I'm glad to hear us sing that
song at some other time besides Easter, because we do serve a
risen Savior, and we worship Him every time we worship. So,
it's good to see you all out. Let's enjoy the gospel that God
has purposed to deliver. You can see the title today is,
Lord, Remember Me. And, of course, when I get to
that context, you'll see that's words spoken by the penitent
thief on the cross. Your comments about the one you
call Christ quickly reveal whether you know the Christ of the scriptures
or whether you're trusting another Jesus. Let me illustrate that
from the scriptures. Once when Christ was speaking
with the rulers of Jerusalem, he said, what think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? And they said,
well, he's David's son. And he said, well, how then in
spirit did David call him Lord, saying, the Lord said to my Lord,
sit thou at my right hand till I make thine enemies a footstool
for thy feet. What Christ was showing these
rulers of Jerusalem was that they didn't know the true Christ
of the scriptures. They didn't know him. They didn't
believe he was the Christ who was to come. We'll look today
at one whose comments to Christ were very revealing about his
standing with God. Although through the world's
eyes this man wouldn't look like this, he was chosen, he was justified,
he was redeemed, he was certain for final glory. And his last
comments on earth reveal that. That's what I'm going to show
you from the Scriptures today. Look with me at Luke chapter 23 and
verse 32. And there were also two other
malefactors led with him to be put to death. And when they were
come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified
him and the malefactors, one on the right hand, the other
on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive
them, for they know not what they do, and they parted his
raiments and cast lots." It says Christ was crucified with two
others, and I want to make something plain right here. I know the
translators put the punctuation marks right. He was crucified
with two others. The others were malefactors. They were criminals. Mark's gospel
called them thieves. That's how I'll refer to them
throughout this message for the most part. But Christ was not
one of them. He was sinless, holy, harmless,
undefiled. We see some scriptures that declare
that. This is not saying that Christ
was a criminal. He was just crucified with criminals.
And in Mark's gospel, we see a different version here. But
look at Mark 15 in verse 27. And with him they crucify two
thieves, the one on his right hand and the other on his left.
So you see back in Luke there and here in this, there's a distinction
made between Christ and these criminals. All these things were
done to fulfill the scriptures concerning Christ's death. If
you look on in Mark 15, 28, And the scripture was fulfilled which
saith, and he was numbered with the transgressors. It's a quote
from Isaiah 53. Just showing that Christ had
to be numbered with transgressors. That's how his end would come.
Let's look on in our text at Luke 23 verse 35. It says, And the people stood
beholding, and the rulers also with them, derided him, saying,
He saved others, let him save himself, if he be the Christ,
the chosen of God. And the soldiers also mocked
him, coming to him and offering him vinegar, and saying, If thou
be the king of the Jews, save thyself. These all thought that
if Christ would deliver himself down from that cross, then his
deliverance would be convincing proof that he was the king. that he claimed to be. They thought
that if Christ would somehow save himself from this physical
death that he could prove himself to be the Christ of the scriptures.
Now such is the thinking of natural man. I'm reminded every time
I think about this Christ's crucifixion. There was a prominent evangelist
some years back now who said on national television in one
of his messages, he said, if I'd been there, speaking of Christ's
crucifixion, he said, if I'd been there, I'd have stopped
it. Can you imagine the arrogance and ignorance of Christ who went
to the cross? He's saying, I would have stopped
what God purposed from all eternity to happen on that day. That's
the thinking of natural man. He's just voicing the opinion
of natural man. But those that are totally ignorant
of what Christ's death must accomplish and what Christ's death did accomplish.
To the contrary, the Scriptures say that Christ's death and His
subsequent resurrection, that's what proves Him to be the Son
of God. That's what proves Him to be
who He claimed to be. Look at Romans 1, verses 1 through
4. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated
unto the gospel of God, which he had promised to for by his
prophets in the Holy Scriptures concerning his son, Jesus Christ
our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the
flesh. That's Christ's humanity. and declared to be the Son of
God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection
from the dead." In other words, his resurrection, see, is what
declared him to be the Son of God. This passage, of course,
is describing the Christ to be the God-man. God and man in one
person. Why does his resurrection declare
this person to be God? Well, it's because only one who
is God could have satisfied divine justice in its demand for eternal
death. And only one who is God could
have established the only righteousness by which God is just to justify
ungodly sinner. Christ's death put away the sin
of and established the righteousness that demands the eternal life
of every sinner he died for. Without Christ's perpetuatory
death, that death that satisfied God, satisfied law and justice,
without that perpetuatory death, God would be unjust to show mercy
to any servant. See, it's only by Christ's perpetuatory
death that God can be both a just God and one to show mercy, a
Savior. Look at Luke 23 verse 38. And a subscription also was written
over Christ in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew. This is
the King of the Jews. Pilate wrote the truth here.
