 Now, tonight when we gather, we're going to be having, as mentioned, a different message. And so what I've chosen to do today is to give one message found in Luke chapter 23. And so let's begin reading at verse 39. I'll read to verse 43, and we'll look at this very famous and beautiful portion of Scripture that reveals to us the grace of God. One last chance. In verse 39, 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. Then he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus said to him assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. Obviously, as we pick up our portion of Scripture today, there's so much that could be said. There are so many events that have led up to this. But as we pick up our portion of Scripture, we see that Jesus has been condemned to death. We know that one of his trusted disciples, a man by the name of Judas, has betrayed him. He betrayed him into the hands of the Romans. And Jesus has been sentenced to die by crucifixion. The ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ was a ministry of healing. It was a ministry of preaching. It was a ministry of teaching. And it was brief. It only lasted around three years. But in those three years, he ministered to many, many thousands of people. Multitudes began to follow him. And many of those in those multitudes began to trust him as Lord and Savior. The previous Sunday, people had actually lined the streets of the city of Jerusalem, even as we looked at the events of the triumphal entry, Palm Sunday, just this last week. We pointed out that the people had lined up the streets. Some had come from the city of Jerusalem and moved towards them as he entered in. Some had followed him as he descended the Mount of Olives. And as Jesus was coming down that descent and about to enter into the city, the people began to throw palm branches in front of him. They began to shout and Mark tells us in his gospel, chapter 11, verses 8 through 10, that many spread their clothes on the road. Others cut down leafy branches from the trees, spread them on the road. Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the kingdom of our Father David that comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest. Now in the midst of all of that exuberance, in the midst of all that excitement, as you read your Bible, you discovered that there are some people there who are not sharing in that kind of sentiment. They are the Pharisees. And as I mentioned normally when I use their name, I point out that the word Pharisee means separated one. And this was a religious group of people. They were small in number, but very large in influence. There were only about 6,000 of them. They centered most of their activity around the city of Jerusalem. But they were in high power and positions of influence and they didn't appreciate the Lord Jesus Christ. They didn't appreciate his ministry. And even as the Lord had was entering in, Luke tells us that they began to cry out from the crowd and the Pharisees had said to the Lord Jesus Christ, Rabbi, silence your followers. And Jesus there said to them, he said, listen, if I told them to be quiet, the very stones themselves would begin to cry out. And when you take into consideration that everything in the city of Jerusalem from the pavement to the walls of the buildings was made out of stone, he was simply saying that everything would openly voice praise to God. Creation itself would praise God if these who want to worship Him were silenced. Luke tells us that he came to a place where he stopped for a moment. And he began to weep over the city. If you had only known this your day, he said, but the problem is going to be that you're rejecting the one who has been sent to you. And ultimately what's going to happen is you're going to be surrounded. An embankment is going to be built around you. But a stone in you is going to be left upon another because you didn't recognize the day of visitation. The Pharisees are crying out and saying, silence your disciples. You see, they didn't like the Lord Jesus Christ at all. They were opposed to him. They disapproved of him. And they were very, very open about it. They especially were offended by the fact that Jesus Christ actually spent time with sinners. We know in Matthew chapter 9 verses 10 through 13 that it reads, it happened as Jesus sat at the table in the house that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners? When Jesus heard that, he said to them, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means. I desire mercy and not sacrifice, for I did not come to call the righteous with sinners to repentance. I didn't come to call those who don't think they have a need. I came to call those who are aware that they do. I didn't come to call the self righteous who think that they don't need a savior. I came to call the sinner who knows that they do. That was common. When Jesus entered into Jericho, there was a small man by the name of Zacchaeus who, because the crowd was so packed and he was so small, he climbed into a tree. And Jesus was passing by. He knew where he was. He looked up at him. He said, I need to come to your house. And when Jesus went into the house of Zacchaeus, the people got upset. Why is this man eating with these sinners? And Jesus made it very clear when he spoke to Zacchaeus, he said, the Son of Man has come to seek and to save, that which was lost. That's when Jesus Christ came to do. He came to seek and he came to save the ones who are lost. It's interesting how the Lord Jesus Christ saved his most scathing words of rebuke for religious leaders. He called them a variety of names. He called them blind guides. He called them fools. He called them whitewash tombs. He called them serpents. He spoke of them as being a brood of vipers. And when he spoke concerning their hypocrisy, he meant it very plain. In Matthew 23.5, he said, all their works they do to be seen by men. They would stand on street corners and pray. They would give their alms in a very ostentatious way. They would fast and they would disfigure their faces so that men would know they were fasting. He said, everything that they do, they do to be seen by others. And from others, they