Ps. Craig Mobey
I am often amazed at how complicated we make things to be. One radical statement I heard was “I don’t need theology; I only need Jesus.” That person just did theology, and we all need Jesus.
Today I want to speak about a dying man who called out to Jesus, a dying man unable to fold his hands to pray, unable to kneel, and who in his last moments practised theology in its simplest and purest form.
Scripture: Luke 23:39-43 (NIV)
39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?
41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Introduction: famous last words
Humphrey Bogart, “I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis.”
Winston Churchill, “I’m bored with it all.”
Karl Marx, “Go on, get out! Last words are for fools who haven’t said enough!”
The thief on the cross, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Jesus Christ, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise. Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. It is finished.”
Body
We can easily answer the question, where was Jesus when the repentant thief needed Him? Likewise, we can easily answer the question, of where Jesus was when the fishermen in the boat needed Him.
Since we know that God is always with us when we need Him, a more challenging question is, “Where are you when you need Jesus?” The men crucified on either side of Jesus were criminals. Thieves. They were experiencing, in a very cruel way, the consequences of their wrongdoings. One mocked Jesus and the other thief came to salvation.
A lifeguard was asked, “How can you hear a person drowning with all these people making noise on the beach?” The lifeguard said, “My ears are turned toward those in distress calling my help.”
For the thief that came to salvation, there was no baptism, no communion, no signs & wonders, no church clothing, no sinner’s prayer, so smart and snappy phrases, no loud music, no worship team, no skinny jeans and pointed shoes, no smoke machines and stage lights, no altar call and no “big name” pastor preaching.
There wasn’t holding hands together and there wasn’t any kneeling.
All he said was, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Some translations, instead of “Jesus” say “Lord.” The point is, that a simple confession of faith happened, and Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
There is a transformation that happens within us in the presence of God. Things change as defences and egos melt away: we become aware of the weight of sin and our guilt.
On that day, two thieves hung upon the cross beside Jesus. Herein lay something interesting: it is true that many people over history past, present and future will have heard of Jesus, and some will mock, and others will be saved. People’s responses to the Gospel are going to be different; the people who will accompany us through eternity might be very different to the people that accompany us through this world.
I am reminded of the fact that Jesus did not take the thief off the cross. He did not heal him. He did not remove the thief’s physical pain. He did not strike the mockers at the foot of the cross.
This thief had nothing more to offer Jesus other than to believe that Jesus was who He said He was. Jesus met that thief when the thief’s “deservedness of salvation” was at its lowest point. And here is the thing, our “deservedness of salvation,” even at its highest point is not enough. Because at some moment in time, every one of us has sinned. If you have sinned even once, your deservedness is not salvation, but justice.
The thieves on the cross are a painful reminder of justice. Jesus on the cross is a painful reminder of mercy.
Calling out to Jesus is being saved by grace alone through faith alone.
If anyone gathered at the cross were to ask the repentant thief, “Why should God allow you into heaven?”, he could not answer:
- “I reformed my life.
- I kept The Law.
- I belong to a church denomination.
- I have connections.
- My grandmother prayed for me.
- I was baptized and had communion.
- I did the right religious things.”
None of the above will get anyone through the proverbial Pearly Gates. There is in all of us, the problem of sin.
The thief could, however, answer: “I don’t deserve to go to heaven because I have done some things. But there is one thing I have said, that will get me into heaven, and that is ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’”
Calling out to Jesus is being saved by grace alone through faith alone.
Romans 10:9 reads, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
- Did the thief declare Jesus is Lord? Yes. He addressed Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
- Did the thief believe in his heart that God raised Him – Jesus – from the dead? Or shall I say “will raise Jesus from the dead” since Jesus was still alive. Yes. The thief said, “…when you come into your kingdom.”
Conclusion: a living declaration of faith
Sometimes what we do speaks louder than what we say. Let this thought sink in for a few moments. It is because of what the thieves did that they found themselves on a cross. It is because of what we did that found Jesus on a cross. Let this fact sink in for a while.
A man was challenged over and over by a pastor to confess faith in Jesus as His Lord and Saviour. The pastor was becoming more and more urgent in his appeal to the man and begged him not to procrastinate. The man would mockingly reply, “I’m going to sow some wild oats and live a life of pleasure. Then at the last moment, I am going to be like the thief on the cross.”
Finally, the pastor said, “Which thief? There were two of them.”
If the proverbial Pearly Gates are open for you and me, then the reason why they are open should show while we are still alive on this side of the grave. It must be obvious.
What would you say if you left this earth and stood before God today and He asked you, “Why should I open the Pearly Gates for you?” Know that there is no other way but the way that the thief on the cross came to Christ. … Amen.