Luke 23:40-43


Sermon preached on May 7, 2006 by Laurence W. Veinott. © Copyright 2006. All rights reserved. Other sermons can be found at http://www.newlifeop.org/.

Marg was talking to someone last year and he said that a big flaw in Christianity is that a condemned criminal on death row could ask Jesus to forgive him and be saved, while a little old lady, who has lived a much better life than that criminal, could have no warning that she's going to die, and have a heart attack and die and not be saved. He felt that it wasn't fair and he didn't like Christianity because of that.

The scenario he paints is correct. But is it the great flaw that he makes it out to be? It's only a flaw if you mistakenly think that people could be judged on their works and get into heaven. The Bible tells us that if we were judged on works, not one of us would get into heaven. As Psalm 130:3 says,

"If you, O LORD,
kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?"

The answer is, "No one!" Psalms 14 and 53 told us that,

"God looks down from heaven
on the sons of men
to see if there are any who understand,
any who seek God.
Everyone has turned away,
they have together become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one."

As Romans 3:23 says,

"for all have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God,"

Or as Romans 3:20 says,

"Therefore no one will be declared righteous
in his sight by observing the law;
rather, through the law
we become conscious of sin."

It is the glory of Christianity that we are saved by grace. It's not a flaw because there's no other way of salvation. As the apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 2:21,

"if righteousness
could be gained through the law,
Christ died for nothing!"

But Jesus did not die for nothing. Jesus has remarkable and great love for sinners. This is what we see in our text.

Jesus died to save sinners.

When the criminal asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom, Jesus replied, (Luke 23:43)

"I tell you the truth,
today you will be with me in paradise."

One of the things that we should note here is that this was an incredibly evil man. There are two things that show us this.

First, the man admitted that he was justly being put to death.

In verses 40-41 we read that he rebuked to the other criminal, who was continuing to mock Jesus,

"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 has done nothing wrong."

We are being punished justly. He admitted that the crime for which he was being put to death was a capital crime. He admitted that he was guilty of it.

The Greek word that Luke uses in verse 32 is translated 'criminal'. It means (BDAG)

'one who commits gross misdeeds and serious crimes'



The word denotes someone who does what is evil. BDAG tells us that it's the opposite of 'godly', 'pious'.

In Matthew 27:38 the NIV describes those who were crucified with Jesus as 'robbers'. It says,

"Two robbers were crucified with him,
one on his right and one on his left."

The word that is used there has two meanings, it could mean as the NIV says, (BDAG)

"robber, highwayman, bandit".



But it could also mean,

"revolutionary, insurrectionist, guerrilla"



The man could have been a terrorist.

So there are two possibilities. He could have been a very bad, a very evil criminal, or he could have been like Barabbas, who had committed murder and had been involved in an insurrection. (Luke 23:19)

But even more than that, Matthew's gospel tells us that

This criminal had mocked Jesus.

Matthew 27 paints a graphic picture of those that mocked and insulted Jesus as He hung on the cross. Matthew begins with the ordinary people, then proceeds to Jewish religious leaders, and ends with the two who were crucified with Him. Here's how he puts it, (verse 39f)

"Those who passed by hurled insults at him,
shaking their heads and saying,
'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!'
In the same way the chief priests,
the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him.
'He saved others', they said,
'but he can't save himself!
He's the King of Israel!
Let him come down now from the cross,
and we will believe in him.
He trusts in God.
Let God rescue him now if he wants him,
for he said,
'I am the Son of God.''"

Then Matthew added, (verse 44)

"In the same way the robbers
who were crucified with him
also heaped insults on him."

Thus we see that this was an exceedingly bad man.

It's not politically correct to call anyone 'bad' today. Society will tell you that there's 'bad behavior' but there are no 'bad kids' or 'bad people'. But that's not true. We are born bad. We are born sinners. In ourselves, we are all bad.

But the good news of the gospel is that Jesus came to save sinners.

When this evil person asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom, Jesus accepted him.

