Good evening. If you would join
me back in Luke 23. Luke 23, our text this evening will be verses 39
to 43. Let's read those together. Luke 23 verse 39, And 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 justly, for we
receive 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. Most of you know the ordeal that
Stacia's mom went through earlier this year. During her time in
the hospital, Stacia and I went to bed every night asking the
Lord if he would have mercy upon her, restore her to health. And every morning, we woke up
wondering, did she make it through the night? Did the Lord have
mercy? Will you show mercy again today? It's a natural reaction for almost
everyone. Someone's sick, someone's suffering
in the hospital. Keep them on your mind. We were dealing with the very
real, very present danger and reality of a bodily death. I wish that I could say that
I had such love, compassion, and urgency regarding those,
my friends, my family, and my neighbors who are at the point
of spiritual death, who are now going through this world without
God, without Christ, and without the promise of tomorrow. In 1st Timothy, Paul said, I
obtained mercy that in me first, Jesus Christ might show forth
all longsuffering for a pattern to them which should hereafter
believe on him to life everlasting. After Austin's message the other
night, the thought occurred to me that like Paul's conversion
was a pattern of conversion, so too is the conversion of this
thief upon the cross. In these three men hanging on
these crosses, we have represented all of mankind. We have represented
the thrice holy God, And we have the answer to the question that
must be answered. How can God be just and justify
sinners? Lord willing, in this account
tonight, we'll see our condition, God's mercy, the response of
the redeemed sinner, and our hope. Every now and again, the Lord
blesses me and really impresses upon my heart what we are by
nature, what our natural condition is before God. And for a moment,
the reality of the situation is made real to me. Hold your
place here and turn to Matthew 27. Matthew 27 verse 38. Then were there two thieves crucified
with him, one on the right hand and another on the left. I want to bring out to us that
Matthew calls these men thieves. Luke referred to them as malefactors. Malefactors, evil doers. I hadn't
really thought about it until I got into this study, but crucifixion
was reserved for the worst of the worst. It was a horrendous
death. It was a death that was meant
to be a deterrent to keep others from doing the same as these.
This is what awaits you if you commit this crime. These men are referred to as
thieves, not murderers, not insurrectionists, not traitors, common thieves. We are all thieves. We have attempted
to steal the glory that belongs to God alone. We have all tried
to rob him of his righteousness and his holiness. belongs to
Him alone. None of us can escape from the
just judgment that we are thieves. Here we are, all of mankind,
our natural condition revealed, guilty, condemned, in debt, without
mercy, without grace. The law has spoken, the judgment
has been set, the verdict is in, and the punishment dispensed. We have sinned against God Almighty,
and for every soul there is an appointed hour at which our souls
are required. From the moment we enter into
the world, we might as well be as these thieves on the cross.
We know of a surety death is coming for us. We don't know
when. The thieves felt that their death
was coming very shortly, where ours may be too. If it's not bad enough that we
are condemned, if the Lord doesn't act in mercy, we will die as
we've lived. Let's pick up in verse 39 here
in Matthew 27. And they that passed by reviled
him, wagging their heads and saying, thou that destroyest
the temple and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the son of God, come
down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priest
mocking him and the scribes and elders said, he saved others,
himself he cannot save. If he be the king of Israel,
let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God, let him deliver
him now, if he will have him, for he said, I am the son of
God. The thieves also, which were
crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth." We are born. We enter into this
world having God's law written in our hearts, our conscience
also bearing witness. We know in our hearts there is
a God. We, all of mankind, know we are
guilty. We know we have not appeased
him or we wouldn't struggle and work and labor so hard to make
ourselves acceptable before him. Even though, knowing all of this,
knowing that death awaits us, feeling the weight of eternity,
we all cry out, we will not have this man to reign over us. We
lash out, we despise and reject the only man God accepts, our
Lord Jesus Christ. Turn back to Luke 23. Here at Calvary, we see our natural
condition before God. And secondly, we see God's mercy
and grace revealed. These three men upon these crosses
are enduring a physical agony that I hope the world never inflicts
ever again. And all the while, Two of them
are railing upon our Lord in their midst. But suddenly, one
of them stops. Something miraculous has occurred. None of the Gospels record it
for us, but we know that somehow, at some point, one of these two
thieves heard the declaration of Christ and Him crucified.
