Crucified Mercy #2

The one who showed such mercy to his enemies, mercies to the repentant thief, mercies to his mother, is the same one dispensing mercy to us in our hour of need as well. If you look carefully at the seven statements Jesus made from the cross, it soon becomes apparent that, when combined, they lay out a blueprint of God's eternal plan of salvation. Today, Don continues with a series called Reflections on Our Lord, with part two of a message titled Crucified Mercy.

If you're ready, let's get started. Here is our teacher with today's lesson from the Truth Poulton. Point number two, mercy for the repentant. Mercy for the repentant. Christ showed mercy to a repentant sinner at verse 39 of Luke 23. And as you compare Scripture with Scripture, as you read all the Gospel accounts, you realize that a short time earlier, even this repentant thief had been mocking Christ as well and hurling abuse at him. But there was a work in his heart as he read the inscription that was above the head of Jesus. This is Jesus the Nazarene, the king of the Jews. He read about this king. He saw the way that the king was showing mercy, and the Spirit of God worked in his heart as well.

And let's look at this. Verse 39. One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at him, saying, Are you not the Christ?

Save yourself and us. But the other answered, and rebuking him, said, Do you not even fear God since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our sins, but this man has done nothing wrong. And he was saying, Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom. Has there ever been a more obviously helpless man calling out to Christ than the thief on the cross? Death was a short time away from him. He was, by his own testimony, a man guilty and worthy of death. He had nothing to offer to Christ whatsoever. He simply understood his sin and called out to Christ.

And how did Christ respond to him? What was the thief doing here? Beloved, do you see it? In a positive sense, in a confessional sense, he says we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds. He is acknowledging his guilt. He says, I am on this cross and deservedly so.

I deserve condemnation. And so he has nothing of merit to bring to Christ whatsoever. He's not in any position to perform any religious rituals. He's not in any position to do any deeds of mercy or to give any money to the local synagogue.

It's over for him as far as what he can do in life. And all he has, he hangs there, stripped of his clothing as a guilty, condemned sinner, and he knows it. And he knew his need. And so in utter humility, he asks this merciful Christ for something that he knows he does not deserve. He says, Jesus, verse 42, look at it again with me. Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom. You see the first person singular again?

You see how personal and individual it is? As he's drawing some of his dying breaths, he cries out, Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom. And what did Christ do? He responded in mercy. He looked on this one in unspeakable need, unspeakable helplessness, and with great concern, with great kindness, he makes a promise to him.

He says to him, truly I say to you, today you shall be with me in paradise. And the torture of a guilty conscience, the torture of a body racked in pain, is suddenly replaced with the shining, bright, flaming hope of paradise just on the other side of his suffering. Speaking of the thief on the cross, and on that day, Jesus, as it were, carried that thief into paradise with him. That's mercy. That's just unfathomable mercy. Now, I'm always mindful that I'm talking to a mixed audience in the sense that many I trust are in Christ, but there are several, if not many, who are not.

And so it's very important to me as a preacher, however awkward it may make my transitions, it's always important for me to make a distinction and to trust the Spirit of God to speak to hearts and to apply the Word as it needs to be applied. There were two thieves with Jesus being crucified. Only one of them went to paradise. The other was left in his sins. And it is imperative for you who are not in Christ not to presume on this mercy, not to presume on it by saying, I'll get it eventually, or to assume that everybody is going to heaven.

That's not true. Not everyone is going to heaven. In fact, Jesus said there are few who find the path that leads to life. And so while we are all encouraged by the example of the repentant thief, that Christ will receive even the worst of sinners, even in their hour of desperation, He will show mercy to the one who calls upon Him.

There is a warning to the one who doesn't. There is hope of mercy for the repentant, but there is a warning to the unrepentant that not all are going to be saved. And so I encourage you, my friends, I ask by the mercy of God that your eyes would be opened and to realize that you need to come as the repentant thief and not presume that you will not be like the thief that was left in his sins. And the hope for us, the promise of it all in Scripture, is that every sinner who genuinely comes to Christ asking for mercy will receive mercy from his hand.

In the Gospel of John chapter 1, it says, As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe on His name. The promise is for those who are near and for those who are far away. The promise is for those who have carried their guilt for a long time, and the promise is equally available to the one who is just feeling the first pangs of guilt, only now being opened, you don't need to wait to come until you feel worse about your sins. You certainly shouldn't wait to come to Christ while you try to clean up your life.

