Sermon

March 28, 2001
Midweek Lenten #5
Luke 23:39-42

Follow Jesus - with a Repentant Heart

1. The Dying Thief Acknowledged His Sin
2. The Dying Thief Placed His Trust in Jesus as His Savior

Can you tell me, do you have a hero? I mean, is there anybody in your life who you always kind of looked up to, someone whose life you've tried to emulate, someone who has served as a role model for you down through the years? Maybe your role model in life is your father or mother or an older sister or brother. Maybe it was a teacher or employer who had a special impact on your life, someone whose footsteps you've tried to follow. Maybe you had or still have a friend, neighbor, or coworker who you look up to, someone whose attitude or demeanor you seek to imitate in your daily life.

Chances are, we all have someone we've looked up to in life, someone who served as a role model at different times and in different ways. But now, as you think about those special people in your life, as you think about that list of names who have served as role models for you, can you tell me is the name Kenneth Hudson on that list? How about Timothy McVeigh or Terry Nichols? Maybe Jeffery Dahmer or Ted Bundy. Now if you recognize any of those names you're probably thinking to yourself, "Are you kidding me, Pastor? Why would I choose one of those guys as a role model for my life? They've all been convicted of terrible crimes against their fellow man. There's no way in the world I would want to emulate their behavior!" And you know, I can't argue with that kind of thinking. Using a convicted felon as a role model for our lives doesn't seem to be a real good idea-unless, of course, that felon happens to be one of the criminals hanging on a cross next to Jesus.

You see, here in Luke's account of Jesus' crucifixion, the gospel-writer gives us a glimpse into the life and heart of a man who in his day, would have had about the same reputation that Jeffery Dahmer or Timothy McVeigh has today. God has seen fit to record this dying man's last hours in the pages of Scripture for our benefit. And while God would not want us to emulate this man's life, God would have us emulate this man's heart-at least the heart he displayed during the closing hours of his life. Today, God's Holy Word encourages you and me to:

Follow Jesus - with a Repentant Heart

Here in our text, this dying thief gave evidence of his repentant heart in two ways:

1. The Dying Thief Acknowledged His Sin
2. The Dying Thief Placed His Trust in Jesus as His Savior

As you know, this thief on the cross was one of two men crucified alongside Jesus. Luke refers to them as criminals. Matthew describes them as robbers. And yet, we should realize that these men were guilty of more than petty theft or a minor misdemeanor. These men were felons. They would have been on the Ten Most Wanted List of their day. We know that because death by crucifixion was typically reserved only for criminals of the worst sort.

And yet, these men were two very different individuals, who displayed some very different attitudes. Luke tells us that the first criminal joined the crowd in hurling his insults at Jesus. He said, "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" The Greek word here is maybe even a little stronger than hurled insults at Jesus. Literally, the man blasphemed God. The man was cursing God for the situation he was in. He was saying in effect, "God, I don't deserve what's happening to me here. Jesus, you owe it to me to rescue me from this punishment, if you really are God!"

Of course, it was that kind of arrogant, blasphemous insult which led the second thief to rebuke the first with the words, "Don't you fear God, since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man (namely, Jesus) has done nothing wrong." Notice the clear confession of sin that this man makes. He clearly acknowledges that he is being justly punished for the crimes he has committed. He doesn't try to shift the blame to his parents or his teachers or his peers. He doesn't say that it's all society's fault. He doesn't say, "If only I had a better lawyer, I wouldn't be in this predicament." No, this man knows that he has broken the laws of the government and the laws of God. He candidly admits that he is getting what he deserves.

You know, sometimes it takes a situation like the one this man was in to bring out a true confession of sin. Chaplains who work in correctional facilities will tell you that they find it easier to work with the people inside the prison than outside. When a person is sitting on death row, or doing time for a crime, it's a lot harder to wear this mask which says, "I'm above the law. I'm such a good person. God owes me lots of good things." No, when a person is facing a life sentence, or in the case of this thief on the cross, a death sentence, that's when the truth so often comes out, "I am a lawbreaker who deserves to be punished."

My friends, do you think that's what it will take for you and me to confess that very same truth? Will it take sitting in a courtroom or locked behind bars to confess the sins we have committed against God and our fellowman? Will we have to physically sit on death row before we admit that's what we deserve from God? Do we have to have everything taken away from us, before we admit that in and of ourselves, we have nothing good to bring to God? You know, it's so easy for us to think that we have some innate goodness to bring to God; to think that we are certainly better than a lot of people in this world; to think that we don't deserve to be flat punished by a just and holy God. It's at times like these that we need to let this dying thief serve as our role model. This man came to the Lord with a repentant heart. He acknowledged his own unworthiness. He confessed with the hymn writer of old, "Nothing in my hand I bring. Simply to the cross I cling." As God the Holy Spirit called this man to follow Jesus with a repentant heart, so he still calls us to do the very same thing today.