He had somebody write it, I'm sure. Later, the chief priests
came to Pilate and asked him to change it. Say he said, I'm
the King of the Jews. And Pilate said, no. What I've
written, I've written. Now that doesn't excuse Pilate.
But the truth was to be stated, and it was written in Greek and
Latin and Hebrew. Christ is the King of the Jews.
Look at Luke 23 and verse 39. And one of the malefactors, one
of the thieves, which were hanged, railed on Christ, saying, If
thou be the Christ, save thyself and us. This criminal here is
simply displaying the logic of natural reasoning. Not spiritual
reasoning, but human reasoning. He said, you say you're a king.
You say you're the Christ. If that's true, prove it. Save
yourself. Save us. He's simply mimicking
the derisions of the people that we read earlier back in verse
35. He saved others. Let him save himself if he be
the Christ, the chosen of God. Look on at Luke 23, 40 and 41.
But the other, the other criminal, the other thief, answering, rebuked
this other thief, 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. The penitent thief here stated
the truth, first about his own sin. He said, we're common criminals.
We're here rightly. We've committed crimes. We are
here earning, getting what we justly deserve. But then he states
the truth about Christ's lack of sin. This man is not here
because he's done anything wrong. He's not here because he deserves
it based on any wrongdoing he's done. This man hath done nothing
amiss. Again, this man agrees with the
scriptural testimony of Christ. For instance, 2 Corinthians 5
and verse 21 says, For God hath made Him, Christ, to be sin for
us who knew no sin. And then look at Hebrews 7, 26.
Talking about the sinlessness of Christ now. For such a high
priest became us who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate
from sinners, and made higher than the heavens. And then Hebrews
4 and verse 15. For we have not a high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. This penitent thief knew that
Christ was not here for any wrongdoing on his part. but for some other
reason. He knew that Christ's death on
the cross was not the result of His sin, because He had no
sin. He did no sin and knew no sin.
He was on the cross for the punishment of sin, not His own, but those
He represented. God made Him to be sin. God charged
to Him the sins of His people. That's why He was on the cross.
He bore our sins in His body on the tree. He was delivered
because of our offenses. This thief also knew that Christ's
death would have results. He knew that because of Christ's
death, he would have a kingdom. We'll learn more about this thief's
knowledge of that kingdom as we read further comments, but
look on in our text at Luke 23 and verse 42. And this thief,
this penitent thief said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest
into thy kingdom. Now, let's take a minute here
to compare Scripture with Scripture, because this is not the only
penitent thief that asked the Lord to remember him. Look at
two other requests made of the Lord. Though not in the exact
words, the publican prayed for the same thing. Look at Luke
18 and verse 13. Now, you remember this is the
This is the prayer of the publican we're going to look at, but there
was a prayer before this of the Pharisee who thanked God that
he had enabled him not to be like other men, trusted in himself
that he was righteous. But look at the prayer of the
publican. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so
much as his eyes into heaven, but smote upon his breath, saying,
God, be merciful to me, the sinner. I said these aren't the same
words, but they mean the same thing. Lord, remember me. This
word merciful means propitious. And in the original, a sinner
is the sinner. This publican first acknowledges
his sinnerhood, which is an understanding that he deserved nothing less
than the worst God had to give sinners, his eternal wrath and
judgment. He's asking God for what he does
not deserve. and cannot obtain. He's asking
God to remember him in his mercy. In other words, let him come
under his propitiation. Let him come under his propitiatory
sacrifice. Let him be found in his eternal
mercy and grace, which is given to sinners justly because of
Christ's propitiation and for that reason alone. So, the publican
voiced a similar prayer. Look at David the psalmist. He
desired the same thing of Christ. Look at Psalm 106, verses 4 and
5. Remember me, O Lord, with the
favor that thou bearest unto thy people. O visit me with thy
salvation, that I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may
rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with
thine inheritance. As the publican, David prays
for God's mercy through the propitiation of Christ. That's the salvation. That's the favor God shows unto
his people. It's eternal favor. for Christ's
sake alone. His prayer is for mercy through
the penalty-bearing sacrifice that brings satisfaction. That's
what propitiation means. The glory of God's inheritance
you see there in the last of that verse, it's a particular people saved,
not at the expense of God's justice, but through God's justice satisfied
in the death of Christ for them. Alright, those are two other
sinners who voiced a similar prayer. Look back at our text
at Luke 23 and verse 42. This thief again said, Lord remember
me when you come into your kingdom. Now, let me make one statement
here that summarizes everything this thief said. Here's the statement.
