Remember His Forgiveness

September 2, 2012 Luke 23:26-43 Pastor Larry Adams Remember His Forgiveness If you have your Bibles today, I d like you to turn with me if you would to the gospel of Luke. You know, from time to time in our Bible reading, we come across accounts again of that incredible day when Jesus went to the cross. There are details involved in that that we don't ever want to miss, and they help prepare us for this time of communion today. Whether we are here or whether we are giving a greeting to all the wonderful folks down at the Antioch campus this morning, I want you to know that we share in this communion together. We share a common heritage and a common love for Jesus and a common salvation to all who have believed. In Luke Chapter 23 we have the crucifixion account. This is the way Luke recorded it for us beginning in verse 26: As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27 A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. 28 Jesus turned and said to them, Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For the time will come when you will say, Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed! 30 Then they will say to the mountains, Fall on us! and to the hills, Cover us! 31 For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry? 32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One. 36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself. 38 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the Jews. 39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: Aren t you the Christ? 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. Page 1 of 8

42 Then he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. 43 Jesus answered him, I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise. Father, it s one of the most amazing moments in all of history. It s a moment you desire for each of us when we see who you are and learn of your forgiveness and by faith receive you into our lives and experience the promise and the hope of eternal life. Thank you for your forgiveness. We are in desperate need of it, and today we are reminded that we have it. And we'll thank you, God, for all that you will show us today. In Jesus name, Amen. They are two of life's most important questions, and they are especially intimidating when they are asked of you by a 250 pound linebacker in the NFL. Sitting in our apartment, Ken Hutcherson, who was playing for the Seattle Seahawks, leaned across the table into me and asked me two questions that no one had ever asked me before, but all eternity hangs in their balance. They re called the Kennedy questions developed by D. James Kennedy when he was pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian in Florida. They ve been used by God to help many people see their need for a savior. As Hutch leaned across the table he said to me, Larry, if you were to die today, do you know with certainty you would go to heaven? I stumbled along with my answers and then he asked me the second question. If you were to die today and God were to say to you, Why should I let you into my heaven? what would you tell him? I began with my list: I'm a good person. I love my mom, pay my taxes, don't kick the dog. I was coming up with a list of everything I could think of. I believe in God. I ve been to church before. You see, what I was doing is what most people do. I was reciting my list of why I thought I was good enough to go to heaven. We all have one. I've heard it many times when I've asked those questions of others. The items are different on the list sometimes, but we usually view heaven as something quite achievable if only we have the right things on our list. I ll never forget asking those questions of a lady one day who said to me this was her answer when I asked her, What would you say to God if he were to say, Why should I let you into my heaven? She said to me, I have my boyfriend tested for AIDS. That was her answer. That's what she's gonna tell God when she sees him face-to-face. Or the guy I met on the golf course -- by the way, those are great questions to ask when you re playing somebody and they're lining up a putt, What are you gonna say to God if he should say to you, Why should I let you into my heaven. It'll help you get an advantage you can t believe. But anyway, the guy will be messed up for the next three holes. The guy looked at me and said, Oh, my brother s a pastor in Texas. That s his in. Max Lucado in his book He Still Moves Stones wrote, Most of us have a list. There s a purpose for the list - to prove we re good. But there's a problem with the list, none of us is good enough. Page 2 of 8

God has said in his word in Romans 3 verse 10, As it's written, there is no one righteous, not even one. In Romans 3 verse 23, All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All of us. In Romans 6:23, The wages of sin is death. Satan s great lie is that everyone goes to heaven when they die, but that's a lie. The truth is no one goes to heaven when they die unless God mightily intervenes in your life to stop the process that has separated you from him because of sin. God isn t sending people to hell in the strictest sense. He doesn't have to because of sin we re already all on our way there naturally. That's why Jesus said in John 3 verse 16: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, Listen to this. but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God s one and only Son. You see, it isn t that we re all on our way to heaven and we do bad things and lose it. It s that none of us are on our way to heaven, and we can't do a thing to earn it. We need to be saved from sin. We need to be forgiven. Thank God that in Jesus we have been. You see, that s why from time to time we need to gather at a table like this to be reminded of Jesus death and why he died. Eating this meal, as we ve said many times, will not get your sins forgiven. It won't make you a Christian. It won't earn you any grace. It won't get you a spot in heaven. The only way to be saved from what sin has done is by entering into a personal relationship with God by faith in what Jesus did on the cross when he died there to pay for the sins of the world, yours and mine and everyone s sin. When he died he was buried in a tomb. Three days later he rose again victorious. He conquered sin, death, and the grave, and he's alive today. He's offering salvation and forgiveness to everyone who believes, everyone who receives him. Eating this meal won't do that for you. But if you're a believer in Jesus today, eating this meal will remind us that he has forgiven us and paid for all of our sin. Communion reminds us of God's forgiveness that is ours for the death of Jesus. It may seem like a ridiculous question, but what is it that we need to be forgiven for? We need to be forgiven for our sins. This is the way Luke records it that day in verse 32: 32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. Two men were crucified along with Jesus that day. By their own admission they were guilty and deserving of their sentence. We don't know the exact nature of their crimes. Matthew said they were robbers, they had a whole life of thievery, eventually been caught. Had they taken up with the notorious insurrectionist Barabbas and also been involved in killing amidst their pillaging, we don't know. But we do know that their punishment was death. They were to be impaled on a Roman cross. Page 3 of 8

