The Penitent Thief

I think I could say without exaggeration that my wife and I and our children, when they were at home with us, made it a practice that we would not miss a Sunday night service, particularly on Easter Sunday, because we did not want to be in Thomas's misery for a week. Jesus appeared to the disciples in the upper room on that night, and Thomas was absent.

And he was a miserable man for a week until Jesus, in kindness and grace, appeared one week later. So I don't think you're going to miss anything. I know you're not going to miss anything like Thomas missed, but when we absent ourselves from the assembly of the saints, we are the lesser for it. We miss something. And I'm just a kind of person.

I don't want to miss anything. I want to be where the people of God are gathered. So thank you for your presence here tonight. I want to take us to Calvary tonight and see a precious scene, one of my favorite ones, a very tender scene, where Jesus is on a cross and two men, one on his right and one on his left. All four of the Gospel writers tell us of these two criminals, thieves, malefactors, but Luke is the only one who gives the detail of the penitent thief.

And that will be our focus tonight. Romans chapter 5 and verse 12 says, As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. And that leads us to the universal nature of death. Death is because of sin, and because all have sinned, all are subject to the penalty of sin, save one man, the Lord Jesus Christ. His death was unique in a number of ways, but it was unique, number one, in that his death was not the result of his sin. Now it was a result of sin, but it wasn't his sin.

He died on the cross of Calvary for sin, not for his sin, but the sin of all that God would put on him of the elect of God. His death was unique in a number of other ways. He arranged his own death. He arranged the circumstances of his death. He determined when and where and how he would die.

He determined with whom he would spend his last remaining hours. And just don't turn in your Bible, but I just want to touch on a few verses of scripture to reinforce this idea that he arranged his own death. John chapter 2 and verse 19, if you want to jot these down, I'm just going to read the verse. Jesus answered and said to them, destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. Then the Jews said, it has taken 46 years to build this temple, then you will raise it in three days? But he was speaking of the temple of his body. Therefore, when he had risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this to them. And they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had said. That's John chapter 2.

John chapter 10. Jesus said, I am the good shepherd and I know my sheep and I am known of my own. As the father knows me, even so I know the father and I lay down my life for the sheep and other sheep I have which are not of this fold.

Them I must also bring and they will hear my voice and there will be one flock and one shepherd. Therefore, my father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again.

This command I have received from my father. And then in one of those accounts that recount the very death of Jesus, John chapter 19, we have these words where Pilate is questioning Jesus. Pilate said to him, this is John 19 verse 10, Pilate said to him, are you not speaking to me? Do you not know that I have power to crucify you and power to release you? Jesus answered, you could have no power at all against me unless it had been given you from above.

Therefore, the one who delivered me to you has the greater sin. So Jesus' death is unique in that he planned it, he determined it, all the details of it. So let's banish from our minds and be helped by God to dissuade others who are of the opinion that Jesus just fell on hard times. He got himself in a military situation and he was a victim of the Roman government. He really didn't come to die, but he became expendable. No, no, he came on a mission, he came on purpose, he came to die for his people. The hymn writer says it so well, he could have sent 10,000 angels to destroy the world and set him free.

He could have, but he didn't. So the death of Jesus is unique. How did he spend his last hours upon the earth? Did he spend it with his family, his friends, his disciples? Did he spend it in communion and fellowship with his Heavenly Father?

No. He spent it in the presence and company of his enemies. And that's a fulfillment of prophecy. Isaiah 53, 12 prophesied that in the last hours he would be numbered with the transgressors, the two thieves on either of his sides. So Luke 23 is where we're going to focus our attention tonight. Luke 23. Come on Luke, where art thou?

Right there. Luke 23, verse 32 tells us that there were also two others, criminals, led with him to be put to death. Criminals, Matthew tells us that they were thieves, robbers, a malefactor, a wrongdoer.

But again, Luke is the only one who gives us the particulars in this tender scene of a penitent thief, and that's going to be our focus. So consider with me tonight that penitent thief, number one, consider with me his hopeless condition. His hopeless condition. He was a law breaker. He was a robber. He was a thief.

