Cross Words - The Cries of Jesus From the Cross
2 - Saved by the Skin of His Teeth
Luke 23 Verse 42 - “Assuredly I say to you, today you’ll be with me in Paradise.”
He wrote hundreds hymns, God Moves in a Mysterious Way, Oh! For a Closer Walk with God!
William Cowper also wrote:
There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.
The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.
Luke chapter 23 records the story of the conversion of the dying thief.
As Jesus died He cried. He cried seven times. The seven sayings from the cross. We’re calling them His cross words.
The last time: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. This time: Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.
Jesus is speaking to a thief. And we shouldn’t be surprised by that. All through His life, He mixed and mingled with undesirables.
You remember it was said of Jesus, He’s the friend of sinners. This man eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners. In fact, He said of Himself, I came not to call the righteous, but I came to call sinners.
And now He dies beside a sinner. He dies beside a thief. In fact He dies between two thieves.
Of course this is a confirmation of a 700 year old prophecy.
Isaiah said, seven centuries before, that He would be numbered with the transgressors. And He was. (KJV)
And it’s to one of these transgressors, one of these criminals, that Jesus speaks in Luke 23:43: “Assuredly I say to you, today you’ll be with me in Paradise.”
We’ll call this ‘saved by the skin of his teeth’, and I want you to notice three things.
Firstly, there’s a request. Luke 23:42 "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom."
It’s a request for salvation.
The person who made this request was a depraved man, a murderer. Human life meant nothing to him. Hate filled his heart. Blood stained his hands.
He was also a thief. Everyone’s property was there for the taking. He lived by the eleventh commandment, thou shall not be caught.
And three hours earlier, along with his friend, he’d poured out his contempt for Jesus. “If You’re really God’s Son come down from the cross! And save Yourself and save us!”
A depraved man, and a dying man; soon he will go from here to eternity. Just a few hours left to live. He’s been on death row for some time and now at long last he’s receiving his punishment. Death by crucifixion.
By nightfall they’ll bring him down from the cross and bury his body in a paupers grave. No-one will- mourn him. No-one will weep for him. No-one will be sad to see him go. Forgotten forever.
A depraved man; a dying man; but, thankfully, also a discerning man. For as he hangs on the cross he fears God. And the Bible tells us, the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.
And so he turns to his companion in crime and says: "Don’t you fear God, seeing we’re under the same condemnation? (verse 41) "And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong, this Man has done nothing amiss". (NKJ)
His eyes have been opened. He’s aware that he’s a sinner. And what’s more he knows that there beside him is the sinless Saviour, the sinless Lord of glory, and a King with a Kingdom.
And needless to say, everything militated against him saying that. Jesus doesn’t look like a King. He doesn’t look as if He’s in charge of anything. His crown of thorns. His throne is a tree. Some Lord, some King. BUT something has dawned upon this man’s mind and he sees Jesus for who He is.
And what’s more he also realised that his only hope is in Jesus. His only hope is in the One hanging right there beside him.
What an amazing change. His mockery became a prayer for mercy.
And in desperation he puts himself into the hands of Jesus and requests salvation. "Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
There’s a Request. And secondly, there’s a response.
Verse 43. And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." (NKJ)
A God response: “I say to you”. Jesus often used that phrase “I say to you”.
In chapter 4 of Luke’s Gospel, He’s in the synagogue. He reads a Messianic prophecy. He shuts the book and then He says this: “I say to you, today the scripture is fulfilled in your midst.”
Later on a boy dies and Jesus touches his coffin and He says “I say to you arise”, and the twelve year old boy comes back to life again.
Of course, the Rabbis, whenever they preached, or should I say whenever they rambled, they would say: “So and so said.” The Prophets of the Old Testament, they said: “Thus sayeth the Lord.”
But when Jesus preached He didn’t say “So and so said”. He didn’t even say “Thus says the Lord.”
He said “I say to you”. He didn’t claim the authority of another. He had His own authority.
And here on the cross He has as much authority has He ever had. You would think He was God or something. And that’s the point.
A God response. And a gracious response. Assuredly, I say to you, today you’ll be with Me in paradise. (NKJ)
Free, unmerited, undeserved salvation, based on the pure grace of God.
No time for resolutions, no time for rites and rituals, no time for religion; just time to cry: “Lord save me!” Just time to believe.
We would give up on such a man. We would say “he’s too bad, too wicked, too far gone!” But he wasn’t! He’s saved instantly, just like that!
A God response; a gracious response, and his response was also glorious! Jesus said: ”Today, you’ll be with Me in paradise." (NKJ)
Jesus gives this thief the promise of being with Him in paradise.
First of all, a request; secondly, a response, and finally, a regret.
There was another man that day. He never heard such a promise, and instead he was lost.
Some questions. The first question is this: What about the call, the call to come to Christ, to acknowledge Him as Lord; to bow to Him as your King. Like this first thief, come to Christ just as you are. And receive the promise of eternal life. Do you hear the call?
What about the comfort that heaven is real; that salvation is sure, and grace is free. Unearned, undeserved.
And what about the challenge. In 1 Peter, Peter tells us that Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow in His steps. Jesus died showing us how to live. And how did He die? He died reaching out to the lost.
And that’s how we are to live, reaching out to the lost. We’re to be missionaries, evangelists.
As Jesus died He cried. He cried seven times. His cross words. His second cry “Assuredly, I say to you today, you’ll be with me in paradise.