Lord Have Mercy on Me

April 4, 2021 Speaker: Ted Detiveaux Series: Easter

Topic: Salvation Scripture: Luke 23:32– :43

Lord, Have Mercy on Me… A _______ (ex. Thief)

Recap:

So far in our Easter series we talked about Communion and how the Lord Jesus desired eagerly to share one last Passover with His disciples right before he would suffer on the cross.   We looked at the proper attitude one must have when taking part in communion.  It is a serious thing and therefore communion demands a serious demeanor.

Last week we looked at Palm Sunday and the importance of subjecting ourselves to the Lord Jesus.  He is not only Savior, but He is our Lord.   Which means Jesus is more than just fire insurance, He is the way the truth and the life.  Therefore, we ought to surrender our control of our lives and allow Him to call the shots.

Today we want to look at the two thieves who were crucified on the cross along with Jesus.  In doing so we will examine two different responses to Jesus and His cross.

Luke 23:32-43

32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 

We have three people condemned to die by means of crucifixion including Jesus the Son of God.  The other two were criminals who were found guilty of their crime so therefore their sentence was just.  However, neither Pilate nor Herod found anything wrong with Jesus that warranted his death.  

                  Luke 23:20-25    (scroll up)

20 Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus,21 but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” 22 A third time he said to them, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.” 23 But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. 24 So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. 25 He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will.

Jesus was sentenced to die a criminal’s death.  A death in which He did not deserve.  But instead of calling the angels of heaven to deliver him, He willingly laid down His life in order to fulfill the scriptures and accomplish the will of God regarding the redemption of mankind. 

Luke 22:37 For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.” 

 

33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 

So, Jesus is crucified with two thieves.  His hands and feet were nailed to a wooden cross.  Then His body while on the cross was lifted and put in place for all to see.  It was bad enough that they had crucified an innocent man; but the bible says that he was in the midst of thieves with one on the left and one on the right, as to imply that He was the worst of all.  

 

Crucifixion was both painful and shameful way to die.  Furthermore, the book of Deuteronomy states that if a man was hung on a tree, then he is cursed by God.  To put it plainly, Jesus became accursed by God and was made a public spectacle not for anything He did but for our sins. 

 

Just to recap a little:

  • Jesus was innocent and did not deserve to die
  • He was crucified on a cross which was both painful and shameful
  • He was crucified between thieves to add to the insult
  • Meanwhile the two thieves deserved their punishment
  • Yet they had the honor of dying alongside Jesus.

Going back to Luke 23:33

34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. 35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 

Jesus could have done as they had requested to prove that He was the Son of God.   Just as He could have turned the stone into bread when He was tempted to do so in the wilderness.  But He was here to accomplish the will of God.

Even after being tortured up to this point, Jesus asks that His Father forgive them because they were ignorant of what they were doing.  They mocked and scoffed because they had no understanding who Jesus was nor what he came to do.

But this was the cup of suffering that He had told his disciples that He would soon drink of.  It was His portion; it was the reason why He came.  

38 There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”

This inscription was added to make it clear the alleged crime that led to the death of Jesus. He is put to death for pretending to be the king of the Jews; That’s what they meant by it; but God intended it to be a declaration of who he really was, He really was the king of the Jews.

Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords and one day every knee will bow before Him.  However, His kingdom is not of this world.  This is what the mockers and scoffers failed to realize.

39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 

The first thief might have been willing to acknowledge Jesus as the Christ if Jesus would have rescued the three of them off the cross.  For this thief, it was all about what God could do for him.

Does that sound familiar?

  • God heal me from this heartbreak and I will live for you.
  • God, if you heal my body then I’ll give you my life
  • God give me another job and I will be committed to you
  • God I don’t want to go to hell so I’ll give you a shot.
  • God my finances are a mess, would you get me out, then I’ll serve you.

He just wanted Jesus to get him out of his current earthly situation that he was in.  He had no regard to the fact that he was getting the just punishment for his crimes. 

He was suffering, and this suffering was preventing him from achieving his worldly ambitions.  So this thief would be willing to declare Jesus as king as long as He rescued him off the cross.  He had only seen Jesus as a possible way by which he could escape the cross. He did not see him as a king to be followed.

That is the biggest problem with people today they have the same mentality as this first thief.  People are willing to acknowledge and even cry out to God when their lives are in a mess.  But they are not willing to pick up their cross and follow Him daily. 

Then we come to the second thief.

40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

This second thief had experienced everything that the first thief had experienced. 

  • Both criminals were guilty of stealing and both were facing death by means of crucifixion.
  • Both had seen the inscription that was above Jesus and
  • both had heard Jesus say, “Father forgive them.”

