Let us turn again to God's word.
I want us to continue with that thought of remembrance. In the earlier part of the day
we were considering those words of Moses in Deuteronomy chapter
8 as he speaks concerning God and his dealings with that typical
people, the children of Israel in the wilderness. where they are bidden to remember
all the way which the Lord their God had led them in their 40
years of wanderings in the wilderness. The thought then of remembrance
there in the Old Testament and turning now to the New Testament
and in this portion that we've read in Luke chapter 23 I want
to direct you to the prayer of the dying thief, as we have it
here in verse 42. A very simple, direct petition
that he puts to the Saviour. He said unto Jesus, Lord, remember
me when thou comest into thy kingdom. In Luke chapter 23 and
verse 42. It is interesting that in the
context here we clearly see that the Scriptures of the Old Testament
were being fulfilled. Remember the words that we have
in Isaiah chapter 53 concerning the Lord's suffering servant,
how he was numbered with the transgressors He was numbered
with the transgressors. He made his grave with the wicked
and with the rich in his death. We certainly see how his grave
was made with the rich. If we had read through to the
end from verse 50 to 56 we have the request that was made by Joseph
of Arimathea, the counsellor. that he might take that sacred
body of the Lord Jesus and lay it in that tomb that he had prepared
for himself at his death, and a tomb in which man had never
been laid. He made his grave there with
the rich, but also we clearly see that he was numbered amongst
the transgressors. It's with these malefactors that
Christ was taken to be executed. Verse 32, there were also two
other malefactors led with him to be put to death. And when
they would come to the place which is called Calvary, there
they crucified him. And the malefactors, one on the
right hand and the other on the left, one on each hand and Christ
himself in the midst of wicked men as he comes to die. And then here at verse 39, following
one of the malefactors, which were hanged, railed on him, saying,
If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering
rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art
in the same condemnation? And we indeed, just before we
received the due reward of our deeds, but this man hath done
nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord,
remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said
unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in
paradise. Oh, the Scripture then! The Scriptures
of the Old Testament, those Words in Isaiah chapter 53 were fulfilled
as Christ is numbered here with the transgressors and makes his
grave with the wicked in his death. And yet, and yet, he was
an innocent man was Jesus of Nazareth as the thief acknowledges
there in verse 41 this man hath done nothing amiss. Had not Christ endured that mockery
of a trial, had he not been brought before the Roman governor, a
conscious pilot who had sat as his judge, and yet his judge,
his human judge, had pronounced him to be the innocent one on
these three occasions. At the beginning of the chapter
we read In verse 4, then said Pilate to the chief priests and
to the people, I find no fault in this man. I find no fault
in this man. He is without fault, he is innocent. And then again at verse 13, Pilate,
when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers
and the people, said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto
me as one the pervert of the people, and behold, I, having
examined him before you, have found no fault in this man, touching
those things whereof ye accuse him. No, nor yet Herod, for I
sent you to him, and no, nothing worthy of death is done unto
him. The man is innocent. On the third
occasion, verse 22, he said unto them the third time, Why, what
evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death
in him. I will therefore chastise him
and let him go. Clearly then, the Lord Jesus
Christ is innocent and this is what is recognised even by this
faith. This man hath done nothing amiss. And yet in fulfilment of the
word of God the Lord Jesus Christ is here in his death identified
with the sinners. One malefactor on the right hand,
another malefactor on the left hand. We see the great truth do we
not hear of substitution and return which Christ in the sinners
blood It's Christ identified all together with sinners. Christ
also has once suffered for sin, says Peter, the just for the
unjust, to bring us to God. Well, let us consider, as I say
for our text, these words in which we have the prayer of this
thief. He said, Unto Jesus, Lord, remember
me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto
him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in
paradise. First of all, then, let's look
somewhat at the request that is being made. Now, to understand
the man, to understand his request, we have to consider something
of his character, or at least something of his previous character.