You can't do that. There's nothing that you can do to make yourself more acceptable to a holy God. You just come to Christ in mercy and remember that the thief cried out, Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom, and the response of Christ was immediate, you will be with me in paradise. What can we say about this except that this is one wonderfully merciful Savior, and that that mercy, that fountain of mercy, is flowing just as clear and full and bright today as it was back 2,000 years ago. By nature, He is merciful. Mercy is one of the immutable attributes of God.

It does not change, and so when any sinner comes to Christ asking in repentant faith for mercy, he will find it. It's a promise from God. It is a promise of blessing. I like to say that.

I like to remind people of that. As we preach the gospel and as we warn sinners of their guilt and of coming judgment, it's not simply a warning, a cold, austere warning that we give. There is alongside that this wonderful promise of mercy to those who will come, a promise to be believed, a promise to be trusted, a promise to be received that Christ shows mercy to every repentant sinner that comes to Him. Without exception, there's none that He turns away.

There is nothing that you have done in your life that hinders you from receiving Christ and His salvation. His blood covers the foulest. His blood makes the foulest clean.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to cleanse us from our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, because He's merciful. Thirdly, we see His mercy for His mother. His mercy for His mother. And for this, we turn over to the gospel of John chapter 19. John chapter 19 in verse 25. While He was on the cross, our Lord showed mercy to His widowed mother as she was watching Him die. Look at verse 25 with me. You know, the fifth commandment tells God's moral laws that children are to honor their parents.

Honor your father and your mother, for this is right, as it says in Ephesians 6 as it comments on it. And here we see Christ honoring His own mother in His dying hour and caring for her, fulfilling the law of God in the time of His deepest anguish. So in verse 25, John chapter 19, we see this. But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus then saw His mother, remember He's nailed to a cross, the arms which no doubt at times held His mother in a loving embrace, as a young child putting His arms around her neck, as an adult perhaps also putting His arms around His mother to show love to her. Now His arms are nailed, His hands are nailed I should say, and they cannot reach out to her physically.

But His mercy extends to her in her need. So in verse 26, when Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, Woman, behold your son. Then He said to the disciple, Behold your mother.

What was going on there? Well, Scripture tells us, from that hour the disciple took her into his own household. She was going to be left without means to provide for herself.

Jesus assigns the disciple to care for his mother after he is gone. We can hardly imagine what was going through Mary's heart as she watched her son dying in agony. She had an agony of her own.

It was not a redemptive agony, contrary to what some might say. Her agony paid for not a single sin. Only Christ can forgive sin. Mary can't do any of that. She was a sinner herself. How could her agony save anyone? When she herself, she said, I rejoice in my Savior. She needed a Savior herself, as the testimony of her own lips testified in the Gospel of Luke. But still she was a godly mother. We can only imagine the agony in her heart as she looked on at the son that had been such a blessing to her.

A.W. Pink puts it this way. He said, Try and read the thoughts and emotions of that mother's heart. Tell what a sword it was that pierced her soul then. Never such bliss at a human birth.

Never such sorrow at a human death. And in the depth of the humiliation of our Lord, we see again, my friends, the height of his mercy as he was crucified. Pink goes on to say this. Speaking of Christ, he says, He thought of her who loved him in whom he loved. He thought of her present necessity and provided for her future need by committing her to the care of that disciple who most deeply understood his love.

He thought for Mary at that time, and the honor he gave her was one of the manifestations of his victory over pain. End quote. Then he goes on to say, Later, Pink does, Engaged as Christ was in a divine transaction, making atonement for all the sins of all his people, grappling with the powers of darkness, yet, amid it all, he has still the same human tenderness which shows the perfection of the man Jesus Christ.

End quote. Do you see it? He's suffering physically. He's suffering spiritually. He's not simply, he's not simply resisting the taunts of his enemies. There's a whole demonic realm being unleashed against him as he suffers on the cross. And yet he looks beyond his need and sees the need of his mother and cares for her. Her need, legitimate, his concern, his kindness, providing for him in that hour of extremity. And you know what? There's a lot of reasons for us to love the Lord Jesus.