Whether this gospel was preached to him, this message that pointed
him to Christ was a message that he heard long before and the
Lord brought it back to his memory as he watched the message being
played out. Or whether the preacher hanging
there beside him was the man that brought the message. One thing I do know, this man,
this sinner, heard about Christ in the preaching of the gospel. But just to keep our picture
as simple as possible, let's assume both of these thieves
hanging upon these crosses have had the same experience, have
the same knowledge, For sake of simplicity, we'll
even assume they've never been in the temple before. These may
not have been Jewish men that were hung. The gospel message that they
heard preached may have been one message, on this day, and
it's the only message either of them ever heard. And one of them continues to
rail, he continues to blaspheme against God, and the other has
a sudden, unexplicable change. What happened to that man? He heard God call him. Not a call as Christ used to
call some of his apostles as he walked up to them and said,
follow me. But nonetheless, it had the same
result. To this man in this hour, it
was revealed to him that God had lovingly, mercifully, sovereignly
chosen him in Christ before the foundation of the world. In the
time appointed, a preacher of righteousness was sent to him
in a time that he wasn't looking for it. He wasn't looking for
salvation from sin. He had just a few moments ago
been like everyone else, railing upon Christ. But God and mercy
called him by his grace. This man, who again, moments
before, was looking for a temporal blessing. If thou be Christ, save thyself
and us. We don't want to endure this
death. Get us off this cross. He was looking for a release
from worldly sorrows. But then he found himself needing
salvation from sin. He had heard the command of God,
which said, seek ye my face. And his heart, his being, his
character replied, thy face, Lord, will I seek. Again, we're
assuming these two men heard the same words. They're seeing
the same events. What made the difference in their
reactions to this gospel declaration? As Noah in his generation found
grace in the eyes of the Lord, so too did this thief. As Jacob
and Esau being not yet born, neither having done any good
or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might
stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. It was revealed
that God called, according to His purpose, one thief, and the
other He left to Himself. Here on Calvary's Hill, with
all of mankind being represented, we see that salvation is of the
Lord. He purposes, He chooses, He declares
how, He sends the gospel message, He calls, He turns the heart
of man from blaspheming to glorifying, He accomplishes salvation, and
He finishes the work. Here at Calvary, He shows great
mercy to sinners. On to our third point, the center's
response to God's mercy. And thus far, we've looked at
the type, at the picture, at the representation. If we could just apply this to
person. Apply this to me. May the Lord
apply it to each of our hearts. We're all represented here at
Calvary. Our Lord Jesus Christ is shedding
his precious blood for the sin of his people. He is dying for
sin. On one side is a man dying in
sin. On the other is a man dying to
sin. He is an object of God's sovereign
grace. Can I know? Can you know? Which thief is your substitute? Which one represents me? Our Lord said, out of the abundance
of the heart, the mouth speaketh. The heart, the attitude, the
desires of these men were revealed by their words. We already saw
that for a while they walked in agreement, both of them railing,
both of them blaspheming, but now one speaks differently. Luke 23, verse 39. And 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 justly, for we receive 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. One of the conference speakers,
I think it was during a conversation, rather bemoaningly said, we tend
to make salvation complicated. He went on to say, it's really
not. We tend to judge one another's
salvation on theology, on attitudes, on
experience. How much did this man on the
cross know? What was his experience? From
the words of his mouth, he knew he was a sinner and we are condemned
indeed justly. He owned and acknowledged he
was a sinner, not in arrogance, not in pride, but simply in fact. Secondly, he knew the man hanging
next to him was righteous. This man hath done nothing amiss. He knew Christ is the God-man
and he knew he was sovereign. Lord, remember me when thou comest
into thy kingdom. We'll come back to Luke 23, but
turn over to 1 Timothy 6. First Timothy chapter 6 verse
14. We often hear that the scriptures
are bifocal. They speak sometimes of the present. Sometimes of things that have
been. Sometimes of things yet to be. Here in verse 14, Paul exhorts
Timothy and us. Keep this commandment without
spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
which in his times, these times, he came to his hour. He revealed himself to the disciples
on the road to Emmaus. He showed himself to Peter, to
the disciples, to the 500 plus, to Paul as one out of due time,
and he's been pleased to show himself to some of us, to appear
to those that he has redeemed individually in this day, in
his times. How does he appear to us? Do
we see some physical manifestation since the days of the apostles.
