by the royal red blood of Calvary’s Lamb!
To this repentant sinner, Jesus utters blessed words of Pardon.
This world may not pardon you
But Jesus will
You may have lived a rotten life
You may not be able to make all your wrongs right in this life
BUT Jesus can pardon you
He can release you from the weight of sin!
He tells him that he will be with Him in paradise.
The thief’s prayer is answered
And there is the promise of life everlasting
That is in fact what Forgiveness means.
It means that those who are guilty are now set free!
It does not say that we are now innocent,
But more correctly it says,
“Even though you are guilty - I am going to let you go.”
We are Pardoned, we are set free spiritually
He is the only way. This is A Word Of Pardon.
This saying is...
2. A Word for YOU!
But not only do we see that this is A Word Of Pardon,
we also learn that this is A Word That Is Personal
We see this when Jesus uses the words
“Today YOU shall be with me in paradise . . .”
And I guess I like to focus on the words “you shall be with me.”
The thief had cried out for Personal salvation with the simplest words that could ever be used.
He had said, “Lord, remember me!”
What a prayer of faith this was.
Sometimes you need to say some selfish prayers
Lord, touch ME
Lord, help ME
Lord, bless ME
Lord, strengthen ME
This man was not looking to be taken down off his cross,
Nor was he asking for a glorious position in the Kingdom
He was not requesting a lofty position right hand of Christ in glory
Like the Disciples
He just wanted to be remembered
Lord, don’t pass ME by - - LORD DON’T FORGET ME
I’m glad that Jesus called ME, saved ME, blessed ME
I am glad that before the world was ever formed
That He looked down through the corridors of time
And saw that I would need a Savior
Bible says, the plan for the Lamb of God to be slain
Was in place from the foundation of the Earth
He is touched by the feelings of MY infirmities
He knows the number of hairs on MY head
He knows MY need,
He knows when a sparrow falls
And He said that I AM much more valuable than they are
I want you to know that we are all precious in His sight!
He loves every one of us so much that if we were the only one,
If there was only one person that would have accepted His offer
He would have still bled and died for just one lost soul
That is how Personal this salvation and this Savior is.
This is A Word That Is For You!
This saying is a...
3. A Word Of Paradise
The word Paradise is a Persian word meaning a walled garden
When a Persian king wished to do one of his subjects a very special honor he made him a companion of the garden,
And he was chosen to walk in the garden with the king
It was more than immortality that Jesus promised the thief
He promised him the honored place of a companion of the garden in the courts of heaven
To be in the company of Jesus now and forever was the privilege of the dying thief.
It’s not just a beautiful place
It’s a place where we are in the presence of the King!
Look again at the words again, TODAY
To day shalt thou be with me in paradise
Oh how much this teaches us about salvation,
about life after this earth,
And about the One that makes it all possible
There is something much, much better waiting for those who have placed their trust in Christ
The Apostle Paul put it this way in II Corinthians 5
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. - 2 Corinthians 5:8
How glorious this is!
This means that THERE IS COMING A DAY
THERE WILL BE THAT DAY for all of us
Where all of the problems of this life will one day be over
The statement to the repentant thief reminds us that eternity is just a step away
Its never too far off for any of us
Today we could step into eternity
And it teaches powerful lessons about eternity
No Waiting Room for Eternity
No Purgatory
To be absent - - is to be present
With the Lord
Salvation means that Heaven is now your home
It means that you have become a citizen of that country
And that you are only a pilgrim and a stranger in this land
It means that you are only passing through this world
On your way to an inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved in Heaven for you
Conclusion: Jesus Is A Friend of Sinners
Last Friend On Earth Was An Outcast Sinner
They thought it fitting in their minds to hang Jesus between to thieves, between two sinners. After all, He had been a friend to sinners all throughout His public ministry. This was a point that His enemies had even used against Him; criticizing His relationship with those of the lowest on the social ladder.
But this is where I must stop and say “Thank God that Jesus was, and is, a friend to sinners.” When no one else wants to be your friend, when no one else will even admit that they know you, Jesus will be a friend to you!
J. Wilbur Chapman had it right when he penned these words, “Jesus! What a Friend for sinners! Jesus! Lover of my soul; friends may fail me, foes assail me, He, my Savior makes me whole. After words such as that how can you not say? Hallelujah! What a Savior! Hallelujah! What a Friend. Saving, helping, keeping, loving, He is with me through the end.”
What the passage of scripture suggests is that Jesus’ last friend on earth was a sinner.
The same man was Christ’s first companion at the gates of paradise - "Today you will be with me in Paradise."
Secondly, because the man believed he was instantly prepared for heaven.
The man had no opportunity to do any good works.
God’s rich grace was granted him, indeed!
Our Saviour is one who saves from the uttermost to the uttermost!
Right to the end of his life Jesus was reaching out to the lost, speaking a word of salvation.
The dying thief representative of us!
People who are in desperate need of salvation.
People who need a promise and hope.
People who need to be in the company of Jesus now and forever.
"Today you will be with me in Paradise."