We see clearly here that he is dissociated from his fellow malefactor. We read of how one of the malefactors
railed on the Lord Jesus Christ in verse 39, saying, If thou
be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other, he doesn't identify
with that man, he dissociates himself from that man. He answers
him, he rebukes him. Does not thou fear God, seeing
thou art in the same condemnation, he asks. And we indeed justly,
for we receive the due reward of our deeds. But this man hath
done nothing amiss. Here then he clearly is of a
very different mind to his fellow. But that, we know, was not always
the case. When we read the the fourfold
gospel, when we move from one of the evangelists to the other
and bring these different accounts together, we get the full picture
as it were. God in his wisdom has seen fit
to give us a fourfold gospel. And it is profitable to consider
these parallel passages in each of the gospels, of course, We
have very detailed accounts of the crucifixion. It's interesting. There are certain differences
in the Gospels. There are some things that might
be recorded by one evangelist that's not recorded by another.
But when it comes to Christ's obedience unto death, each of
them, give us a great deal of detail with regards to the Lord's
sufferings and His dying upon the cross and His resurrection
from the dead on the third day. But what do we read in the other
Gospels then with regards to this particular incident and
the things that are said by these malefactors who are crucified
with Christ? Well in Mark In Mark chapter
15 and verse 32 we read these words, They that were crucified
with him reviled him. No distinction between the two
thieves there. Each of them it seems were guilty. They that were crucified with
him reviled him. And here we see in this particular
man how he confesses his own previous wickedness and how he
is receiving his just recompense. There in verse 41 he says, we
indeed justly. He acknowledges his sin, he was
a wicked man. He was only receiving that that
was the proper recompense of his wicked way of life. He was
one with his father. He had previously been there
with the other reviling the Lord Jesus Christ. But now there's
a change, you see. And isn't this a wonderful mark? It's a mark of real penitence
where there is a change. Isn't that what true repentance
is? Such a change of mind, such a fundamental change, such a
turning around in one's understanding. In fact, a turning around of
the life, a turning of the life inside out and upside down. And this man acknowledges. I
acknowledge my transgression, says David, and my sin is ever
before me. For this man's sin was also before
him. We indeed justly, we receive
the due reward of our deeds, you see. Again, look at the words
of David as he acknowledges and confesses his sinnership in the
Psalms. In Psalm 32 and verse 5, I acknowledge
my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not heaped. I said I will
confess my transgressions unto the Lord. and Thou forgave us
the iniquity of my sin. How important it is, friends,
that we are those who are honest with God, who come before Him
and confess what we are. This is what we see then with
regards to this penitential thief upon the cross. He makes his
confession. He had previously been one all
together with his fellow. But he is no more one with him.
He is now of a very different opinion. Now we need to come as those
who would honestly confess. Isn't that what we are encouraged
to in the Gospel? Isn't that what John tells us
is so vitally important? If we say that we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess
our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned,
we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. Oh God forbid that
we should deny the truth of what we are, our sinnership. So make
God a liar. We are to come and we are to
make our confessions as to what we have been and what we have
done. And so we see with this man, how his previous character
was that of one who was a very real hard-hearted sinner, all
together at one with his fellow malefactor, but no difference. Now, he asks Christ to remember
him, Here is his prayer, Lord, remember me. And what a prayer
is this. It's one of those precious prayers
that we find here in the Word of God. Those simple prayers. Those humble prayers that we
find scattered throughout God's Word. We can think again of the
prayer of Simon Peter when he was sinking beneath the waves
and he cries out to Christ Lord save me. Only on Thursday we were considering
the prayer of the psalmist there in Psalm 12. Help Lord! Oh, what a prayer is that! Help
Lord! For the godly man perisheth and
the faithful fail from among the children of men. to come
to God and to make simple requests, to ask His help. We have again
the record in the Gospel of that Canaanite-ish woman, that woman
of Syrophoenician, who comes with her daughter and seems initially
to be refused by Christ, rejected by His disciples. They want Christ
to send her away, but she will not be denied, and we are told
how she worships Him. saying, Lord, help me. Isn't that real worship? How
do we worship God as we come together tonight or on any occasion? How do we worship God? Isn't
that the best of all worship when we come and simply ask God's
help? That is right worship. We don't
come imagining that we have anything to present to Him, anything to
bring to Him. We have nothing that we can speak
of that would commend us, but we are to come as needy sinners,
and to cry out, Lord, help me. And that's how we worship Him.