You see, everything about these two guys leads you to believe that they were pretty vile characters. They were cursing it tells us that even as they were nailed to the cross. They were probably cursing Rome, cursing the crowd, cursing the soldiers, even cursing Jesus. Even as they hung crucified, if you can imagine this, they joined their taunts and mockery by insulting Jesus as he hung on the cross between them. Max Lucado, in that book I mentioned, He Still Moves Stones, captured the moment like this: Could anyone be more blind? Could anyone be more vile? No wonder these two are on the cross. Rome deems them worthy of ugly torture. Their only value to society is to serve as a public spectacle. Stripped them naked so all will know evil cannot hide and nail their hands so all will see the wicked have no strength. Post them high so all will tell their children, This is what happens to evil men. Every muscle in their body screams for relief. Nails pulse fire to their arms. Legs contort and twist seeking comfort, but there is no comfort on a cross. Yet even the pain of the spike won t silence their spiteful tongues. These two will die as they lived, attacking the innocent. But in this case, the innocent doesn't retaliate. The man they mocked wasn't much to look at. His body was whip torn flesh yanked away from the bone. His face was a mask of blood and spit. His eyes were puffy and swollen. King of the Jews was painted over his head. A crown of thorns pierced his scalp. His lip was split, maybe his nose was bleeding or a tooth was loose. The man they mocked was half dead. The man they mocked was beaten. But the man they mocked was at peace and could say in the midst of all of that, Father, forgive them because they don't know what they're doing. Perhaps in more mockery or maybe halfhearted desperation, one criminal looks up at Jesus, sees a sign over his head King of the Jews and sarcastically taunts him, Aren t you the Christ? Aren t you the Messiah? Aren t you the Savior? Then save yourself and us, he said. He waits as before, as the early other Gospels tell us that both criminals were hurling their insults along with those in the crowd. So this one waits again, apparently, for his crucified buddy to join the fray, but this time there is a change. There is a radical change. Instead of other line of foulmouthed attack, the other criminal rebukes his dying friend. In Luke 23 verse 40, 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. This man has done nothing wrong. Strange, isn t it the voices God will use to declare the perfection of his son at the most incredible moments? This man has done nothing wrong. What made the difference? What did he see that he hadn't seen before? Perhaps it was not anything he saw but something he heard. An innocent man surrounded by a corrupt government, bankrupt religion, and wrongly beaten, shamed, and humiliated, and then crucified is hanging next to him. He s not angry. He's not selfish. He s not vindictive. The guy on the cross next to Jesus had never seen anyone like this before because what Jesus was doing was forgiving. Father, forgive them. Page 4 of 8

Forgive them all. The two next to me, the one driving the nails into me, the ones who are in the crowd mocking me, the religious leaders who have rejected me, and a whole host of others who will be coming, Lord, all of humanity. Forgive them for they don't know what they're doing. Perhaps for the first time this man realizes who Jesus is: God s son, the King of the Jews, the Messiah of humanity, and by faith by faith he asked in that incredible moment if the King would still possibly consider having him in his kingdom. Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. No list. No defense. No justification, just simple faith that says, I know who you are now. You are the King of the Jews. You are the Messiah. I know it's late. I know I don't deserve it. I'm getting the punishment I deserve, but when you come to your kingdom could you include a man like me? Jesus sees the man and he sees his faith. He gives the words that every one of us need to hear. I tell you the truth, today you'll be with me in paradise. Yes, I asked Father to forgive you and he has. There's room for people like you in my kingdom, and today you re gonna see it. A guilty sinner inches from eternal death is snatched away to paradise by faith in the one who hangs on a cross and has the power to forgive. What right did that criminal have to even ask such a thing? The same right you and I have because we are all just as guilty. We're all just as sinful, and we are all just in as great a need if we could only see it. There is no difference. The one who called himself the chief of sinners, the apostle Paul, said to the Roman church, You see, there is no difference. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There is no difference. There are none who are righteous. We are all alike under sin. Two men hanging next to Jesus. One goes to eternal hell the other to eternal life because one saw Jesus, heard his offer of forgiveness, believed that he was the Savior and Messiah that had been promised by God, the King who was coming to save. And he asked him, Is there still room for one like me in your kingdom? Jesus said, Yes. More than that, you'll be there today with me in paradise. You know, so many times when you're sharing Christ with people or talking to them about their salvation, even with Christians who say, Well, I m saved. I m a believer. But their lives don't often show that they really belong to Jesus. It's really an important question to ask them this. So you re saved? Yes, I m saved. What are you saved from? What did you ask Jesus to save you from? A bad life? A bad marriage? Terrible circumstances? Uncertainty? Fearful future? Hell itself? What did you ask him to save you from? Very rarely will people say, I was dead in my trespasses and sins. Recognizing I'm as dead as that guy on the cross who knew he was dying and had no hope beyond Jesus. I'm being justly punished, he said. Page 5 of 8