But we do see Jesus as he is. We're made to know his character.
He is God. Verse 14. I mean, verse 15, excuse
me, which in his times he shall show who is the blessed and only
potentate. If you remember Gabe's message
a few weeks ago, the sovereign authority. The king of kings,
the sovereign authority. And Lord of lords, the sovereign
authority. Gabe brought that message from
the scripture. I couldn't help but think of
when Isaiah saw the Lord and he heard the message. Holy, holy,
holy is the Lord of hosts. The man or woman God calls in
sovereign loving grace will see the Lord Jesus Christ as the
sovereign authority, the Holy One of Israel. Continuing verse
16, who only hath immortality dwelling in the light which no
man can approach unto. We are made to know that we are
nothing but sin. We have been justly condemned. We have nothing with which to
commend ourselves to God. We have nothing to gain His favor. Whom no man hath seen nor can
see, to whom be honor and power everlasting. Every sinner God
shows mercy and grace to will bow to the one true and living
God, the Lord Jesus Christ. This man back in Luke 23, A recipient
of God's mercy, a sinner, and all those who are saved in like
manner did the only thing a guilty, dying sinner can do when faced
with the sovereign, holy God. While the words are not recorded
here for us, I am certain that if he had the strength left in
his body, He turned and looked at the man hanging on that center
cross. Who, for every natural eye that
looked on those three men, was in much worse condition than
either of the other two. There was nothing about him to
be desired. And this man looked over at him
and he begged for mercy. Lord, remember me. Those words had hardly left his
mouth when he received the promise. Verily, I say unto thee, Today,
shalt thou be with me in paradise. This is our final point, our
hope, our hope that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. Can you imagine the effect that
those words had on this man hanging upon that cross? I believe that many of us can,
at least to some extent. Think of the comfort, the relief
that he had at the hearing of that promise. The pains of this world had not
been removed from him. The sorrow and the suffering
of this present evil world were still to be endured. In just
a little time, soldiers were going to come by with a great
big hammer and break both of his legs. Being saved, having this promise
did not exempt him from the earthly woes that were to be suffered. But the promise of life had been
received. Have you heard this promise?
Has Christ been made all to you? Have you seen him? Do you know him, the thrice holy
sovereign God of heaven and earth? Do you, knowing your sin and
condemned state, look unto the Lord Jesus Christ and plead for
him to have mercy and to remember you when he comes into his kingdom,
as he is in his kingdom? To all for whom Christ Jesus
suffered, bled, and died for, we have the sure word of his
promise. thou shalt be with me. For what is your life? It is
even a vapor that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth
away. Our life is so short. The hours
are passing so quickly. We have all wasted such precious
time in railing against God as we were dying in our sins. Lord, please have mercy. Have mercy upon us for Christ's
sake, as you did for another thief so long ago. Have mercy
on this thief. Send forth the gospel and power
to dying sinners. Call us. Show us who you are. Reveal to us our only salvation,
our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. Oh, cause us to flee to Him while
there is still time. Pray the Lord will bless that
to us.