And this man, I say, comes with such a simple petition, not unlike
that prayer, help me, or the prayer of Peter, Lord, save me. His prayer is this, Lord, remember
me. Or what faith is seeing in such
a petition as this. To recognise that we need God
to remember us. We need God to pardon our sins
which are so many. We see it in the Psalms, do we
not? How the Psalmist does so desire that God would remember,
we were reading this morning in the Psalms and we read Psalm
25, that great Psalm, it's a lovely Psalm, it has that lovely verse
concerning those that God shows his covenant to, the secret of
the Lord is with them that fear him. He will show them his covenant. But I was struck by what we have
previously here in Psalm 25, verse 6, remember O Lord, thy
tender mercies and thy loving kindnesses, for they have been
ever of all. You see, the psalmist would have
got to remember, we're to remember, we're to remember, as we saw
this morning, we're to remember all the way, we saw that God
has led us, not only in the past year, but in all our days, God
has led us. Can we not sometimes, in the
small hours when we are unable to sleep, think back over the
years and see God's hand in remarkable ways, all the way that the Lord
our God has led us, in all our wilderness wanderings in this
wicked world? We're to remember. But here you
see, the psalmist, like that thief upon the cross, asks the
Lord to remember. The dying thief says, Lord remember
me. When thou comest into thy kingdom
here, the Swami says, remember, O Lord, thy tender mercy. Don't
just remember me, but remember your own character. Oh, this
is God, you see. He's a God merciful. He's a God
gracious. That great word, loving-kindness
is. Loving-kindness is. So rich and so full in meaning. Jesus promised, remember O Lord
thy tender mercies and thy loving kindnesses for they have been
ever of old, remember not the sins of my youth nor my transgressions,
according to thy mercy remember thou myrth, for thy goodness
sake O Lord. And why are these things left
upon record that for our learning Therefore our learning that we
through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have
hope. Is there not hope for the sinner when we find such words
as this in God's holy words? Can we not take them and plead
these words? This man then comes and he asks
Christ very simply and sincerely to remember him. Lord, remember
me when I cometh into thy kingdom. Look a little more closely at
the prayer that he makes. What's the form of address that
he uses? He calls Jesus of Nazareth Lord. Lord. Now it's that word, and
I think I'm not sure if it was there or on Wednesday at Shoreham,
but I did remark with regards to the word Lord as we have it
in the New Testament Scriptures, that if we turn to the Greek
version of the Old Testament, what they call the Septuagint,
which was a Greek translation that was previous to the days
of Christ, a translation that the writers of the New Testament
Scriptures were familiar with, In that Greek version of the
Old Testament scriptures, the Septuagint, this word that we
have as Lord is the one that is used there to translate Jehovah. That covenant name of God. A
great name of God that's derived from what God said to Moses at
the burning bush, I am that I am. And this man calls upon Christ
as Lord, as Jehovah. He is recognizing here Christ's
deity. He is recognizing who Jesus of
Nazareth is. Lord, remember me when thou comest
into thy kingdom. Why was it that the Jews were
so bent upon his destruction? They accused him of blasphemy.
We have a law and by our law he ought to die because he made
himself the son of God. That was the accusation that
they laid against him before Pontius Pilate. He was a blasphemer. He said he was the son of God
and in saying he was the son of God he was claiming equality
with God. And this man who is crucified
with him, was not ignorant of these things. This man whom the
Jews are rejecting, whom they are saying was a blasphemer,
this man is the Lord. And in his petition he also goes
on, does he not to recognize the spiritual nature of Christ's
kingdom? Here is Christ dying. upon the
cross, as this man was. This is execution. These men
are not going to be spared, they are going to die. And yet he
recognises that Christ has a kingdom, a spiritual kingdom. Lord remember
me when thou comest into thy kingdom. He doesn't just say
remember me, you see. He addresses Christ as God, confesses
Christ's deity, and he asks the Lord to remember him in his kingdom,
that spiritual kingdom. My kingdom is not of this world,
said Christ, the Pontius Pilate. Christ's kingdom is a spiritual
kingdom. All this man's prayer is a real prayer, it's a spiritual
prayer. And all real praying, of course,
is spiritual. Real prayer is more than just
words, saying words. Now why is it that this man is
so changed? He was once as the other. They
were both of the malefactors receiving the just reward of
their evil deeds. And it would appear from what
Mark says that both of them had initially railed against Christ.