Who are the ones that are going to be in heaven? Most people today seem to think that it will be the best people that have ever lived, the top two thirds, the top half, or the top one third. But Psalm 32 speaks of the man who is blessed. Who does it say is blessed—the people who have committed the fewest sins? No. Quite the contrary. David wrote,

"Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man whose sin
the LORD does not count against him…
When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said,
'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD'
— and you forgave the guilt of my sin."

Who is blessed? The evil man on the cross who went to Jesus is blessed. He is blessed because God did not count his sins against him. He is blessed because his sins were covered by the blood of Jesus.

People like that are going to be the people in heaven. We see this as well in the story Jesus told about the tax collector and the Pharisee. It was the sinner, the tax collector, who went home justified.

David committed adultery and murder, yet he's in heaven today. Peter denied the Lord three times and called down curses upon himself if he knew Jesus. Yet he's in heaven today. Paul consented to the stoning of Stephen, even holding the garments of those who stoned him. Yet he's in glory today. Jacob lied to and deceived his father and got his brother's blessing. Yet he's in heaven today. Rahab was a prostitute, yet she's in glory today and was even included in Jesus' genealogy. (Matthew 1:5) In Hebrews 11 she's listed as one of the heroes of the faith. Samson, the great judge of Israel, had many character flaws. Sometimes it seemed like God was the farthest thing from his mind. Yet in Hebrews 11:32 he's mentioned as one of the great men of faith. Or consider Lot. He had many character flaws. Yet in 2 Peter 2 he's referred to in glowing terms. Matthew and Zacchaeus were tax collectors, known for greed. Thomas was a doubter, who at first refused to believe that Jesus had been raised from the dead. John Mark, who was supposed to be a helper to Paul and Barnabas on their missionary journey, deserted them. He was such a disappointment when he came back Paul didn't want to take him with them, but Barnabas did. They even fought about it and parted company because of it. Yet he later became Paul's helper again (2 Timothy 4:11) and some think that he was the one who wrote the gospel of Mark. He's in heaven today in spite of his sin.

1 Corinthians 3 also speaks of people who are going to be saved, yet the last Day will show that their works have been very poor. We read, (verse 12f)

"If any man builds on this foundation
using gold, silver, costly stones,
wood, hay or straw,
his work will be shown for what it is,
because the Day will bring it to light.
It will be revealed with fire,
and the fire will test the quality of each man's work.
If what he has built survives,
he will receive his reward.
If it is burned up,
he will suffer loss;
he himself will be saved,
but only as one escaping through the flames."

But he will be saved. His works will be revealed to be almost worthless—but by God's grace he will be saved.

Jesus came to save sinners. He did not come to save the righteous (there are none). He did not come to save the best half of mankind, or the top one-third. He came to save sinners, plain and simple. Incredible as it seems, this criminal on the cross, who had committed a capital crime, who mocked Jesus like everyone else—went to heaven. When he turned from his sin and asked Jesus for mercy—Jesus accepted him. Jesus loves sinners and will accept any who go to Him for salvation.

But the criminal on the cross also shows us the proper way to go to Jesus. The second great truth we see in our passage is that

the way to go to Jesus is to admit your faults and not make excuses for them.

This criminal didn't deny his guilt. He did not claim that he was being punished too severely for his crime. Nor was he a criminal who excused his crime and blamed others for it. He owned up to it. He rebuked the other criminal and said,

"We are punished justly,
for we are getting what our deeds deserve."

This is the way to go to God. You'll remember the tax collector in the temple. He wouldn't even approach closely. Jesus said that He stood at a distance. He had an attitude of humility. He wouldn't lift his eyes to heaven. Rather he beat his breast and said, (Luke 18:13)

"God, have mercy on me,
a sinner."

He made no excuses. He didn't plead mitigating circumstances. He didn't blame someone else. He owned up to his sin. He acknowledged it as his own and admitted that he was a sinner. He came with his sin and asked for mercy.

This is what you need to do if you're going to be accepted by God. Jesus said that that tax collector went home justified. The Pharisee didn't.

We human beings don't like to own up to our sins.