He was a malefactor. And he soon would die. And he would die a just punishment for his crimes. Within hours this man will pass into eternity. He was guilty, guilty of sin that would condemn him for all eternity. Mark 15, 32 tells us, Matthew 27, verse 44 tells us that he, along with the other thief, entered into the mocking and the taunting and the insulting and the reviling of Jesus.

They joined their voices with the crowds. And not to minimize the horrific nature of the death of crucifixion that he was going to endure, it was nothing in comparison to the eternal torment that awaited him after he breathed his last agonizing breath. His condition was hopeless. And that's the condition of every man outside of Christ. He's hopeless. There's not a thing he can do to save himself. There's not a thing he can do to remedy his condition.

There's nothing he can do in his own strength, in his own power. Men are hopeless. They are helpless to earn favor with God. And we never want to forget the reality of the depravity of the human heart. Men have no power.

Men have no ability. They're hopeless, and they are helpless. But not only do we see his hopeless condition, we see, number two, his honest confession. His honest confession. Notice, as the soldiers mocked him, in verse 38, the soldiers also mocked him, coming and offering him sour wine and saying, if you're the king of the Jews, save yourself. And this inscription that was written over him in letters in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, this is the king of the Jews. Verse 39 says, then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed him, saying... Now, if we didn't have the other gospel accounts, we wouldn't know that both of the malefactors, both thieves reviled and mocked and taunted Jesus. But Luke tells us, then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed him, saying, if you are the Christ, save yourself and us.

But the other answering rebuked him, saying, do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong. His honest confession. Number one, he confesses his guilt. He confesses his guilt.

We receive, verse 41, the due reward of our deeds. He was owning his sinfulness, his honest confession. He confesses his guilt. He also confesses the sinlessness of Christ. In contrast to them who were receiving the due reward of their deeds, this man has done nothing wrong, he says. Because he rebukes the other.

There was a point where he was joining with him, joining his voice with this one, but not anymore. He confesses his guilt. He confesses the sinlessness of Christ. He confesses his just condemnation.

We are receiving the due reward of our deeds. He understood that. He confesses that. He also confesses that he fears God.

Notice the rebuke that he offers or he issues to the other. The other answering rebuked him, saying, do you not even fear God? And the implication is that he had become a God-fier.

Now, that was an instantaneous thing. He hadn't been a God-fier all his life, but all of a sudden something has changed. He's not the same person. He confesses that he fears God. At some point, he saw himself as a hell-deserving sinner.

Do you see the irony of what's transpiring here? Here is a king on a cross. A king on a cross? The natural man says it's foolishness.

The natural man cannot comprehend it. But this man confesses the kingship of Christ. He makes this request in verse 42. Then he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. He was acknowledging that this one hanging on this center cross had a kingdom, and it was future, and he wanted to be a part of it.

And for there to be a kingdom, there's got to be a king. And we say, how is this even possible? Well, it's possible in the same way that Peter gave that great confession when Jesus said, whom do men say that I am? And they said, well, some say you're John, some say you're Elijah. And Jesus said, but who do you say that I am? And Peter said, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And what did Jesus say in response to that? Flesh and blood have not revealed this to you, but my Father which is in heaven.

Flesh and blood did not reveal these things to this penitent thief on the cross. And what we're privileged to see in the tenderness of these moments, as cruel as they are, as horrific as they are, is the work of redemption taking place. We're seeing a man being born again. We're seeing a man being regenerated. The Spirit of God has come upon a man who was dead in his trespasses and sins and now he's evidencing spiritual life.

It's amazing. You remember in John chapter 19, maybe you don't remember, but let me recall it for you. The chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, do not write on this placard, do not write the King of the Jews, write, he said he was the King of the Jews.

And Pilate answered, what I have written, I have written. Now, we know what these two men are guilty of that is the cause for their crucifixion. And the question is, why is Jesus being crucified? What is the crime?

What is he guilty of? And let's take a moment to hear what John records for us in John chapter 19. Well, we'll start in John chapter 18.

Three times we're going to have the testimony of Pilate concerning the innocence of Jesus. In John chapter 18, verse 34, Jesus answered him, well, let's start in verse 33. Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus and said to him, are you the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, are you speaking for yourself about this or did others tell you this concerning me? Pilate answered, am I a Jew?

Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you to me, what have you done? Jesus answered, my kingdom is not of this world, if my kingdom were of this world, the Protestants would fight so that I should not be delivered to the Jews, but now my kingdom is not from here. Pilate therefore said to him, are you a king then? Jesus answered, you say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born and for this cause I have come into the world that I should bear witness to the truth.

Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. Pilate said to him, what is truth? And when he said this, he went out again to the Jews and he said to them, I find no fault in him at all, Pilate said. Notice in chapter 19, verse 1, so then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him and the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on his head and put on him a purple robe.

Then they said, hail king of the Jews, and they struck him with their hands. Pilate then went out again and said to them, behold I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no fault in him. Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe and Pilate said to them, behold the man. And therefore when the chief priests and officers saw him, they cried out saying, crucify him, crucify him. Pilate said to them, you take him and crucify him for I find no fault in him.

So Pilate three times says I find no fault in him at all. So again the question, what is Jesus guilty of? And the next two verses tell us why he's there on the cross. The Jews answered him, we have a law and according to our law, he ought to die because he made himself the son of God. Why is Jesus dying on the cross?

Because he's God, because he is the son of God. And that's why God in his providence superintended even this inscription. No, we're not going to yield to those who say, don't say he is the king of the Jews, say that he said he was the king of the Jews. And Pilate said, what I've written I have written. So there it is for all the world to see, all the passerbyers to see, the king of the Jews. Jesus is and was the king of the Jews. So he's dying for being God.

That's why. I think Mark Webb, or not Mark Webb, but Don Theobald reminded us that a world that hates Christ and hates his church, hates us because of our association with Christ and his church. And they want to do to us what they would do to him if they could get their hands on him. And we're seeing what they did when they got their hands on God. Going back to the penitent thief, he confesses the lordship of Christ. He says, in verse 42, he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. He's confessing the lordship of Christ.

In other words, I yield myself to you, you are Lord. Well, his life is coming to an end. How was he going to serve his Lord? He had no prospect, he had no thought that he had time to serve, but he was confessing Jesus as Lord. Now, he couldn't do anything to save himself. He couldn't get off the cross. He couldn't get to Jesus. So Jesus was brought to him.

What we've seen, number one, is hopeless condition. We've seen his honest confession. Consider with me, number three, his heavenly salvation. Verse 43, in response to his humble request, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Verse 43, Jesus said to him, assuredly, I say to you today, today you will be with me in paradise. Again, we're beautifully shown that salvation is a sovereign, supernatural work of God's grace. We're seeing the evidence of the regenerating work and power of the Spirit of God. And when this man breathed his last breath, which wasn't going to be very long from this point, he was going to be with Christ in paradise, in heaven, on the authority of Jesus.

Now, think with me. Jesus is being mocked by the religious leaders because he could not save himself. If you're the king of the Jews, save yourself. He was being mocked because he could not save himself, yet he saved others, including the thief, by what? By not saving himself.

Yes. The promise that this penitent thief would be with Jesus in heaven that very day invalidates the Roman Catholic teaching regarding purgatory. That day, today, you will be with me in paradise. So that forever invalidates this erroneous teaching of purgatory. It also sounds the death nail to any system of work's righteousness. This man was going to be in paradise not because of anything he did, right? Could it be anything any more demonstrative than the reality and the fact this man could do nothing for himself, didn't do nothing for himself?

This penitent thief had neither time nor opportunity to do anything that could be construed to merit salvation. And this account also gives tremendous hope for our unconverted family members and friends. This man was saved at the last possible moment. And as J.C. Ryle so eloquently puts it, two thieves on the cross, one saved so that no one need despair, but only one so that no one will presume. Burley Moore sent a YouTube video of Alistair Begg preaching at the end of a sermon about this penitent thief.

Carty brought it to my attention and I watched it. Alistair Begg uses a bit of sanctified imagination and he says, so imagine this man showing up in paradise, showing up in heaven, and he's being questioned, how did you get here? I don't know. What do you mean you don't know? I don't know. Well, do you understand the doctrine of justification?