Very rarely will people say, I was dead in my trespasses and sins, and I asked Jesus to save me from my sins and asked him to save me from all of my rebellion and my unrighteousness and my rejection of God. Because until we see ourselves guilty and headed for eternal death as helpless as being nailed to a cross, seldom will we ever be desperate enough or appreciate enough what it really means to hear Jesus say, You are forgiven. I ve told you before, when Karla and I lived in Oregon I had a friend named Joe. He was older than me, and he asked me of all things to mentor him little bit. So we would get together once a week in his living room. We would go through the Scriptures in JI Packer's book Knowing God. I remember when we got to the section on sin in Packer's book, Joe looked up at me and he said, Do you mean that I m a sinner? I said, Well, yes, Joe. You re a sinner. I m a sinner. We re all sinners. That s why we need a Savior. He said, I m such a good person. I said, Joe, you ve claimed to be a Christian for years. Have you ever asked Jesus to save you from your sin? No. I didn t know I needed to. You see, Joe had lived his life with a list. I don't know all that was on his list. I never asked him. But until that night he didn t realize he was a sinner in need of a Savior. You know, something happens when you feel your wrists spiked to a cross and you realize, Whoa, I am accountable to God. I am guilty before him. You ask God to save you differently. You have a sense of, God, is there still room for me in your kingdom? And when he says, Yes, you're forgiven. It changes you. I wonder sometimes why so many Christians live the way they do and make the decisions they do and have the priorities they do. Maybe because they've never really felt those nails in their wrists and their feet and seen, I am dead without Jesus. Thanks be to God I'm alive because he's forgiven me. I don t ever want to go back to that sin. In fact, that was Paul's response in Romans 6 verse 8. He said: Verse 11. If we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. 14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. Page 6 of 8

Romans 6 verse 22: But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Several years later, when Karla and I were living in Oregon, we were living in an apartment over the church. On one side it was the church entrance. On the other side it was a street entrance. It looked like a residence from one side and a church entrance from the other, so we used to get people coming to our door all the time, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, people in the neighborhood, salespeople all coming to the door. Whenever the doorbell rang we weren't sure if they were coming to church or if they were coming to see us. I remember one night the doorbell rang. I went down on the residence side. I opened the door, and here stood these two nervous kids, a boy and a girl. As soon as they started talking I knew what they were gonna do. They were holding their Bibles. The man spoke first. He said, Sir, do you mind if we ask you two questions tonight? I knew what was coming. I said, Sure. He swallowed hard. He was looking so nervous, but he was there. And he said, If you were to die today, do you know for sure you d go to heaven. I said, Absolutely, young man. There s not a doubt in my mind. He said, You do? He had not had that response all night. And then the girl spoke up and she said, If you were to die today and stand before God and he were to ask, Why should I let you into my heaven? What would you tell him? I said, Oh, that s easy. I d look at God and say, Lord, you and I both know I don't deserve to be here. But you gave your son for me, and I heard him. I heard what he said from the cross, Father forgive them, and I believed him. So I asked him to save me and he did. I'm not standing here today because of anything of my merits. I m standing here holding on to his. I know you re gonna let me in because I belong to you, because Jesus has forgiven me. How would you answer those questions? Do you know with certainty today that you re gonna go to heaven when that moment comes. If God were to ask you, Why should I let you into my heaven? What would you tell him? At that moment are you gonna pull out your list and start reading about all the wonderful things you've done, all the reasons why he should let you in? A list that will seem even more pathetic at that moment than it does right now. Or will you be able to say, The only reason you should let me in is because I'm covered in the blood of your son and his righteousness, and I have been forgiven. Page 7 of 8

You see, that s what we re remembering today in communion. This bread is my body. He said. This cup is my blood. It's given for you. So as often as you eat it remember me, the one who brings you not just forgiveness, I'm bringing you forgiveness from God. Father, I want to thank you today for the immensity of this gift. I pray, God, that as we break this bread and drink this cup, all of us, no matter who we are and what we ve done, will know that this forgiveness from God is real. Whether we need it for the very first time to be saved, or whether we need it because we have strayed far and need to come home. This forgiveness is real. This forgiveness is from God, and we thank you for it. In Jesus name, Amen. Page 8 of 8