receive their reward. But their mouths will profess great love for God. But their hearts, he said, are far from me. So he saved his words for them. And he called them various names, including hypocrites. And he said that they were hypocrites directly to them. Matthew 23.28, he said, you outwardly appear righteous to men. But inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. You see, the Pharisees followed a religious path that elevated human effort. And they were ignorant of the grace of God. When men create a religion, the goal or ideal will normally be achieved by human effort. There will be rules that will be followed to achieve the end of an outward change. And the more demanding, the better. Because ultimately, the goal is achieved because we begin to receive glory. It's obvious that you can change behavior, but the changing of behavior never changes the nature. Rules and regulations never change nature. Rules and regulations can modify behavior. And Jesus taught people that they needed to be born again. They needed to receive a new nature. They needed to have faith in Him because you see, the faith that you have in God, the faith that you have in Christ is a transforming faith. Because when you say, God, be merciful to me, I'm a sinner. And you humble yourself before the Lord. And you say, have mercy. God has mercy. And He gives to you something you didn't have before. He gives you a new heart. Like it says in Ezekiel, 36, 26, God promised, I'll give you a new heart. I'll put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And the things that you begin to do, the fasting and the praying and the giving and all of those things actually originate from within. They actually begin to come from within you. They pour out from within you. So it's not simply an outer change in and of itself. It's an interchange because of transformation. That's why Paul would say, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. And so the Lord Jesus Christ was opposed by the Pharisees. The Pharisees were religious leaders. But the Pharisees believed in their rules and their regulations. And they would get upset at Him because He didn't follow their rules. They called Him a Sabbath breaker. They called Him a blasphemer. You see, He had made to them an outrageous claim and they called it blasphemous. He had stated that He was the only way to get to God in order to enter into heaven. And that was beyond anything they could receive. But that's what He taught. He said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. Now that's outrageous if it isn't true. I mean, if a pastor got up on a Sunday morning and said, you know, I need to let you know something, you'll never get to heaven unless you receive me into your heart. If that church has any wisdom at all, they'd get up and they'd be moving on out pretty quickly. Because that pastor must be a lunatic. Or there's just something really wrong with that man. There's something wrong with him. I'm not going to follow him. He's crazy. He's saying the only way to get to God is through him. You've got to be kidding me. But that's what Jesus said. Either he's a lunatic or he's a liar. If he's a liar, then why would I follow him? If he's a lunatic, then he shouldn't be followed. But if he isn't a lunatic and if he is not a liar, what if his words are true? If his words are true, then even as C.S. Lewis once said, then he would be Lord. And that's what Jesus Christ said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. And that got these Pharisees absolutely incredibly angry. He in Matthew chapter 11 verses 28 through 30, Jesus had said, Come into me all you labor and I have you laden, I'll give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart. You will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy. My burden is light in the business and frustrating activity called life. Jesus promised something that you can't have without him. He promised rest. That's something we understand today. We are busy and we have anxiety that fills this world. Ecclesiastes chapter 2 verses 22 and 23 says, What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? All his days, his work, his pain and grief. Even at night his mind does not rest. Rest too is meaningless. So Jesus gives an invitation, come and receive forgiveness of sin. Come and enter in to my rest. It's an invitation that is open to anybody who is willing to come. Like it says in Acts 10.43 to him give all the prophets witness that through his name whoever believes in him shall receive remission of sins. So he says come. And he says to those who are laboring, those who are heavy laden that they are to come. Laboring speaks of being exhausted and heavy laden speaks of carrying a great weight. So he's saying all of you who are carrying a heavy burden of sin that is unforgiven, you need to come to me. Like it says in Isaiah 1.4 sinful nation people loaded with guilt, root of evildoers, children given to corruption. They have forsaken the Lord. They have spurned the Holy One of Israel, turned their backs on him. But he's still giving the invitation, come and you'll have rest from your labor. Labor can also speak of your long journey. And he said your journey will be over and you can be revived and you can settle peacefully. He says take my yoke and learn from me. The term yoke is a rabbinic term. It represents some total of obligations which a person must take upon themselves. But this yoke had become a burden and Jesus is saying I can set you free. And you can learn from me because he said I'm gentle and lowly my burden is light. Well, that angered the religious authorities who rejected him as well as his message. They especially desired his death because he had stated he was the son of God. But that statement alone could not get Jesus put to death because that's a religious charge. I mean, when they stood before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, they said to him in John 19, verse 7, according to our law, he ought to die. He made himself out to be the son of God. Well, that's a question concerning Jewish law Pontius Pilate's response would be. That is something that the political government really has no jurisdiction