Why was it that this man turned from railing against Christ and
made a request to Christ? Why was it that he stopped reviling
the Lord Jesus and ask the Lord Jesus to remember him. Well, I've already said, look at the
circumstances. This man is dying, he's on the
point of death. He's on the point of death. Is
it because he's on the point of death that he's brought now
to his senses? We read of those who, through
fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondages. This man now is so fearful of
the unknown, he's going to die. He's going to experience that
separation of body and soul. When God made man, he made him
body and soul. The man you see is meant to be
body and soul. That's how God created him. And
death is the separation of the soul from the body. Oh yes, it's
the spirit of just men made perfect in heaven, that blessed abode
of those who have gone before, but they are awaiting, are they
not, the resurrection of the body. It's a dreadful thing to
experience death. And was this the cause of this
man suddenly changing and behaving so differently? He was afraid
of death. The guy we're told is appointed
unto men once to die, and then come us to judgement. Is he,
as it were, suddenly brought to his senses? Well, I don't believe that is the case.
Both of these thieves were in exactly the same predicament. Both of them. were receiving
the just reward of their deeds. Both of them were being executed
justly because of what they were guilty of. Both of them are about
to die. They're in the same predicament. And yet there's a difference
between them. They don't behave in exactly the same way. It's
not the circumstances. that caused this man to change.
If that were the case, why wouldn't his friend also change? You see,
friends, it is nothing of self. It is nothing of self that makes
this man a different man. There's a very interesting verse
in the book of Proverbs, many interesting verses, but there's
a verse in Proverbs 27.22 And it says this, though thou shouldest
bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will
not his foolishness depart from him. Though thou bray a fool in a
mortar among wheat with a pestle, though the man is so beaten and
dealt with in that way, he won't change you. There is nothing
you see that can change that fallen nature, that sinful nature,
the folly of our sins. Nothing can change it. It is
nothing of self. What we see, what we see in this
particular man, this penitential thief, is such a remarkable display
of the sovereignty of the grace of God. That's the only reason
he changed. The reason this man was changed
was all of God. and nothing of self, and it is
the case, is it not, with everyone? And that's our comfort. Joseph
Hart says in the hymn, None ever miscarry, that on him relied,
O filthy as Mary, Manasseh, or I, we just sang the words, did
we not? That hymn on free grace. Doesn't matter how bad we are,
how wicked we've been, And he directs us, you see, to
such characters as Manasseh, in the Old Testament, King Manasseh,
who was guilty of offering his own children in sacrifice to
idols. Or Mary Magdalene, out of whom the Lord cast seven
demons. It can be wicked, you see, like
these characters. Heart said, all right, though
filthy as Mary Manasseh, all right. And isn't that what we're
brought to feel that we're the very worst of sinners, the chief
of sinners. Oh, there's comfort, you see,
is there not, in that great truth of the freeness and the sovereignty
of the grace of God. It's that that makes the difference.
It's that that makes the difference. And all we can do is to plead
the freeness of that grace when we come to God and ask that he
would grant us salvation, even for his own sake. Why? Because
he's a good God and a gracious God. Here then we have the request
of this man, his prayer. He wants to be remembered. All
friends, are we those who desire that the Lord would remember
us? Presently we'll come to remember
Him. But do we not feel even as we come to the table we need
that the Lord should remember us and help us? How can we of
ourselves partake in any right manner? We're so unworthy. When we think of what we aren't,
if the Lord has proved us and caused us to know what is in
our hearts, We feel so unworthy and we are to examine ourselves.
Let a man examine himself, says the apostle, and so let him eat
of that bread and drink of that cup. We examine ourselves, but
though we see all unworthiness in ourselves, or we see all the
worth in the Lord Jesus Christ, and so we come to remember Him. Him who is the gracious Saviour
of sinners, and we see it I say here, in the way in which Christ
responds to this prayer. The man doesn't pray in vain.
He asks, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
And Jesus said unto him, Verily, I say unto thee, Today shalt
thou be with me in paradise. Or Jesus says to him, Verily,
And you know the force of the word, O the veriless, true, Amen,
so be it. It will be just as this man has
requested. He will obtain the answer of
his prayer. But let us look at what the Lord
says in response. We have here that gracious promise
of the Lord, and it's a promise for the present, The man had
spoken in terms of the future, when thou comest into thy kingdom. Or the man had spoken, you see,
of something in the future. But there's an immediate answer
here, to die, says Christ. To die. Or before they call I
will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear, says the
Lord God, Isaiah 65 and verse 24, the answer you see is immediate.