 

But that’s where the similarities end, and we find two different responses to the suffering of Christ.  With the second thief we find a completely different mindset regarding the suffering of Jesus.

 

First, we find that he was not influenced by what the other thief was saying.  He could have been bitter, he could have blamed God for his predicament like most people do, he could have questioned Jesus as to why was He allowing this to happen to him if He did the have the power to save them.  But he did not. 

How many of you have ever blamed God for allowing a certain level of suffering to occur in your life?

 

The second thief rebukes the first one and says, “Do you not fear God,” He could have dropped the mic right there.  In essence what he was saying is that you are about to meet your maker very soon and will face His judgement.  If you are accusing God of being unjust, uncompassionate, and unresponsive to your current situation, and if you reject His Son Jesus here on earth, then you do not stand a chance when you face Him face to face in the life to come.

 

Only fools reject the message of the cross of Christ

                 

1 Corinthians 1:18 

 

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 

 

The second man, though he was a thief, still feared God and was careful not to say anything foolish amid his suffering.  He admitted that the things he did were wrong.   41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds;

 

This is a big part of salvation and unfortunately, we do not find this same confession with the first thief.  But the second admitted, I messed up.  I’ve committed sin; it was my fault.  I own up to it.

 

This is another big problem with society today.  Hardly anyone takes ownership for their sins.  Rather we blame everyone else or everything else.  We blame our parents, our friends, our enemies, we blame it on chemical imbalances, mental disorders, or our upbringings, social economics, environment in which we live, we blame it on injustice. 

 

What about looking in the mirror, like the second thief, and addressing the real issue.  The issue is me.  I am a sinner.  I have fallen short; I have broken the law of God.  I am in need of forgiveness.

 

The second thief knew he deserved the punishment that he was receiving. But he also acknowledged that Jesus did nothing to deserve the cruel punishment that He was getting.

 

41b but this man has done nothing wrong.” 

 

The second thief views Jesus as a righteous man.  It matters to God what we believe about Jesus.  It was the question Jesus asked his disciples “But who do you say that I am?”

 

In doing so the second thief was saying “even if you do not rescue me from this cross, I still believe that you are the Son of God, that you are righteous and without sin and that you are sovereign over all things.”  “I believe that you are able to rescue usfrom our suffering but even if you don’t, I will trust in your sovereign plan for my life.”

 

Could you make that declaration over your life this morning?  Could you endure your suffering if the Lord would have you do so?  Would you still trust in His Sovereignty if He does not deliver you from your current situation? 

 

The second thief takes it a step further and says: 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 

He acknowledges Jesus not only as being righteous but as a King who is going to His kingdom.  In a kingdom, the will of the King is done.  Everything revolves around the king.  What the King says, goes. 

 

The man simply asks to be remembered when Jesus arrives in His Kingdom.  Basically, what he was saying “remember that I think of you to be a righteous man, a man without sin; a king, one who will rule and reign.” 

 

Here we have the another important aspect of salvation.  Believing that Jesus is the Son of God, and confessing Him as Lord of your life. 

 

The man did not asks to be remembered for his good deeds, for it was his deeds that put him on a cross; But he was wanting to be remembered for his faith in Jesus and for his public declaration which he made. 

 

There was nothing the man could do to persuade Jesus one way or the other, he was totally at the mercy of Jesus as to what happened next.

 

Jesus gives the man what he did not deserve.  Eternal life

 

43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

 

Paradise is the heavenly abode of God where there are found things prepared by God for those who love him, which are utterly indescribable- John Piper

 

The promise was given to the repentant thief and would soon be fulfilled.  He would be with God.

 

This message has a tremendous amount of hope for each of us who do likewise and a tremendous amount of despair for those who do not.  Because each of us have sinned and have offended a perfect, holy and righteous God. 

 

  1. Have you ever lied before?
  2. Have you ever stolen before?
  3. Have you ever lusted before?
  4. Have you committed sexual immorality before?
  5. Have you ever coveted your neighbors’ possessions before?
  6. Have you ever put a thing or a person in the place of God?
  7. Have you ever dishonored your parents?

 

Because of our sins we deserve to die just as the thieves deserved their punishment.   We are not only talking about a physicaldeath but a spiritual death in which you would be eternally separated from God.

Many will be like the first thief and will only come to God at their hour of need.  But hopefully many more will be like the second thief and realize the folly of their ways, repent from your sins, that you would believe that Jesus is who He said is, The Son of the Living God. 

 

That you would believe in not only the crucifixion but also in the resurrection.  Just as the thief was justified by his faith in Christ, we too are made the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

The promise of spending eternity with God in a place which He has prepared, is for all believers.

 

Romans 10:13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”