Last-second Salvation
Last Sunday I mentioned that it’s much easier to preach about forgiveness than it is to practice it. This was made very clear to me right after the second service when I was talking to a 9-year-old boy. He had a scratch on his forehead and I asked him if he had gotten into a fight. He just smiled at me. I then asked him what the other guy looked like. He continued to smile. Finally, I said, “Did you smack him? Did you let him have it? What’d you do to him?” He looked right at me and said, “I forgave him.” Ouch. Not five minutes after preaching on forgiveness I’m trying to incite a boy to take revenge! What’s up with that?
As we prepare for the exclamation of Easter, we’re focusing on the seven shouts from the Savior as He hung on the cross. Last week we listened to these penetrating words of grace, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” These seven cries of Christ speak of:
· Forgiveness (Luke 23:32-34)
· Salvation (Luke 23:39-43)
· Family (John 19:25-27)
· Loneliness (Matthew 27:45-46)
· Suffering (John 19:28-29)
· Triumph (John 19:30)
· Reunion (Luke 23:44-46)
Last week we pointed out that this first shout is a precise prophetic fulfillment of Isaiah 53:12: “…For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” The second cry is from Luke 23:43: “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” When Jesus reaches out to a sinner in his last minutes on the cross, He fulfills another prophesy from Isaiah 53:12: “…Because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors…”
Erwin Lutzer writes, “The Roman soldier probably had no idea why he arranged the crosses like he did that day…But God had decreed that He who was most holy should die with those who were most unholy…He wanted to demonstrate the depths of shame to which His Son was willing to descend. At His birth He was surrounded by beasts, and now, in His death, with criminals” (“Cries From the Cross,” Page 54).
A Terrorist Finds Peace
John Walker Lindh, the “American Taliban,” was indicted last week for conspiring to kill Americans, aiding two terrorist groups, and for supplying services to the Taliban. His father, Frank Walker has been very supportive, and is standing by his son.
This got me thinking about the father of one of the criminals who was executed just feet away from Jesus on that first Good Friday. Like John Walker Lindh, his son was accused of being a traitor. Let’s look at this second shout from the Savior from the perspective of this faltering father. Imagine with me what it might have been like.
My son was not only indicted for treason, he was convicted and crucified for his crimes. His claim to fame was that he was one of the thieves executed next to Jesus on the Cross. That description is actually quite generous because my son was a cold-blooded terrorist who had murdered many people. He was impossible to control and his pores poured profanity even as a young boy. That’s why I started calling him ‘Mara,’ which means bitterness. He brought nothing but disgrace to my family and me.
Mara had thick skin and was numb to life. He had learned how to take care of himself and take advantage of others. I’m not sure why I showed up to watch the crucifixion parade early that Friday morning. Maybe I wanted him to get what he deserved because bitterness had infected my heart as well. Or, maybe I showed up because I wanted him to know I loved him. Why did his life have to end this way? What did I do wrong?
I knew all about crucifixions. I had watched the procedure many times before…but this was my son. The soldiers seemed in a hurry that day. The guards grabbed my boy and threw a 100-pound beam across his shoulders and shouted, “Carry it.” Mara staggered under the weight. His buddy was given a piece of timber as well. Together they stumbled for two blocks, with virtually no one around. I looked into my son’s eyes but didn’t know what to say. He was taking his last steps down the spiral staircase of failure.
When we turned the corner we came upon a chanting crowd filled with wailing women and shouting soldiers. Everyone seemed to be fixated on the one bearing the cross at the front of the procession. Mara shouted out, “Who’s that?” A spear was pushed against his bruised back and a soldier gruffly replied, “They say He’s the king of the Jews. His name is Jesus.” Mara picked up his step until they become participants in the parade themselves. But no one noticed the two criminals.
All of a sudden everything stopped. Mara could see the beam lifted off of the king and placed on another pair of shoulders. Maybe someone would carry his cross, too. But no one paid attention to him, except for a few people who spit on him. But it was nothing like the curses and fists that were flying at Jesus. I could tell that Mara wanted to get as close to Jesus as he could.