Lord, remember me with your mercy when in your resurrection you
claim that kingdom your death earned your right to govern.
That's a comprehensive summary of what he said. Now we're going
to look at the particulars of that throughout the rest of this
lesson. Consider some things that these
comments by this penitent thief reveal about his understanding
of Christ. Now this man is facing his last
hour here. He's at his rope's end, so to
speak. Yet, these are not the comments,
this is not the prayer, these are not the words of a desperate
man, that is, a man without hope. They are, rather, the words of
a man who sees hope, not in himself, but in Christ. They're the words
of one who sees his need of and asks for mercy from one whose
death will earn him the right to a kingdom. Although Christ
did not, at this point, look anything like a king or a lord,
this thief addressed him by his rightful title. He acknowledged
him as lord. He confessed what every regenerate
sinner will confess in time, as well as what all will confess
at some point. Look at Philippians 2 and verse
10 and 11. that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and
things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. All without
exception will acknowledge Christ by his rightful title. No exceptions
here. All will confess Him to be Lord.
The regenerate sinner will confess Him in this lifetime. He will
confess Him to be the Lord, our righteousness. Those who die
in unbelief will confess Him in eternity. They will confess
Him to be the rightful Lord of eternal judgment. You see, everybody's
going to see that Christ has earned the right to judge. Father
said, I've given all judgment into the Son. And it's because
of His perpetuatory work on that cross. In time, I said all are going
to confess this. In time, every one of us gets
this wrong until God enables some to get it right. We all
come into this world. We all start out in our religion
confessing a Jesus to be Lord who's not really the Lord. Look
at 1 Corinthians 12 and verse 3. Wherefore, I give you to understand
that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed,
and that no man can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy
Ghost. A person accursed means a person
doomed to destruction. All of us by nature, in ignorance,
call Jesus accursed. We do so in our theology. Who
in their theology calls Jesus a curse? Who does that? I mean,
nobody in his right mind would do that, but we're not in our
right mind until God gives us a right mind about Christ. One
calls Jesus a curse whose understanding of Christ is contrary to the
scriptures. Although we wouldn't admit it,
all by nature call Christ a failure. You see, we start out, I know
I did and I'm looking at, I know the majority of you and I know
where you started out. You started out saying that Christ
died for all men without exception and yet, multitudes would end
up in hell for whom he died. They'd perish even though he
died for them. I started out that way and I know you did too.
To do so is attributing failure to the incarnate Son of God.
To do so is to say that Christ failed to do the one thing that
He came to do. What was that? He shall save
His people from their sins. None for whom Christ died can
perish. His work guarantees that. His work satisfied God. His obedience
to law and justice put away sin and brought forth the righteousness
by which God justifies ungodly sinners like you and me. So when
sinners say these things, that Christ died for all, yet multitudes
will end up in perish, when sinners say these things, they're not
speaking by the Spirit of God. You see, I know in my former
religion, I wasn't speaking by the Spirit of God. And also,
they're calling Jesus accursed. That's what I was doing in my
former religion. Look back at 1 Corinthians 12, 3. Wherefore
I give you to understand that no man speaking by the Spirit
of God calleth Jesus accursed, and I underline the new phrase
here, that no man can say that Jesus is Lord but by the Holy
Ghost. This is not saying now that the
lost, unregenerate sinner can't use the title of Jesus and Lord. In Matthew 7.21, they said, Lord,
Lord. And yet at the end of that discourse,
Jesus said, depart from me, you that work iniquity, I never knew
you. By nature, we all call one Jesus who is not Lord. And we
call one Lord who is not the Jesus of the scriptures. That's
what all of us do by nature. But no unregenerate sinner can
acknowledge the Jesus of the scriptures to be Lord. You see,
we'll keep calling that counterfeit Jesus Lord till God stops us,
brings us to the gospel, shows us the true Christ, and changes
our thinking. It takes a sinner born of the
Spirit, one taught of God, one with the persuasion of true faith
to call the Christ of the Scriptures Lord. Your doctrine identifies
the Jesus that you're calling Lord. Is He God and man in one
person? Do you know whether He's God
and man or not? Because you see, if He's not
God and man, He can't accomplish the work the Scriptures attribute
to Him. If He's not God, there's no infinite... nature to his
sacrifice. If he's not man, he has no blood
to shed, so he's got to be God and man in one person. Did he
die for all, or only for those he was given? Did his death itself
accomplish the complete salvation of every sinner he died for,
or did his death just provide the possibility of salvation
for those who meet some condition? The blank, just fill it in. Your
answers to these questions reveal whether you are speaking by the
Spirit and trusting the Christ of the Scriptures. This penitent
thief, under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, addressed
Jesus by his rightful title. His understanding of Christ agrees
with him that he was addressing the Christ of the Scriptures.