over. The government isn't supposed to be telling the religious people how to practice their faith, is what he was saying. And so when they said we have a law, he needs to be put to death, that wasn't something that Pilate necessarily would be listening to. So they created another charge that was political. You see that charge in chapter 23 here in Luke, verses 1 and 2, when it said the whole multitude of them arose and led them to Pilate, they began to accuse him saying, we found this fellow perverting the nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ the King. So the charge for them was really religious in nature because they saw Jesus to be a blaspheming, Sabbath-breaking, false teacher. But that was not sufficient for the Romans to put Jesus to death, and thus they created a political charge saying that Jesus Christ was guilty of insurrection. And that's what Pilate had to respond to because the charge had been made. Now, as he's been led to be crucified, picking up at verse 39, and Jesus is there on the cross, and I'm going to develop this a little bit further, it says in verse 39, 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? We, indigestly, we receive the due reward for our deeds. This man has done nothing wrong. Then he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Well, Jesus didn't die alone. Notice it says he died between two criminals. Now, Mark gives us insight into these men in chapter 15 of his gospel, verse 27. He said they crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left. The word robber speaks of a man who is violent and capable of murder. And so by placing Jesus between these two thieves, these robbers, the message was Jesus is a criminal amongst other criminals. Now, they didn't realize that by placing him in this way, he was actually being given opportunity to fulfill a prophecy that had been given by Isaiah the prophet over 700 years before. And it's recorded in Isaiah 5312 when when Isaiah speaking of Messiah said he was numbered with the transgressors. So Jesus is placed there between these two thieves. And and in verse 33 continuing in verse 33, it had said, when they had come to the place called Calvary, they crucified him and criminals one on the right hand and the other on the left. And so this occurred at nine o'clock in the morning. According to Mark 15, 25, and he is now in excruciating pain. Now, Jesus could have done what normally would have been done during that day. And there's there are records of what would take place when people were crucified. They would die. Many of them would die in a prolonged agonizing way. And as they were dying because of the great pain and suffering and there that what occurred to them emotionally and mentally, they would begin to shriek and they would begin to curse. They would begin to spit at people. They would they would go crazy. They would beg to come off of that cross. But what took place? Well, Jesus was a bit different. The Gospel writers record something that has been called by theologians, the seven last words of Christ. You see, in the various Gospels, there are things that Jesus said while he was on the cross and they have collected these sayings of Christ. And they actually recorded that there were seven specific things that Jesus said when he was on the cross. And they've actually been broken down into categories. For example, in John 19, verses 26 and 27, we have what has been called a word of compassion. Because when Jesus is on the cross, John records that Jesus said to his mother, Behold your son in reference to John, the apostle. And then secondly, he said to John, Behold your mother. So that was what is called a word of compassion. He spoke to his mother, Behold your son. Pointing out John, by the way, he wasn't saying look at me and what they've done to me. He was simply entrusting his mother into the care of a beloved disciple. And he says to the disciple, This woman now is to be treated as your mother. It's been called a word of compassion. Mark in chapter 15, verse 34, records what is called a word of anguish. When Jesus was there on the cross and he cried out, Alleluia, alleluia, lamas, the Bahtani, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? A word of anguish. John 19, verse 30, records what is called a word of victory when Jesus Christ said, It is finished. Luke 23, verse 46, records what is called the word of trust. When Jesus said, Father, into thy hands, I commit my spirit. And I've shared with you before that that was actually taken out of a psalm. And it was the night prayers of Jewish children that when they would go to bed, they would recite the psalm into thy hands, I commit my spirit. Which was a much more beautiful bedtime prayer than, Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And if I die before I wake, who's going to go to sleep? But there it was, Father, into thy hands, I commit my spirit. And what I love about that image is because when he said, Father, into thy hands, I commit my spirit. The scripture says that his head went down. He placed his head on the cross like it was his pillow. And he went to be with his Lord and he dismissed his spirit. Into thy hands, I commit my spirit. And he died, a father that he trusted. And here we have two words. In verse 34, we have what is called a word of mercy. In verse 34, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And we also have a word of grace that we'll see in verse 43. When he gave the word of mercy, that simply reveals that he prayed for them. Here's something for us to remember. His mercy towards sinners and his desire for sinners to be saved is revealed that even on the cross, he continues to pray. God wants people to be saved. We need to remember that. Ezekiel 33.11 says it like this. As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. And as they're watching, Jesus die and they hear him and they hear him say, forgive them. What is their response? Well, the Bible tells us very clearly what's going on. In verse 35, the people stood looking on, but even the rulers with them sneered, saying he saved others. Let him save himself if he is the Christ that chosen of God. The soldiers mocked him, coming and offering