The parade now started moving faster until we reached the place of the skull. Jesus was thrown to the ground on top of his crossbeam; the nails and hammer were ready. Mara struggled and tried to get away. He started cursing the soldiers. One of the soldiers forced some bitter vinegar into his mouth in order to dull the pain. How ironic that the bitter one was given something bitter to ease his agony.
Mara was nailed to the cross with a brutal precision. He screamed and cursed every time the hammer struck the spikes. He blacked out for a while. In between him and his bandit buddy was the one called Jesus. Unlike the two terrorists, Jesus uttered not a word of complaint. A band of thorns pressed down hard on his head, his hair was thick with dark blood.
My bitter boy then unleashed a stream of speech that made me both blush and cry. I moved away because I didn’t want anyone to turn against me. And yet, I wanted to take in everything that was happening. His fatal friend joined him as they both cursed and yelled at Jesus. The soldiers sneered. The people passed by and hurled insults.
Jesus then shouted something in a hoarse whisper that I will never forget. I couldn’t believe what I heard: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” I was stunned. Mara’s mouth fell open and just stared at the middle cross. I could tell something had jarred him. The criminal was now curious. I saw him look up to read the tract posted above Jesus’ head, “This is the king of the Jews.”
Their eyes met. Mara saw something he had never seen before. Those eyes had no anger, no bitterness and yet, they shared his pain. I had never given my son a look of love like that before. Just then, his partner in crime broke the holy silence with a shout of sarcasm, “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
I couldn’t believe what my son did next! He turned to his buddy and rebuked him, “Don’t you fear God, 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.” My son had never talked like this before! He not only stood up to his friend, but he in essence told all the religious leaders and soldiers that they were executing an innocent man.
But Mara wasn’t finished. He pushed down on the spike in his feet so he could take a big breath and then turned toward those loving eyes and blurted out, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” This was the first time my son had ever expressed any faith. He sounded convinced that Jesus was a king and that He could help him. Jesus answered with a promise mingled with love: “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” My son, a sin-soaked criminal, was received by a bloodstained Savior that day. I hope I’ll see him again.
Freeze Frames
Let’s go back now and take a closer look at what took place on the three crosses. Let’s imagine that Mara’s father had taken video footage of everything that happened. We’re going to rewind the tape and play it again as we look at four different clips.
1. A condemned man. The first section shows Mara and his buddy as condemned men. It’s very likely that they were in the terrorist cell of Barabbas, the notorious criminal who was the leader of a band of murderers.
To help us understand how these men were thought of, Barabbas could have been a 1st Century Osama bin Laden. Unbelievably, the people demanded that Barabbas Bin Laden be set free instead of Jesus. After this account in Matthew 27, we don’t hear about Barabbas again. It’s likely that he slipped out of the country just like his 21st Century counterpart has done. Two of his cohorts are not so fortunate and are destined to be publicly executed, next to the one who took their leader’s place.
Mara was a condemned man and he deserved to die for what he had done. His rap sheet was as long as his arm. He was an assassin who had killed for fun and for profit. He was probably on Jerusalem’s Most Wanted posters. It was quite a coup for the authorities to have him and his buddy strapped to crosses on execution hill.
As bad as this guy was, he represents each of us. We don’t like to think this way but honesty requires us to admit that we’ve all robbed God and that we live in rebellion. The criminal was condemned not just because he had broken the laws of the land, but because he had ignored God and broken His laws. He had put God out of his mind and just did that which he wanted to do. He was self-centered, just like we are.
His condition is a portrait of our state before God. You and I steal from God the very thing that is most precious to Him our lives. While we might not be in a terrorist cell, we have all rebelled against God’s greatest law in Matthew 22:37: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” When we withhold ourselves from Him by leading selfish lives, we are in essence stealing from Him.
Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Because we have fallen short and missed the mark of God’s perfection, we are all condemned before God. We have dissed the demands of God, and like the thief on the cross; God’s commands have broken us. No matter how hard we try, we cannot meet His standards or expectations.
When we come to grips with our sinful condition, we become candidates for salvation. If we don’t recognize our own depravity, we’ll go to our graves shaking our fist at God, just like the other criminal on the cross did. Friends, we’ve all been condemned to die. The sooner we accept this the better off we’ll be.