Look back at Luke 23, 42. And this thief said to Jesus,
Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. These words
that I underlined there, remember me when, these words testify
that the penitent thief understands something about Christ's death.
And he understands something about his own death. He understands
that Christ's death is not the end for him. There's more beyond
the grave. In other words, he understands,
he's expecting Christ to be, acknowledging that Christ will
be raised from the dead. These words also acknowledge
that this sinner is not his end. His physical death is not his
end. He understands that He will live beyond the grave, that He
will live beyond physical death. He is continuing to reason rightly
according to the Scriptures, because that's what... I mean,
I just preached on this a few weeks back, and I know you probably
don't remember, but Paul said, if in this life only we have
hope, we're of all men most miserable. We believe in the resurrection
of the body. The resurrected body, not this
body. These words also, remember me
when, these words also acknowledge that this sinner knows that death
is, oh, I've already gone over that, excuse me. If we look, we're looking at
Luke 23, 42 here. This penitent thief acknowledged
Christ to be Lord. He acknowledged that Christ would
be resurrected from the dead, as would he. Next, he acknowledges
that Christ has a kingdom. Remember me when thou comest
into thy kingdom. He's not speaking about a physical
kingdom, of course, a kingdom of this world, but rather a spiritual
kingdom of the next world, a world beyond physical death. Christ
said the same thing of his kingdom to Pilate. Look at John 18 and
verse 36. Speaking to Pilate here, Jesus
answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were
of this world, then would my servants fight. that I should not be delivered
to the Jews, but now is my kingdom not from thence." Now remember,
this penitent thief has already stated the truth concerning Christ's
death. He's already stated that he's
not here for his sin. He's done nothing amiss, the
thief said. Christ was there because of the sins of His people
imputed, charged to Him. He was there to accomplish the
salvation of a people given to Him. He was there establishing
a kingdom for them. He was there earning the right
to reign, to be Lord over that kingdom. This thief knew what
Moses and Elijah knew and stated on the Mount of Transfiguration.
You probably don't remember that, but I'll remind you. Peter, James,
and John went up to the Mount of Transfiguration, and there
they saw Moses and Elijah, and they were talking. Look at Luke
9 and verse 30. And behold, there talked with
Christ two men, which were Moses and Elias, that's Elijah, who
appeared in glory and spoke of his decease, which he should
accomplish at Jerusalem. Moses and Elijah were speaking
about Christ's decease, about his death. And they spoke of
his death not as an end, but as an accomplishment. This penitent
thief knew that Christ would be resurrected to rule over a
kingdom which he was earning the right to govern by his death
on the cross. Now, I've made some pretty strong
statements about this thief, about his assessment of Christ,
about his standing with God, being justified and certain for
found glory. How can I know that I'm not wrong
here in my assessment? that I've made. How can I know
that? How can I know that I'm not reading more into these comments? Spiritualizing the scripture,
a lot of people say. How can I know I'm not doing
that here about this thief? Well, I've got two reasons. First,
because this thief's comments are not those of a natural man,
they're those of a spiritual man. I've shown you that He only
said what the Scriptures say about Christ's Lordship, about
His death, about His resurrection, about His right to a kingdom,
about His earning His people's place in that kingdom. He agreed
with the Scriptures in his understanding of Christ. Only those speaking
by the Spirit of God, the regenerate, do that. Now that's proof. That should be proof enough.
But that's not all the proof we have. In case that's not enough,
I've got greater proof. I know this man standing before
God was justified with certainty by Christ's reply to his request. Look at Luke 23 and verse 43.