him sour wine, saying if you're the king of the Jews, save yourself. That's how they responded to Christ's prayer for them, as they rejected it. They even made light of it. Save yourself. Save yourself is the primary mentality of human beings, looking out for number one. They were simply saying, you're powerless to do that. But seeing that we have you under our control, why don't you do it and show us that you can. But if the Lord would have come down from the cross, then mankind would have been doomed forever. And as this is taking place, the criminals in verse 39, one of the criminals were hanged blaspheme to him saying, if you are the Christ, save yourself and us. What do you see here in this first thief? At the heart of his cry, he's simply saying, get me off of this cross. Now if I come off of this cross, I'm going to remain exactly as I am. I want you to get me off of this cross. You don't see any fear of God. You don't see any sorrow. You don't see any repentance for a life that was poorly spent. You don't even see in him a sense that he deserved the punishment that he was enduring. It is a picture of a sin-hardened man. While he's dying, even while he's dying, there's no sense and there's no sorrow. There's no sense of repentance. As a matter of fact, he's mocking Jesus Christ. He does so throughout the whole ordeal. The other one had done so too. Mark tells us in chapter 1532, those who were crucified with him reviled him. He just continued to the very end. But as this is taking place, it's given time for the other one to see the things that Christ is doing, how he's responding, the things he's saying. He's hearing him. We don't have a full catalog of the things that were said there on the cross, but undoubtedly this man who is listening, knowing that he's about to die, turns in verse 40 and he rebukes this one. He says, do you not even fear God seeing you are under the same condemnation? Wake up! You're about to enter into eternity. You don't even realize it. When I was in the military, I was in the airborne. And in the airborne, we jumped out of planes and helicopters. That's what you do. We were at a jump exhibition. And it was a contest. And I had detailed that day to drive a douche and a half, a two and a half ton truck. And those who were competing in this particular competition, when they would hit and they'd get their score, I was the guy that they would come with their parachute and climb in the back of the truck and I would drive them back to wherever it is that they needed to assemble. And so I still remember looking into the sky and they're jumping and seeing this guy with a malfunctioning parachute. And as he came down, you know he's going to die. You know he's going to die. And yet what happened is his parachute hung up on a tree. And when it hit the tree in the branches, it actually saved his life. And it was kind of like a spring. So you hit the tree and you keep going down but you're not hitting the ground and went back up. And when he was picked up, all he was doing was swearing, cussing because he got a poor score. And I never, never, never understood that. That this, this, this bozo is about to die and he's cussing using the name of the Lord in vain. But that's how deeply our sin can be embedded in it. That's what's in us. That's what comes out. It's what's within us. And that's what's taking place. On the one hand, you have this criminal saying, if you are God, if you are God's son, get me off of this. I'm in such agony, I'm dying. I'll do anything, get me off of this. I'm not going to change but I do want to be removed from this physically. I want to be saved spiritually. No, but the other one's saying, don't you even fear God, seeing that we're under the same condemnation and yet we justly, we are people who are criminals and we deserve what we're getting. But this man has done nothing wrong. You're about to enter into eternity and you don't even care. You think you're going to continue on the way that you are even right now and that's not true. This man believed that the soul lives on after, after death and he was concerned about that. Ecclesiastes 321 says, who knows the spirit of the sons of men which goes upward and the spirit of the animal which goes down to the earth. Ecclesiastes 12.7 says, the dust will return to the earth as it was and the spirit will return to God who gave it. He says, you're about to stand before God and you don't realize that. And so what he does is he's being touched by what's going on and he realizes it's not too late. He recognizes his own sin. He asks the question, do you not fear God? The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge. He recognizes Jesus as innocent. He says, we're condemned justly. That is a revealing confession. Then he recognizes Jesus as king. Lord, remember me when you enter into your kingdom. This is what would actually be what we today would refer to as a sinner's prayer. Lord, remember me. Lord, forgive me. Lord, grant me mercy. And what does Jesus say to him? No, go to hell. No. Jesus said, assuredly I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise. In Scripture, you have the Garden of Eden. In the Garden of Eden sin is introduced to humanity. In Scripture, you have the Garden of Gethsemane. It's a place that Jesus yielded himself to defeat the power of sin. And now you have another garden. The word paradise is actually a word, it's a Persian concept and it refers to the king's garden, a private garden, where the king would take a favored subject and give to him permission to be in his private garden. The word paradise is speaking of the private garden of God and he's saying, I have a place for you and the place that I have for you is a garden in heaven. There was the garden that was in Eden, there was the garden that was in Gethsemane, but here is God's garden and this repentant thief is going to enter into the Garden of God. The Bible tells us in Revelation 2, verse 7, he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Today you shall be with me in paradise. Your death next to me in that you have received me and my words, you're going to close your eyes here, but you're going to open them up with me. What a promise.