Studs Terkel, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author, who is now 88 years old, has just written a new work called, “Will the Circle Be Unbroken? Reflections on Death, Rebirth, and Hunger for a Faith.” The book is made up of interviews with a vast array of people who confront death in their everyday lives. One of the most fascinating chapters I read deals with a man who was on death row and has since been released.
Listen to the perspective of a condemned man: “When I meet people now, if they try to make a big deal about me having been on death row, I sometimes gently remind them that we’re all on death row. The difference is that here the state’s gonna do it, and at some point you’re gonna know the date and the hour, but that’s the only difference. I mean, if you’re walking around here…you’re on death row, ‘cause you’re going to have to leave here. You’re going to lay down and they’re going to throw dust in your face” (2001, Page 77).
2. A caustic man. As we come to the next scene and hit “pause,” we see a caustic man. We know from Matthew 27:44 that both of the criminals started out the day hurling insults and casting blasphemies at Jesus. They simply sang their part in the cacophony of mockers gathered around the cross that morning. They were condemned and now had been crucified, and all that pain and agony made them caustic. The man named “Bitter” unleashed his bitterness on the one who had done no wrong.
It doesn’t seem right that these two would taunt and mock the one on the middle cross. Jesus was not responsible for what they were going through. And yet, we often do the same, don’t we? When we allow bitterness to take root in our lives, we lash out at God, thinking that He’s to blame. Struggles and difficulties force us to become either bitter or better. We can grow through them or we can choose to shrivel up and become caustic toward others and toward God.
I love the contrast in this picture. While the two terrorists lash out at the Lord, Jesus did not yell at them or scold them. He just took it. He was able to do that because He understood their anger, their pain, and their frustration. He knew that sometimes people in pain can get bitter.
Are you in pain this morning? Do you feel like God doesn’t understand? Are you mad at Him? Do you find yourself being caustic with others? If so, tune into this clip from the cross. There is no loneliness, no rejection, no betrayal, no stress, no physical pain that you will ever go through that Jesus hasn’t experienced. Listen to Hebrews 4:14-16: “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Many of us carry hurt, pain, suffering, and an unforgiving spirit much longer than we should. One day, two monks were walking through the countryside when they came across an old woman sitting at the edge of a river. She was upset because there was no bridge, and she could not get across on her own. The first monk kindly offered, “We will carry you across if you would like.” “Thank you,” she said gratefully, accepting their help. So the two men joined hands, lifted her between them and carried her across the river. When they got to the other side, they set her down, and she went on her way.
After they had walked another mile or so, the second monk began to complain, “Look at my clothes. They’re filthy from carrying that woman across the river. And my back still hurts from lifting her. I can feel it getting stiff.” The first monk just smiled and nodded his head.
A few more miles up the road, the second monk griped again, “My back is hurting me so badly, and it’s all because we had to carry that silly woman across the river! I cannot go any farther because of the pain.” The first monk looked down at his partner, now lying on the ground moaning, and posed a question, “Have you wondered why I’m not complaining? Your back hurts because you’re still carrying that woman. But I set her down five miles ago.”
Are you still carrying something that you should have put down a long time ago? Are you still nursing a grudge? Still wounded by some words? Lay it down at the cross. Give it to Jesus. He can handle it. And He can change your heart.
3. A changed man. This is my favorite part. The condemned and caustic criminal, who had committed cosmic crimes against a holy God, is changed! I love this about Christianity. Jesus changes lives. One of the things that trips my trigger is to see life change take place.
To see someone take the steps to restore a marriage, to listen to a man reclaim his purity, to observe a peaceful spirit where there was once anxiety and stress, to celebrate joy where there was despair, to see financial needs met in a miraculous way, to watch wandering kids come back to Christ, to see Christ-followers living out their faith in the workplace, to know that there are many people in this church reading through the entire Bible this year, and to partner with sold-out servants who look for ways to use their time, talents, and treasures. You can’t beat it! I don’t know of anything other than a relationship with Christ that can cause such wholesale changes in heart, thought, character, words, and behavior!