And Jesus said unto him, This thief, penitent thief, verily
I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise."
That very day, Christ has said, you're going to join me. I'm
going to paradise, to heaven. You're going to be there with
me. That very day, the day of Christ's death and the day of
this thief's death, this penitent thief entered the city of the
living God and joined the spirits of just men made perfect. Look at Hebrews 12, verse 22. He just got through saying here,
the writer just got through saying, you're not come to Sinai, that
mountain that burned and quaked, but you are come unto Mount Zion,
and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
and to an innumerable company of angels. I like to call this
the roll call of heaven, by the way. Verse 23, to the General
Assembly and Church of the Firstborn, which are written in heaven,
and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men
made perfect, and to Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant.
The roll call. The spirits of just men may perfect. Who is that? They are those who
have died in the Lord and are in heaven right now. Their spirits
are there awaiting the Lord's return when He's going to give
us all a spiritual body. This day, the thief, this day
of Christ's crucifixion, this thief joined that innumerable
company of spirits, just men. The spirits of just men may perfect.
Christ comes to His own in every generation. And His own are those
like this penitent thief who receive Him. They embrace Him. They rest in Him alone. That's
what John the Apostle wrote of those Christ came to. Look at
John 1 in verse 10. Christ was in the world, and
the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came
unto His own, He came to His own nation, and His own nation
in general received Him not. But as many as received Him,
to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on His name. Those who receive Christ, it
says, are given power. They're given the right, they're
given the privilege to become the sons of God. Now, does that
mean they weren't a son of God and they start being a son of
God? No. It's a right or privilege
to become known as the sons of God. Their coming doesn't make
them sons. Their coming reveals them to
already be sons. That's why they come. That's
why they receive Christ. Why do they come and not others? Look at John 1.13. which were
born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the
will of man, not based on anything in them, or anything anybody
can do for them in this world, but they're born of God. Why
do some receive Christ? They do so because they're born
of God. They're not born of God because they receive Christ.
No, just the opposite. They receive Christ because they're
born of God. That birth is given to them based
on Christ's righteousness imputed to them. Now a natural man in
his religion has this all backwards. He thinks if you'll just do this,
God will give you life. You'll become a son. No, that's
just the opposite of what the scripture teaches. The Bible
makes many statements about Christ's sheep. My sheep hear my voice.
I know them and they follow me. I give eternal life to them and
they shall never perish. They shall all be taught of God.
This penitent thief was fulfilling one of the most emphatic statements
Christ made concerning those given to him by his Father before
the world began. Given to him. all their salvation
being entrusted into the hands of Christ. He was responsible
to bring them to the Father. Look at John 6, verse 35. And
Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life, he that cometh
to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall
never thirst. But I said unto you that you
also have seen me and believe not. All that the Father giveth
me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no
wise cast out. When a sinner hears of Christ
in the gospel and comes to him, rests in him, finds all his hope
and confidence in him, when a sinner does that, what's that sinner
doing? They're revealing themselves to be sheep. They're not, they're
revealing themselves to be the elect and chosen of God. They're
revealing that they have been given the right, the privilege,
to become known as the sons of God. That's what their receiving
of Christ does. It reveals them to be the sons
they always have been based on Christ's work alone. There are
two thieves in this story. By their comments to Christ,
each one revealed their assessment of Christ. They reveal their
standing with God. They didn't change their standing.
It was fixed. Been fixed. But they revealed
their standing. Do you call one Lord because
it's a title that you see the Bible commanding you to use?
Or are you calling Lord one who earned the right to that title
and kingdom by His death on the cross? His perfect satisfaction
to God's law and justice on behalf of a multitude. His death glorifying
the Father in the full, free salvation of ungodly sinners. Are you calling, Lord, one who
made salvation a possibility? Or are you calling, Lord, one
who saved unto final glory every sinner he was given, every sinner
whose salvation was entrusted to him? is saved to the uttermost
by Christ. Are you calling Lord one who
was raised from the dead because he had done everything necessary
for God to be just and yet justifying godly sinners? This penitent
thief called Lord one who because of his perfect satisfaction to
God's law and justice on behalf of those he was given would be
resurrected to reign over a kingdom that his death earned him the
right to govern. By his comments, he gave proof
that he had been given the right, the privilege to become known
as an adopted son of God. I'll take sides with this penitent
thief. Lord, remember me when you come
into your kingdom. And I hope by this message, you
might be encouraged to do the same.