Before they call, I will answer. He is a very present help in
time of trouble. Not just a help, not just a present
help, a very present help. Lord, you thank God for these
emphatic statements that we find, and the great beauty you see
of the authorised version, as he brings out the force of these
statements. A very present help in time of trouble. There is
a promise here that is given to this man, and it's an immediate
answer to die. And what is it to promise up?
Why is promise the very presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. He
had simply said to Christ, remember me. And what does Christ say? All thou shalt be with me. He
says remember me. The Lord says you are going to
be with me. You see God is able to do exceeding
abundantly. above all that we ask or think.
And we have here such a wonderful demonstration of that scripture. The man, God, are more than he
asks. And that's the way God is when
he comes to the prayers of his children. We can never ask too
much. He always gives us a super abundance. The man simply wanted to be remembered.
And the Lord says you're going to be with me. You're going to
be with me today and you're going to be with me in paradise. It is clear here that there's
no such thing as soul sleep. Some imagine that. That when
the believer dies and the body is laid in the grave, the soul
sleeps. But that's not scripture. All
believers when they die are with Christ. What a comfort to the
dear ones who are left behind, all believers at death. It's
absence from the body, presence with the Lord. Paul speaks of having a desire
to depart and to be with Christ. which is far better to depart
and to be with the Lord Jesus Christ we see it of course in
this very gospel with regards to that beggar of whom Christ
speaks, Lazarus in chapter 16 we read of the rich man and Lazarus chapter 16 verse 22 it came to
pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into
Abraham's bosom, always absent from the body, present with the
Lord. The rich man also died and was buried, and in hell.
He lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar
off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Abraham, the father of all them
that believe, all the faithful, you see, all believers, Here is a promise, then, of the
very presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it's a promise, of
course, of paradise. It's paradise. Remember me when thou comest
into thy kingdom, thy kingdom. What is the kingdom of the Lord
Jesus Christ today? Shalt thou be with me in paradise. It's heaven. And what a place
it is. This man was a great sinner.
But heaven is that holy, happy place where sin no more defiles,
where God unveils his blissful face and looks and laughs and
smiles. That's heaven. There's no sin
there. And are we not reminded of that
as we come to the end of God's words in those final chapters
of the Revelation? See how John speaks of heaven
chapter 21 and verse 3 he says I heard a great voice out of
heaven saying behold the tabernacle of God is with men and he will
dwell with them and they shall be his people and God himself
shall be with them and be their God and God shall wipe away all
tears from their eyes And there shall be no more death, neither
sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the
former things are passed away. And there shall in no wise enter
into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination
or maketh a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's Book
of Life. And then in the very last chapter,
chapter 22 at verse 3, There shall be no more curse, but the
throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants
shall serve Him, and they shall see His face, and His name shall
be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there,
And they need no candle, nor the light of the sun, for the
Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign forever and
ever. And he said unto me, These sayings
are faithful and true. And this is what this man was
promised, you see. He would go to heaven, he would be in the
very paradise of God. This is the response. of the
Lord Jesus Christ, who was a poor sinner, a great sinner, or but
one who is brought to true repentance, an object of the amazing freeness
of the grace of God, or that we might learn of this man, that
we might pray with this man, Lord, remember me when thou comest
into thy kingdom. Amen. Just seeing the hymn number
214 which is St. Anatolius 555. Dear Lord, remember me, a sinner,
weak and mild, full of impiety and fraught with sin and guile. I cannot hope but in thy blood. Remember me, O Lord, for good. Dear Lord, remember me, a sinner
weak and vile, full of impiety and fraught with sin and vile. I cannot hope but in Thy blood
remember me, O Lord, for good. Unable to depend on nature's
strength and power, Jesus, my soul befriend, teach me to trust
Thee more. Save me from sin and all its
smut, O save me from my treacherous heart. Upon Thy post I rest,
My feeble soul secure, thy sin I am afraid, but thy salvation
sure. Though like a bottle in the smoke,
I know thy vessels can't be broked. It is true, dear Lord, I am a
sinner vile indeed, Yet hoping in the Lamb who came for such
to be. And while the spirit seals my
heart, my soul believes cleanly shall come. Christ ever will defend the people
of His choice. He loves them without end, and
in experts rejoice.