Sometime between 9:00 a.m. when he was crucified with Jesus and noon when the sky turned black for three hours, the revolutionary totally changed. The Bible doesn’t tell us exactly what happened but we can piece together the details. He saw some things in Jesus that stopped him in his tracks.
· He watched how Jesus faced death. He wasn’t cursing and complaining like they were. The criminal saw the difference between one ready to die and one who wasn’t.
· He wondered why the priests in their flowing robes would be at the bloody crucifixion site. He knew enough about religion to know that this would have made them unclean. If they would risk their own ability to worship for the sake of witnessing an execution, then Jesus must be someone pretty important. Maybe He was a religious rebel. If so, the terrorist would want to pay attention.
· He heard Jesus request forgiveness for the unforgivable. This prayer pierced his conscience because he knew he needed to be forgiven. This short sentence became a saving sermon.
· He heard the inadvertent testimony of the crowd in Matthew 27:42: “He saved others…but He can’t save Himself!” Even though these words were shouted with derision, he may have meditated on the phrase, “He saved others.” He knew he needed saving.
· He read the gospel tract that was nailed above Jesus’ head, “The King of the Jews.” He knew He needed someone to reign supreme in His life.
He eventually came to realize that he was in the presence of a King who was also the Savior.
Let’s see what we can learn from this freedom fighter’s faith development in Luke 23:39-42. Listen carefully to the profound, yet simple way to salvation.
a. Respect God. When he heard his friend utter those ugly words, dripping with sarcasm, “Aren’t you the Christ, save yourself and us,” he stood up to him for maybe the first, and certainly the last, time. His partner in crime just wanted to be freed so he could sin some more. Some of us do the same. We call out for help and ask God to take away our pain and suffering and then we go on and live the way we want. Look at verse 40: “But the other criminal rebuked him. ‘Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence?’” We must always start with God by recognizing that He is holy and just. He deserves first place in our lives.
b. Admit guilt. Not wanting to be self-righteous, because he knew he had no leg to stand on (literally), he immediately admits his guilt in the first part of verse 41: “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve…” He didn’t gloss over, excuse, or rationalize his behavior. He came right out and said, “We’re busted. We’re wrong. We’re getting what we deserve.” We can’t be saved until we first admit that we are as lost and condemned as these criminals were.
c. Confess Jesus. This man knew that Jesus was the key. He could tell that Jesus was sinless when he cried out in the last part of verse 41: “…But this man has done nothing wrong.” Even Judas said in Matthew 27:4, “I have sinned for I have betrayed innocent blood.” Pilate testified in Luke 23:23, “What crime has this man committed?” And, in Matthew 27:19, Pilate’s wife said, “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man.” Jesus is the sinless substitute, the Lamb of God who took our sins with Him to the cross. The two criminals were getting what they deserved and the Lamb who had done nothing wrong was paying the price to redeem sinners from the penalty and power of sin.
By the way, Jesus didn’t look like He was in a position to save anyone. His enemies were triumphing, his friends had bailed on Him, and He was dying. And yet, the criminal confessed who Jesus was. In addition, this shout of faith took place before the triumphant cry, “It is finished,” before the temple curtain tore in two, before the earth quaked, before the centurion’s confession, and before the resurrection and ascension! That’s amazing!
d. Request salvation. This man not only showed some respect for God, admitted his sin, and confessed Christ, he did something more: he requested salvation. This final step is the step some of you have yet to take. Look at verse 42: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Salvation is not automatic. It’s a pardon that must be received if you want it activated in your life. John 1:12: “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
In 1830 George Wilson was convicted of robbing the U.S. Mail and was sentenced to death by hanging. President Andrew Jackson issued a pardon for Wilson, but he refused to accept it. The matter went to Chief Justice Marshall, who concluded that Wilson would have to be executed when he wrote, “A pardon is a slip of paper, the value of which is determined by the acceptance of the person to be pardoned. If it is refused, it is no pardon. George Wilson must be hanged.” Jesus has issued a pardon as well but its value is determined only when it is accepted.
4. A converted man. The condemned, caustic and changed man was finally converted because he respected God, admitted his guilt, confessed Christ, and requested salvation. We see this in verse 43: “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” In the midst of Jesus’ final hours, in the depths of His intense sorrow, on His way through death’s door, he heard the bleating of a lost lamb. And He answered a sinner’s prayer, just like He does today.