And yet, it must be said that this dying thief did more than acknowledge his sins before God. I mean, Judas Iscariot acknowledged his sins, too. But Judas still ended up on the end of a rope. This thief on the cross not only acknowledged his sins before God. More importantly, II. He Put his Trust In Jesus as His Savior.

How do we know that this man put his trust in Jesus? Well, listen to the request he makes from the cross, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Notice a couple of things about this man's confession. First, the man calls Jesus by name. The word Jesus means "Savior". Remember what the angel said to Joseph before Jesus was born? "You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." Somehow this criminal had come to put his trust in what Jesus' name means, Savior. Secondly, notice that this man calls Jesus a king. Even though Jesus certainly didn't look like a man of royalty as he hung there on a cross, still this man, with the eyes of faith, saw beyond the nails and the timber, and instead saw a scepter and a throne. The man humbly asked Jesus to bring him with him into that heavenly, spiritual kingdom.

And yet, we still might ask, "What would lead this criminal to conclude that this bleeding man hanging beside him was in fact, a king-especially when so many of his countrymen had rejected him as such? Well, there are two things very likely played a role in this man's faith. First, the fact that this man referred to Jesus as a king is likely evidence that he himself was of Jewish descent. The whole idea of Jesus' kingdom has Messianic overtones. It's very likely that this man had been hearing the Old Testament scriptures read since he was a child. Could it be that the words of the Prophet Isaiah were all flooding back to him as he watched the scene in front of him? Isaiah wrote, "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter." Could it be that this criminal recognized these prophetic words from Psalm 22 being fulfilled before his very eyes? "Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." Is it so hard to believe that this man was putting two and two together and coming to the conclusion that what the prophets had prophesied was now being fulfilled before his very eyes?

And how about the sermon that Jesus' enemies were preaching within earshot of this man? Remember, the people were making fun of Jesus by repeating all the claims he had made about himself. What did they say? "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself." "Come down from the cross if you are the Son of God." "He's the King of Israel. Let him come down from the cross and we'll believe in him." "Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" Is it unthinkable that this man listened to the people echo Jesus' claims about himself? As this man compared those claims with the demeanor Jesus displayed; as he heard Jesus say, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing"-is it not possible that this thief concluded that Jesus was exactly who he said he was, namely, the Son of God and Savior of mankind? This criminal next to Jesus witnessed with his eyes and his ears one of the greatest sermons ever preached. Is it not possible that the Holy Spirit used that message of a Father's love and a son's obedience to work faith in the heart of this man? Of course it's possible. In fact, it is absolutely clear that in his dying hour this man put his trust in the God/Man hanging beside him. What a precious statement of faith he made, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." And notice that Jesus doesn't leave the man hanging (figuratively, that is). Jesus immediately offers him this blessed promise, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

I think that there are a couple of lessons for us to take home from this poignant scene on Calvary. First of all, as long as a person is alive, it's not too late to share the good news of a Savior who died to open the doors of paradise. Whether it's your friend dying of cancer, or your grandpa in the nursing home or the criminal on death row-the gospel is the dynamite of God. It has the power to break through hard hearts and open them to the loving sacrifice Jesus has made for them.

Secondly, notice how immediately Jesus responds to this man's simple confession of faith. "Today you will be with me in paradise." There's no talk of purgatory or limbo or a state of soul sleep. There's no questioning, "Do you really mean it?" Or lamenting, "Oh, if only you had lived a better life." Rather, Jesus simply says in effect, "Because I am dying to pay for your sins right now, and because you believe that, I can say to you, 'Today you will be with me in paradise. That is, today your soul will be transported into eternal bliss in heaven."

What a comfort Jesus' words offer to us and to our loved ones as together we face last hours of our life here on this earth. When we know our time is drawing to a close, when we know the eyes of our loved one are closing for the last time, what more precious words could ever be heard that Jesus' promise, "Today you will be with me in paradise"?

My friends, as you and I travel the road of life, there are a lot of examples for us to follow, at different times and for different reasons. But when it comes to an attitude of true repentance, an attitude of humble trust in God's grace and mercy, there are few people who shine quite as brightly as this dying thief. God grant that his acknowledgement of sin be our acknowledgement of sin. May his trust in Jesus, forever be our trust in Jesus. So that when our last our shall come, Jesus' words to him will also be Jesus' words to us, "Today you will be with me in paradise." Amen.