What's that? Have you been baptized? No. Are you a member of a church somewhere? No. Well, we've got to get somebody else in here for this interview, so I mean it's creating a consternation in heaven. So they begin to question the man some more and the man says, all I know, all I know is the man on the middle cross that I could come. That's it. That's why I'm here.

Yeah. The only way you or I will ever get to glory, get to heaven, get to paradise is because Jesus has made a way for us to be there because we all deserve eternal death. We can do nothing to save ourselves. Salvation is in the person and work of Jesus Christ and Him alone. I thought about it versus scripture and then I thought, you know, James tells us that God resists the proud but He gives grace to the humble. And I've thought about that in this context. Here's a man who's been brought to humility. And what has happened? God has given grace that this proud man might become humble, that he might call upon Jesus.

And that's what we need. Salvation is of the Lord from beginning to end and He's the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I wanted to be sure that it was J.C. Ryle that made those statements about two thieves. And it was indeed J.C. Ryle. And I found a sermon from 2011 or a post on September 18, 2011.

And let me bring this message to a conclusion by citing some things that J.C. Ryle said. He says, two malefactors were crucified together with our Lord, one on His right hand and the other on His left. Both were equally near to Christ. Both saw and heard all that happened during the six hours that He hung on the cross. Both were dying men.

Both suffered acute pain. Both were alike, wicked sinners and needed forgiveness. Yet one died in his sins as he had lived, hardened, impenitent and unbelieving. The other repented, believed, cried to Jesus for mercy and was saved. He says, a fact like this should teach us humility.

We cannot account for it. We can only say, even so, Father, for it seems good in your sight, Matthew 11 26. How is it that under precisely the same circumstances, one man is converted and another remains dead in sins? Why the very same sermon is heard by one man with complete indifference and sends another home to pray and seek Christ. Why the same gospel is hidden to one and revealed to another.

All these are questions which we cannot possibly answer. We only know that it is so and that it is useless to deny it. Brothers and sisters, believing what we believe about salvation and the way in which God saves sinners and the way in which God saves sinners is that he gets all the glory.

No man gets any. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy, he has saved us by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. Let's be earnest in our praying.

Let's be trusting of a God who is sovereign, a God who is kind, a God who is merciful, a God who delights to show compassion. You say, well, how do we explain the salvation of this man? Well, this man hung on a cross. He had been around Jesus. He heard the seven, well, he didn't hear all seven sayings of Jesus on the cross, but he probably heard six of them. When Jesus said to Telestai, it is finished, he may have already been dead, but he heard and saw the compassion that Jesus had for his mother as he commended her to John the Apostle. He heard the words, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. He heard, he witnessed the centurion who said, and I think the penitent thief had already died, but the penitent thief says, behold, this indeed is the Son of God. That was his testimony of what he witnessed.

His life was affected by. And we don't know what exposure he had to Jesus prior to being condemned to hang on a cross. So my point is that we shouldn't just be mystical and bewildered about how indeed God saves men and women. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

And that shouldn't be a mystery to us. So we should make every effort we can to have our loved ones sitting under the preaching of the word of God, exposing him to the word of God, witnessing to them, setting the word of life before them, and trusting that God will use it in their lives for good. But again, there's wonderful encouragement here and hope, but also a warning not to presume. So if there's those here tonight who are outside of Christ and you've heard, you've seen the testimony of a penitent thief, you're shut up to the mercy of God. That's your only hope. And our prayer is that God will do for you what he did for this penitent thief who could do nothing for himself. Don't be under the foolishness and the lie that there's something you can do.

There's nothing you can do to save yourself. God must do the saving. Let's bow and pray. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for Jesus who came to seek and to save that which was lost. Thank you for this tender account of this penitent thief, a man who deserved to die, a man who was under the just condemnation for his wrongdoing, and yet the Savior had compassion on him, had mercy on him. And for those of us who are in Christ who will one day be in paradise in heaven, we will hear or see or converse with this man one day in glory. Thank you for this beautiful gospel picture that gives us hope, that shows us the way of salvation, that glorifies your Son in the saving of sinners. Father, bless this word to our hearts and to any who are here who are outside of Christ. Would you do for them what you did for this penitent thief? We pray in Jesus' name, amen.