Remember what Adam said when God confronted him with his sin? He said, (Genesis 3:12)

"The woman you put here with me—
she gave me some fruit from the tree,
and I ate it."

He seemed to blame both Eve and God for his sin. The woman you put here with me.

That's not the way to go to God. If you go like that, you're not asking for forgiveness and you won't receive it. When you go to God for forgiveness you need to own up to your sin. You take full responsibility for it. You say to God.

"This sin is mine. Forgive me for it."



That's how you receive forgiveness for sin.

It's like having an electronic ticket to get on a plane. You can get it over the Internet and print it out yourself. It has your name on it. If someone else got that ticket and tried to use it, it wouldn't work. It has your name on it. When you use it you have to show a picture ID. The picture ID and the electronic ticket has to match. The names have to be the same. Otherwise they don't let you on the plane.

In the same way, in order to receive the forgiveness of your sins—you have to bring them to Jesus. You have to come as a sinner and ask Him to forgive your sins. Don't make excuses for them. Don't blame them on someone else—on other people or on the devil. You are responsible for them. Own up to them and confess them to God. Ask Him to forgive you for them. If you do that, He will.

The third great truth we see from our text is that

you should see Jesus as sinless and able to save you.

The criminal confessed that Jesus had done nothing wrong. He said,

"We are punished justly,
for we are getting what our deeds deserve.
But this man has done nothing wrong."

He then asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom. Jesus was the object of his faith.

When you go to God for the forgiveness of your sins you should not just go on some vague hope that somehow, He can forgive your sins. You should go clinging to Jesus.

The fourth truth that we see from our text is that

Jesus can give you much more than you imagine. He is able to bring you to glory.

This criminal didn't ask for much. He asked merely to be remembered by Jesus when He came into His kingdom. That could be interpreted a variety of ways. It's basically a request for favor.

You'll remember when Joseph interpreted the cupbearer's dream and prophesied that the cupbearer would be returned to his position at Pharaoh's side, he said to him, (Genesis 40:14)

"But when all goes well with you,
remember me and show me kindness;
mention me to Pharaoh
and get me out of this prison."

It's a request for a little favor. We see the same thing in Samson's request after his eyes had been plucked out and he was in the hands of the Philistines and was led out for them to make sport of. He asked to be rest against the pillars that supported the temple. Then he said to God, (Judges 16:28)

"O Sovereign LORD,
remember me.
O God, please strengthen me just once more,
and let me with one blow
get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes."

He was not asking for complete deliverance, for his eyes back. No, he asked to die there with the Philistines. He merely asked for power to bring down the temple on himself and on them.

In the same way, this criminal wasn't asking for much. He was asking for some small favor. Perhaps he was only thinking of a favor like we have in Jesus' story of Lazarus and the rich man. You'll remember that after he died, the rich man was in hell, in torment and he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus at his side. So he called to Abraham and said, (Luke 16:24)

"Father Abraham,
have pity on me
and send Lazarus
to dip the tip of his finger in water
and cool my tongue,
because I am in agony in this fire."

Perhaps the criminal on the cross only had something like that in mind. He knew he was bad. He knew he was getting what he deserved. He knew that he, too, had mocked Jesus. He merely asked that Jesus remember him in some way when He came into His kingdom.

But what did Jesus do? How did Jesus respond? His response illustrated the truth of Ephesians 3:20-21,

"Now to him who is able to do
immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,
according to his power that is at work within us,
to him be glory in the church
and in Christ Jesus
throughout all generations,
for ever and ever! Amen."

Jesus said to him,

"I tell you the truth,
today you will be with me in paradise."

This is one of six 'amen' sayings in the gospel of Luke. Jesus authoritatively tells him that he will be with Him in Paradise.

It's incredible. Jesus tells him that he'll be with Him that very day in heaven. The words heaven and paradise are sometimes used interchangeably in Scripture. Jesus assures the criminal that he will be with Him in glory. As Jesus said in Revelation 3:21,

"To him who overcomes,
I will give the right to sit with me on my throne,"

What acceptance! What a salvation! What a wonderful Savior we have in Jesus.