Here's another one. It's that his mercies for his people haven't changed. And we can rest in him. The one who showed such mercy to his enemies, mercies to the repentant thief, mercies to his mother, is the same one dispensing mercy to us in our hour of need as well. Whether it's physical or spiritual needs, whether it's cleansing from a guilty conscience or the balm needed for a suffering soul in the midst of human conflict and rejection, we can go to our Lord Jesus and know that we will find mercy. We know that we can go to him and that he will care for us, that he cares for us. Isn't that what Scripture says ever so plainly? For example, in 1 Peter 5, you don't need to turn there, casting all your anxiety upon him. Why? Because he cares for you.

He's concerned for you. And I know, as you know by direct personal experience that those times of human suffering at times can make it seem like God is far away. But that's not true.

That's not the reality. We base it not on what we feel or judge it by circumstances that are adverse. No, we base it on his holy word, which tells us he cares for us. And he cares for us, and we see his mercy and care manifested by the way that he cared for his mother on the cross. And so we can rest in him. And when we go in sorrow and difficulty, hardly able to sometimes to form a coherent thought to express our prayers, sometimes just the tears running down our cheek, giving eloquent testimony to what our tongue cannot express that's in our heart, the Lord understands and the Lord cares. He knows what's on our tongue before we speak it.

And so we can rest in him. Jeremiah said this in the book of Lamentations. He said, This I recall to mine, therefore I have hope. The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. In the New Testament, it speaks about his sympathetic concern for the needs of his people.

I quote it often because I need it, and I presume you need it too. From Hebrews chapter 4, Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. And so through these three sayings on the cross, we see the great mercy of Christ illustrated for us. And as we come to the table with these elements that remind us of his body and his blood, we have another reminder of the great mercy that he has shown for us.

Oh, my friends, don't you understand? Do you see that we should never speak lightly of Christ, never speak lightly of his mercy, and that there is never legitimate reason to doubt it? So we are privileged as believers to remember him at the table, to remember the mercy that he showed on the cross and the mercy that he has shown to us. And if we're walking through the valley of the shadow of death or walking through particularly difficult times, we look at God's word, we remember the cross, and we remember that his mercy is there even if we do not feel it at the moment, and we trust in what he has revealed rather than in what we feel.

And so the bread reminds us of his body, the cup reminds us of his shed blood, and before the men come, let me just say this, two things that will almost sound in opposition to each other. This table is by reservation only. What I mean by that is that it is limited to those who know the Lord Jesus Christ, who freely and openly confess their utter helplessness and sinfulness, who freely and openly acknowledge that their hope is in Christ alone, and through that confession express a measure of repentance that says, I have turned from sin, I am trusting in Christ alone for my salvation.

So when I say reservation only, this table is only for people like that. But at the same time, it's for every true Christian who does make that confession. If you're a Christian, even if you are not a member of this church, we invite you to share in this table with us. It's the Lord's table, not Truth Community Church's table. We simply ask you to come in a repentant spirit, confessing any known sin in your life to God before you partake of the elements.

Don't take it in an unworthy way. As you think about his mercy, we should reflect on the fact of how wrong it would be, having seen such a great view of his mercy from his Word, to take elements that further speak of his mercy while we are tight-fisted in our rebellion against him. Sometimes it's good for people to stay away from the communion table. When they love their sin more than they want repentance, better to be away from the table than to be there taking it and mocking the blood of Christ by their rebellion. And yet, for those of us that are repentant and take it in that repentant spirit, what a moment of joy to remember the mercy that's been shown to us in Christ. If you're not a Christian, we just ask you to let these elements pass.

Don't partake in that which symbolizes something that you have rejected the reality of. Well, you've been listening to The Truth Pulpit with Don Green. And friend, if you've missed any part of today's lesson, you can hear it again or share it with a friend simply by going to thetruthpulpit.com.

That's thetruthpulpit.com. And now just before we go, here's Don to tell us about a special upcoming event. Well, that's right, Bill. My friend, I want to extend a special invitation to you to join us for a special evening with John MacArthur, Tuesday, May 17, on the campus of Northern Kentucky University, which is just minutes north of downtown Cincinnati. John will be with us live and in person.

There will be wonderful music and warm fellowship with thousands of believers from all over the country. Here's all you need to do to attend. Go to our website by April 30, truthcommunitychurch.org, and register for your free tickets.

The tickets are no cost to you, but you must register to attend. That's May 17 with John MacArthur. Register by April 30 at our website, truthcommunitychurch.org. I look forward to seeing you there. Thanks, Don. And friend, that brings our time for today to a close. I'm Bill Wright, and we hope you can join us again next time as Don Green continues teaching God's people God's Word here on The Truth Pulpit.