I love how Jesus fulfilled the man’s simple request. He went way beyond what He was asked to do. Divine grace always exceeds human expectations. It reminds me of Ephesians 3:20: “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…”
The man was hopeful, but probably not certain. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth.”
The man was looking to the future. Jesus said, “Today.” In the original the word “today” is the first word in the sentence. It’s there for emphasis to show that this very day, the day of his crucifixion, he would be with Jesus.
The man just wanted to be remembered. Jesus said, “You will be with me.” We could translate the thought this way: “You will be with me in a very personal way.” At its heart, Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship with the living Lord.
The man wanted a destination. Jesus promised a place “in paradise.” This was the same promise He had given to His disciples in John 14:2. Scholars tell us that paradise originally referred to the walled gardens of Persian kings. When a king would want to honor his subjects, he would invite them to walk with him in his garden. This same word is used in Genesis 2 to describe the Garden of Eden and in Revelation 2:7 to refer to heaven.
Lessons Learned
I see five lessons that we can learn about salvation from this second shout from the Savior.
Jesus alone has the authority to save. He is the sinless Son, the Lamb of God, who died as our substitute.
No one is beyond His reach. This terrorist had lived an absolutely rotten life and was saved at the very last second. Jesus came to save the lost, the last, and the least.
Salvation is not by good works. Being saved has nothing to do with joining a church or even following a set of religious rules. The guy on the cross couldn’t do any of that. He could not walk in paths of righteousness because there was a nail through his feet. He could not perform any good deeds because there was a nail through both of his hands. He could not turn over a new leaf and live a better life because he was dying. He couldn’t clean himself up. He was saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9).
It is never too late to turn to Christ. If you have never reached out to Christ for salvation, do it now. While it’s wise to wait, it can be dangerous to delay. The story is told of a famous rabbi who was walking with some of his disciples when one of them asked, “Rabbi, when should a man repent?” The rabbi calmly replied, “You should be sure you repent on the last day of your life.” But, protested several of his students, “We can never be sure which day will be the last day of our life.” The famous teacher smiled and said, “The answer to that problem is very simple. Repent now.” The thief on the cross had just one chance and he took it. This may be your last chance as well.
Salvation is a choice. You can be like the one thief and experience “Paradise Found,” or you can ignore Christ and suffer “Paradise Lost.” There are only two options you can be pardoned, or you will be punished. The two freedom fighters represent the divine drama of salvation. The dividing line of humanity is not geography, race, economics, or political affiliation, or even if your silver medal can become gold! The line of division is the cross. Those who repent and receive will enjoy eternity with Christ. Those who revile and reject will spend eternity in the never-ending fires of Hell.
I’m told that an Indiana cemetery has a tombstone that has the following epitaph on it:
Pause stranger, when you pass me by,
As you are now, so once was I
As I am now, so you will be,
So prepare for death and follow me.
Several years ago someone scribbled some additional words on the bottom:
To follow you I’m not content,
Until I know which way you went.
I can never read this passage without remembering what happened this past May. I was invited to go to the hospital and talk to a man who wanted to get himself ready to die. He had been fighting some serious health problems and he knew that he was at the end of his life. He wanted to get right with God before it was too late.
As I sat next to him I shared the story of the two terrorists on the cross. I focused on the tender words of grace and love spoken by Jesus, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
I told my friend that it didn’t matter how he had been living. It didn’t matter how many times he had been to church. What mattered was what he was going to do with Jesus. I then explained how I became a Christian and then walked him through what he needed to do if he wanted to be with Jesus in paradise for eternity. I urged Him to respect God, to admit his guilt, to confess Jesus and to request salvation.
With tears in his eyes he prayed and asked Jesus to save him from his sins as he put his faith and trust in Him for salvation. By the time he was done, we were both crying. His wife, Rita was crying, too. Rita will spend eternity with Jesus as well and be reunited with Bob because she’s also placed her faith in Christ.
Are you ready to do the same thing? Do you want to be with Jesus in paradise when you die?
